Victoria Sponge with Raspberries

A British classic, this cake is really simple to make. Now, there isn’t any set recipe, because the ingredients are calculated according to what your eggs weigh. What I mean by that is, the weight of your 3 eggs (in their shells) determines the weight for your flour, butter, and sugar. For example, my 3 eggs weighed 201g, so my flour, butter, and sugar will also be 201g each.

All in all this cake was really fun to make, and I especially enjoyed the decorating aspect of it. First British Cake recipe ü

Victoria Sponge with Raspberries

Taken from Bake it Better: Classic Cakes, by Linda Collister

Ingredients

Sponge

3 Eggs, 201g

201g Sugar

201g Self-Rising Flour, sifted

201g Unsalted Butter, softened

¾ tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tbsp Warm Water

Filling

8 tbsp Raspberry Jam, I used Bonne Maman

150ml Whipping Cream

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

Fresh Raspberries, optional

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F, and line/grease 2 sandwich tins

2. Once you have weighed out your eggs, weigh out the flour/sugar/butter accordingly.

3. Place your butter in a bowl and beat it until creamy. Slowly add you sugar and beat until combined—should look light and fluffy. Add your eggs to the mixture one at a time, while beating thoroughly. Then add your vanilla extract and continue to whisk.

4. Add your sifted flour, and incorporate by gently folding it into the batter wth a spoon or spatula. Add the warm water and continue to fold until batter is consistent and smooth. DO NOT OVERMIX.

5. Equally divide the batter into 2 baking tins (or one large one). This cake will rise, so don’t worry if you think that there is very little batter in the trays. Bake for 20-25 mins until tester is clean and cake is golden. The sponge should spring back when lightly pressed.

6. When ready, remove from oven and let cool in tins for 5 mins. Then remove the sponge from the tins and continue cooling on a wire rack.

7. When sponges are cool, use the back of a tablespoon to evenly spread the jam over the sponge.

8. Pour your whipping cream in a bowl, add the vanilla extract, and whisk until thick, and soft peaks form. Spoon/use a piping bag to place the whipped cream on top of your jam layer. If using a spoon, make sure you spread it evenly. I also placed fresh raspberries on top of the whipped cream layer, but that is entirely optional.

add the jam in an even layer

add whipped cream

add raspberries

9. Place the second sponge on top, crust side-up, and dust with icing sugar. I also placed a few leftover raspberries I had, just to make it look pretty. Again, this is optional. Enjoy!