Victoria sponge cakes are popular for a number of reasons including being one of the easiest cakes to bake, and one of the tastiest.
The cake originated in the mid-1800s when Queen Victoria’s royal chefs served her a sponge sandwich cake filled with jam and cream.
It then became fashionable in Victorian England and is now considered to be a quintessential part of British food culture.
It pairs well with coffee or even a soft drink but is often served alongside a classic breakfast tea.
Mary Berry’s recipe is a “baking classic” providing a “tasty tea-time treat” and it’s super easy to make too.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
Four free-range eggs
225g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
Two tablespoons of baking powder
225 butter at room temperature
To serve:
Strawberry or raspberry jam
Whipped double cream (optional)
Method:
Start by preheating the oven to 180C or 160C Fan before greasing and lining two 20cm sandwich tins.
Break the eggs into a mixing bowl, then add the sugar, flour, baking powder and butter.
Mix until well combined using an electric hand mixer, being careful not to over-mix the batter. The finished mixture should fall off a spoon very easily.
Divide the mixture between the two tins and use a spatula to gently smooth the surface of the cakes.
Bake the cakes in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, checking them after 20 minutes as some ovens may run hot.
When the cakes are cooked, they should be golden brown and slightly coming away from the eye of the tins.
Leave them to cool in the tin for five minutes and then turn them out to cool fully on a cooling rack.
To assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with plenty of jam. If using, now spread over the whipped cream.
Top with the second cake, top-side up and sprinkle over some icing sugar or caster sugar.
