This is about as British as it gets as far as cakes go, the Victoria sponge was of course named after our monarch queen Victoria, she was fond of cake with her afternoon tea and as such this decadent but light cake became a British institution as we all jumped on the cake bandwagon! Decoration is not necessary, and is actually frowned upon by some purists, but to hell with it, it looks nice and this is my take on a British classic. Use the best jam you can find for this one, it really does make the difference and of course use vanilla extract, please don’t use essence, it’s horrible and synthetic rubbish.
Ingredients
For the sponge:
- 150ml milk
- 225g unsalted butter
- 225g caster sugar
- 4 free range eggs
- 230g self raising flour (sifted)
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the filling:
- 250ml double cream
- 100g icing sugar
- 1tbsp vanilla extract
- 1tbsp lemon juice
- Good quality strawberry jam
Method
For the sponge:
1. Put your oven on to gas mark 4 (180°c) and lightly butter 2 x 20cm loose bottomed sandwich tins. Using a spatula or electric whisk, combine the butter and caster sugar until it’s pale and creamy, now beat in the eggs until fully combined and smooth. Gently fold in the flour until you have a smooth slightly thick paste. Start adding the milk a little at a time as you may not need all of it (The mix should easily fall off a spoon in big drops), lastly add the baking powder and mix thoroughly.
2. Divide the mixture between your 2 sandwich tins evenly, spreading the mixture to the edges with a spatula to create a uniformed look. Place them in the oven for about 25 minutes (do not open the oven door until they are almost ready). Check them after 20 minutes, they will be ready if they come away from the sides of the tin, and if you insert a cocktail stick in the centre it will come out clean. Gently remove from the tins and leave to cool completely on a wire cake rack.
For the filling:
3. In a mixing bowl whisk the double cream, icing sugar, vanilla and lemon juice together until you have thick glossy soft peaked cream.
4. To assemble the cake turn one of the cake bases upside down and smear generously with the jam (as much or as little as you like). Take the vanilla cream and drop spoonfuls over the jam until you have an evenly looking base and the cream is covering the jam nicely. Take the other sponge and place gently on top pressing gently until secure. Sift the top with icing sugar and decorate if you so dare.
Enjoy with some earl grey tea or just shove it in your face!…..whichever you prefer.
