Jassy Davis
Victoria sandwich cakes are the backbone of English baking - the stuff village fetes, stern home economics teachers and the WI are made of. Modern Victoria sponges come with a layer of whipped cream. If you are using cream, the cake is best eaten on the day it's made.
Prep time:20 minutes
Cook time:20-25 minutes
Makes: 8-10Ingredients:
220g salted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
220g caster sugar
6 medium eggs, beaten
220g self-raising flour, sifted
150ml double cream, softly whipped
100–150g strawberry or raspberry jam
Icing sugar, for dusting
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 3/170°C/fan oven 150°C. Butter two x 18cm round sandwich cake tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Set aside.
2. Beat the butter until soft and creamy, then beat in the sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg, a little at a time, until combined. Sift in the flour and fold in to make a thick cake batter.
3. Divide the cake mixture between the 2 cake tins and level the surfaces. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cakes are risen, golden and springy to the touch. A skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean.
4. Leave the cakes in the tins for a couple of minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely cool one cake risen-side-down and one cake flat-side down. Once cold, peel off the baking parchment.
5. Place the cake that cooled risen-side-down on a serving plate with the risen side down (it will have marks from the wire rack on it that you want to hide from view). Spread the cream over the cake, then spoon over the jam. Place the other cake flat-side-down on top and dust with icing sugar to serve.