Name: Classic Victoria Sponge
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 200 g soft butter, plus extra for greasing; 200 g castor sugar; 4 large eggs, at room temp; 5 ml vanilla essence; 200 g self-raising flour; 5 ml baking powder; 37.5 ml milk; Cornflour, for dusting the baking tins; 25 ml strawberry jam; 25 ml water; 250 ml fresh cream; 25 ml icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

Description

This Classic Victoria Sponge is light, soft, and just sweet enough without trying too hard. It’s the kind of cake you make when you want something familiar, comforting, and very hard to mess up.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Cake

200 g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
200 g castor sugar
4 large eggs, at room temp
5 ml vanilla essence
200 g self-raising flour
5 ml baking powder
37.5 ml milk
Cornflour, for dusting the baking tins

Filling

25 ml strawberry jam
25 ml water
250 ml fresh cream
25 ml icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Grease 2 x 8-inch round cake tins with extra butter, then sprinkle lightly with Cornflour, tapping out the excess.
In a large bowl, cream 200 g soft butter with 200 g caster sugar and 1 tsp vanilla essence for about 3 minutes until pale, fluffy, and looking a little cloud-like.
Add the 4 large eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, so the mixture doesn’t split.
If it looks slightly curdled, don’t panic, it’ll sort itself out once the flour goes in.
In a separate bowl, mix 200 g self-raising flour with 1 tsp baking powder, then gently fold this into the batter.
As you’re folding, add 3 tbsp milk to loosen the mixture. The batter should drop easily from the spoon, not sit stiffly.
Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins and smooth the tops lightly.
Bake at 190°C for 20 minutes, or until the cakes are golden, spring back when pressed lightly, and a skewer comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
Warm 2 tbsp strawberry jam with 2 tbsp water, stirring until smooth and spreadable, then let it cool slightly.
Whip 1 cup fresh cream with 2 tbsp icing sugar until soft peaks form. Don’t overbeat; you want it pillowy, not stiff.
Spread the jam evenly over one cake layer, then spoon over the whipped cream.
Place the second cake on top gently, pressing just enough so it settles without squeezing out the filling.
Finish with a light dredging of icing sugar just before serving.

Notes

Created, prepared, tried, and tested Gail