Homemade cakes don’t get more classic than Victoria’s sponge, a sweet treat loved for its soft vanilla flavours and fruity jam.
Making one from scratch is easy to do with the right recipe and Masterchef judge John Torode has just made it even more simple.
Sharing his baking wisdom with the hosts of This Morning, the Australian chef revealed the “secret” to making a “proper” Victoria sponge cake.
While most people would assume that using the right jam is the tipping point for keeping this British bake traditional, John said it’s in the measurements.
His clever tip was to pay attention to the weight of the eggs being used in the recipe for top-tier results.
John said: “To make a Victoria sponge properly, all you’ve got to do is weigh your eggs.” The Masterchef icon continued: “If you weigh your eggs, the weight of your eggs then is the amount of sugar, butter and flour to make your Victoria sponge.”
Asking John what “the perfect” weight of an egg for such a recipe, This Morning host Joel Dommett was told: “Normal eggs are about 55 grams – 55 to 60 grams, so two eggs would be 120 grams.”
John pointed out that if the eggs weigh 120g, the flour, sugar and butter should be added in equal quantities.
He elaborated: “Mix them all together; therefore you’ve got a a Victoria sponge.”
An easier way to remember a classic Victoria sponge cake recipe by quantities is to think of it as “four ounces of everything, plus two eggs”.
This recipe should make enough for two round sponges that can be stacked on top of one another, though it’s easily doubled (eight ounces of everything and four eggs), to make two layered sponge cakes.
Commenting on the video clip shared on Facebook, one impressed viewer wrote: “Nan taught me this as a child. On the old weighing scales you put the eggs where the weights go then measure out the bowl of ingredients to match. Meant that if you wanted to size up your sponge it was easy.”
Another chimed: “I’d learnt this when I was younger, but then I forgot about it, so I’ve just learnt it again.”
As for the perfect Victoria sponge sandwich recipe, this formula by Matt Webster, food and flavour maestro for Seasoned Pioneers, is well worth a try.
Using John Torode’s method, you can easily adjust the recipe based on the weight of your eggs, and the filling is incredibly simple to make.
Matt also suggested: “If you want to minimise the sweetness of the sugar and bring out the creaminess of the buttercream, just add a small pinch of salt.”
