Classic Victoria Sponge Food

CLASSIC VICTORIA SPONGE

Steps:

• Pre heat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4
• Grease and line 2 x 20cm/8in sandwich tins: use a piece of parchment paper to rub a little butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated. Then dust the inside of the tin with flour for extra non stick. You can also line the bottom of the tins with a circle of baking or silicone paper (to do this, draw around the base of the tin onto the paper and cut out).
• Break the eggs into a large stand mixer or mixing bowl, then add the sugar, flour, baking powder and butter. Then mix everything together until well combined. Be careful not to over-mix - as soon as everything is blended you should stop. The finished mixture should be of a soft 'dropping' consistency - it should fall off a spoon easily.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn't need to be exact, but you can weigh the filled tins if you want to. Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes. Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the door while they're cooking, but after 20 minutes do look through the door to check.
• Your cakes are ready when they are of a golden-brown colour and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check - they should be springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool in their tins for five minutes. Then run a palette knife around the inside edge of the tin and carefully turn the cakes out onto a wire cooling rack. To take your cakes out of the tins without leaving a wire rack mark on the top, put the clean tea towel over the tin, put your hand onto the tea towel and turn the tin upside-down. The cake should come out onto your hand and the tea towel - then you can turn it from your hand onto the wire rack.
• Set aside to cool completely. To assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with plenty of preserve. If you want to, you can spread over whipped cream too. Top with the second cake, top-side up. Sprinkle over the caster sugar. Then Simply Enjoy!

CLASSIC VICTORIA SPONGE RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then, add eggs, baking powder, vanilla and flour and mix well.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through and fluffy.
• To make buttercream, cream together icing sugar and butter and mix well.
• Once the cake has cooled, slice into two equal halves. Spread jam on the bottom and top with piped buttercream. Top with second cake half and a dusting of powdered sugar.

CLASSIC VICTORIA SANDWICH RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.
• In a large bowl, beat 200g caster sugar, 200g softened butter, 4 beaten eggs, 200g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 2 tbsp milk together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
• Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
• Bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed.
• Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
• To make the filling, beat the 100g softened butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in 140g sifted icing sugar and a drop of vanilla extract (if you're using it).
• Spread the buttercream over the bottom of one of the sponges. Top it with 170g strawberry jam and sandwich the second sponge on top.
• Dust with a little icing sugar before serving. Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.

CLASSIC VICTORIA SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
• Beat 3/4 cup butter and white sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one a time, mixing well between each addition. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat briefly until well-blended in the batter. Continue beating batter until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 minutes more.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl. Gently fold with a spoon just until smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a cake spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Beat confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract together in a bowl to make a smooth buttercream.
• Place one cake layer, flat-side up, on a serving platter. Spread buttercream evenly onto the cake with a spatula. Spread raspberry jam in an even layer over the buttercream, right to the edges. Place second layer, flat-side down, over the filling.

VICTORIA SANDWICH - CLASSIC ENGLISH SPONGE CAKE FOR TEA TIME

Steps:

• The measurements for this recipe are equal amounts of sugar, flour and fat to the weight of the eggs; Recipezaar will not allow me to post that as a measurement. Therefore, weigh the eggs first - if the eggs weigh 8 ounces, you will use 8 ounces of sugar, 8 ounces of butter or margarine and 8 ounces of flour. If the eggs weigh 6 ounces, all the other ingredients will be 6 ounces - easy!
• Set oven Gas 4 160C (fan oven), 180C or 360F: grease and base line the bottom of 2 x 8" sandwich tins - cake tins.
• Cream margarine or butter together with the sugar, until light and fluffy.
• Beat the eggs, and then add them to the mixture, gradually and beating well after each addition.
• Sieve the flour and fold into the mixture with a metal spoon.
• Divide equally between the 2 prepared tins and bake for 25 minutes in the middle of the oven.
• Remove and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from the tins and fill with raspberry jam (and cream if using) when cold, to avoid the cream melting or the jam seeping into the sponge.
• A light dusting of caster sugar or icing sugar on the top will finish it.
• Place on an attractive cake stand or plate, and serve in dainty wedges with freshly brewed tea.
• Cook's Notes.
• If you use butter remove from the fridge to soften before using. This is not necessary with soft margarine.
• If large eggs are used they may weigh 7 ½ ozs/210g. If so make sure you use this weight for the other ingredients.
• A smaller sandwich cake can be made with 2 medium eggs. Weight about 4 oz/55g. If so, use 2 x 7" sandwich tins and the cakes and the cakes will need less time in the oven - probably 20mins.
• Alternative measurements:.
• 3 eggs.
• 6 ounces soft margarine or butter.
• 6 ounces caster sugar.
• 6 ounces SR flour.
• Proceed as above for method.