The Classics: Victoria Sponge with Jam and Cream

Sometimes the classics are the best, and you can’t go far wrong with a Victoria Sponge with raspberry jam and freshly whipped cream. I made this for our neighbour at our student house to say thanks for bringing our bins in for the past two years, and giving us vegetables from his garden.

It’s an all in one sponge, so is dead easy – literally put all of the ingredients in in one go and you’re done! The trick is not to mess around, I believe the key to a light and airy sponge is just to get on with it, so read the recipe first so you know what’s coming up.

Victoria Sponge with Jam and Cream

Classic Victoria Sponge

Ingredients:

6oz self raising flour

6oz caster sugar

6oz marg

1.5tsp baking powder

1 capful vanilla essence

3 eggs

Splash of milk

Filling/Topping:

caster sugar to dust

2/3 tbsp jam (raspberry is my fav)

250ml double cream (whipped)

2 x 8 in diameter cake tins (at least 2 inches deep), greased and lined

170oC fan oven, 180oC for all other ovens

Method:

1. Put the flour, sugar, marg, baking powder, vanilla essence, eggs and a splash of milk into a large mixing bowl.
2. Using an electric whisk (if you haven’t got one a wooden spoon and elbow grease will do!) beat the ingredients into a smooth batter, shouldn’t take longer than 2/3 minutes. I think the secret to a really light, moist sponge is not to over work the batter at this stage, so once everything is combined, stop mixing!
3. Evenly divide the mixture between your two greased and lined tins, cleaning the bowl out with a spatula so as not to waste anything. Using a palette knife smooth out the surface of the batter, and make a slight indentation in the centre of each to ensure an even rise.
4. Place side by side into the middle of your preheated oven for 15 minutes.
5. To test if the cake is ready insert a sharp knife into the centre of each cake (or, if you’ve got one, I use a knitting needle to leave as small a hole in your cake as possible), if it comes out clean it’s ready, if not put it gently back into the oven for another 5 minutes then test again.
6. Once cooked turn out of the tin onto a wire rack and leave until completely cold.
7. Once they’re completely cold pick which cake you want to be on top (I usually go for the one with the most even colouring/less visible holes from the knitting needle). On the cake making up the bottom of your sponge gently spread the jam, then move it to the plate you’re going to keep the cake on. You can also use a cake tin lid for this, and then use the tin upside to keep your cake in.
8. Whip the cream into soft peaks and spread over the jam. Put the top cake gently on top of the creamed cake, sprinkle generously with caster sugar (using a teaspoon and tapping the handle is the easiest way to get an even sprinkling). 

Like I said, you can't beat the classics, and there really is nothing better than a slice of this iconic cake with a cup of tea! 

Once you're happy with this basic recipe you can start to experiment with flavours, decorations and combinations of the two, but that's for another time!

Happy Baking,

The Baking Ginger xx