How to make your Victorian Sponge Cake at home

After a small dinner party or a casual celebration, a sponge cake is one of my favorite dessert options. Additionally, it works really well as a breakfast.

Making a delicious sponge cake is neither a well-kept secret nor an especially challenging culinary endeavor. And Victorian sponge or as some British affectionately calls it Vicky sponge is one of the popular sponge cake which is also easy to make

Victorian Sponge Cake

Easy to make, Victoria sponge cake is a traditional, everyday English treat. It’s best served at teatime. Queen Victoria herself, who legend has it did indeed enjoy a slice every day at 4:00 p.m. This delicate sponge cake filled with jam and cream is the stuff of village fetes. Typically, raspberry jam and whipped double cream (slightly thicker version of American heavy cream), are spread between its two layers.

The recipe evolved from the classic pound cake made with equal proportions of flour, fat, sugar and eggs. The invention of baking powder in 1843 by English food manufacturer Alfred Bird allowed the cake to rise higher than was previously possible.

The pound cake became popular in Britain in the eighteenth century as cake moved away from its heavy, fruity incarnations toward something lighter and more golden, eventually becoming the iconic Victoria sponge which is also known as Victoria sandwich cake

Why is it called a Victoria sponge cake?

The Victoria sponge or Victoria sandwich cake, was named after Queen Victoria, who was known to enjoy the small cakes with her afternoon tea. Anna, the Duchess of Bedford (1788-1861), one of Queen Victoria’s (1819-1901) ladies-in-waiting, is credited as the creator of teatime. Adopting the European tea service format, she invited friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o’clock in her rooms at Belvoir Castle.

This summer practice proved so popular, the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for “tea and a walking the fields”. Queen Victoria adopted the new craze for tea parties.  By 1855, the Queen and her ladies were in formal dress for the afternoon teas.  This simple cake was one of the queen’s favorites. According to historians, it was here that the Victoria Sponge Cake were named after Queen Victoria.

The cake’s name should really be The Royal Victoria Sponge, as its name harks back to Queen Victoria herself! The version Queen Victoria ate would have been filled with jam alone, but modern versions often include cream.

Ingredients

1. 200g caster sugar
2. 200g softened butter
3. 4 eggs, beaten
4. 200g self-raising flour
5. 1 tsp baking powder
6. 2 tbsp milk

For the filling

1. 100g butter, softened
2. 140g icing sugar, sifted
3. drop vanilla extract (optional)
4. half a 340g jar good-quality strawberry jam
5. icing sugar, to decorate
   
   
   

Directions

• STEP 1: Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.
• STEP 2: 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.
• STEP 3: Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
• STEP 4: Bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed.
• STEP 5: Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
• STEP 6: 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).
• STEP 7: Spread the buttercream over the bottom of one of the sponges. Top it with 170g strawberry jam and sandwich the second sponge on top.
• STEP 8: Dust with a little icing sugar before serving. Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.
  
  
  

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

• 279 calories;
• protein 3.1g;
• carbohydrates 22.9g;
• fat 19.8g;
• cholesterol 87mg;
• sodium 223.3mg.
  
  
  

Let’s try some twists to the beloved dessert

There’s lots of minor variations, every cook has their own version.

A traditional Victoria sponge only has jam. If you put cream in as well it tastes wonderful but the cake must be stored in the fridge.

I also use both and also use lemon curd which is wonderful

Feel free to substitute other flavors of tart jam for the raspberry. Apricot and blackberry work particularly well.

You can also use same weight of the eggs and sugar, SR flour plus a bit of baking powder and Stork (fat designed for baking) and the very best quality vanilla extract you can find.

My cakes came out really flat

Be careful not to over work the batter as that will develop the gluten in the flour and make your cake stiffer/less able to rise. Another common problem is with oven temperature not being acurate, I always use an oven thermometer to make sure the proper temperature is reached. You’d be surprised how often ovens are way out from what they say they are. Hope this helps.

Another problem can be your flour or baking powder was too old

My sponge tasted a tad dry

Make a vanilla syrup and pour it over while warm out of the oven

Can I use CAKE FLOUR instead of self rising flour

Yes you can. But if you do, you should add 1 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder to each cup of cake flour.

Is it possible to omit margarine from the recipe and replace it with all butter

Butter is good for taste but cake can be dry…margarine keeps cake lighter and moist. The combination of the two—butter and margarine—creates a lighter texture for the cake than what it would have in just using butter. So both are used together for both reasons