Dessert

Victoria sponge cake

Name: Victoria sponge cake recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 80 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Unsalted butter, at room temperature (amount depending on weight of eggs), plus extra, melted, for greasing; 4 eggs; Caster (superfine) sugar (amount depending on weight of eggs); Self-raising flour (amount depending on weight of eggs); 250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) double (heavy) cream; 80.00 ml strawberry jam; 1 handful ripe strawberries, sliced or quartered; Icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting

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30m

1h 20m

Victoria sponge cake. Source: Sam A Harris — Recipe extracts taken from The British Cookbook, published by Phaidon $74.95, on sale now.

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by Ben Mervis

BEN MERVIS, FOOD HISTORIAN

Dec 08, 2022

"The classic British sponge is a light and fluffy cake made with equal parts of butter, sugar and flour, beaten together with eggs. A popular way to serve sponge cake is to sandwich it with jam and sweetened whipped cream – this is the method you will find in the recipe below. The combination is said to originate with Queen Victoria, who enjoyed her cakes split and spread with a layer of jam. The Victoria sandwich has since become a staple of tearooms, bakeries and cafés, and an iconic cake for all occasions." Recipe extracts taken from The British Cookbook, published by Phaidon $74.95, on sale now.

Unsalted butter, at room temperature (amount depending on weight of eggs), plus extra, melted, for greasing
4 eggs
Caster (superfine) sugar (amount depending on weight of eggs)
Self-raising flour (amount depending on weight of eggs)
250 ml/8 fl oz (1 cup) double (heavy) cream
4 tablespoons strawberry jam
1 handful ripe strawberries, sliced or quartered
Icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting

Method

1.

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2. Using a little melted butter, grease a 20 cm/8 inch loose-bottom or springform cake pan and line the bottom and sides with baking (parchment) paper.
2.

Weigh the eggs in their shells to determine the weight of the other cake ingredients,. For example, if the eggs weigh 240 g/8 1/2 oz in total, then you will need 240 g/8 1/2 oz of butter, sugar and flour.
3.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and set aside.
4.

Put the butter and sugar into a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on slow speed to incorporate, then gradually increase the speed and beat until the mix is light and fluffy, scraping down the sides with a spatula.
5.

Once the butter and sugar are pale and airy, add the eggs, one at a time. With each egg also add 1 tablespoon of flour and mix on medium speed until the egg is well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Repeat this process until you have incorporated all the eggs.
6.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a spatula, gently fold in the remaining flour. Spoon the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 1 hour 20 minutes, checking after 1 hour. The cake should be golden in colour, gently risen, equal in texture all over and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool still in the pan on a wire rack.
7.

Meanwhile, put the cream into a large bowl and whisk to soft peaks. Once the cake is cold, turn it out of the pan and carefully slice it horizontally into 3 equal parts. Put the bottom third onto a serving plate and spread with half the jam, followed by half the cream and half the strawberry pieces dotted across the cream. Gently put the middle cake slice onto the top and repeat the process with the remaining jam, cream and strawberries. Top with the final cake slice and dust liberally with icing (confectioners’) sugar to finish.