[Victoria Sponge] Regal tea cake sealed by Queen Victoria

The Victoria sponge (cake) is named in honor of Queen Victoria of England.

It is said that a slice of the sponge cake with extra fat, i.e. whipped cream, was the Queen's favorite treats with her afternoon tea.

A typical Victoria sponge consists of raspberry jam and whipped double cream. And the jam and cream are sandwiched between two sponge cakes, which is why the cake is often called Victoria Sandwich.

Victoria Sponge cake is not a strictly sponge such as Genoa Sponge. However, it is easy to make, and also very good. :) The cake is made only with common ingredients.
And another bonus is that you don't need to use an electronical device to make this scrumptious cake. Your own and/or your other half's man power will do. :)

Queen Victoria is the great-great-grand mother of Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned England and other  colonies. It was her reign when England was called the "empire on which the sun never sets".

(Source: http://www.general-anaesthesia.com/images/queen-victoria.html)
She became the queen when she was only 18, and did lots of good things as well as bad things. She was a stubborn monarch who reigned the country longer than any other British king/queens in the history. However, I believe her record will be broken in a couple of years by her great-great-grand daughter, Elizabeth II. :)

Bref~

I have used this recipe for a few years. I believe it was adapted from a BBC recipe which I couldn't find after a crazy search. :( 


Anyway, the recipe is all converted to volume measure from the original weight measure. I use European recipes often, but still I convert them to volume-measured recipes since I do not appreciate weighing all my ingredients before I cook. I find weight measuring method takes at least 3 times longer than volume measuring one.

I always try to make it in a traditional way. But, there still  is ont thing that doesn't meet the "Traditional standtard":

I use extra raising agent, i.e. baking powder. In traditional method in Britain, self-rising flour is used instead of extra raising agent. Usually, I don't use self-rising flour. So~ I quickly decided to use flour+ a little bit of baking powder instead, as mordern Victoria Sponge recipes do.

Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients
1 Cup butter, softened at room temperature
1 Cup sugar
2 Cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoon baking powder
milk, to loosen

Filling
2 Cup whipped cream
1 Cup Raspberry(or strawberry) jam

** You need two tins of 7-inch (18cm) round tins. **

How to make

1.Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

2.Grease and line 2 x 7 inch(2 x 18 cm) cake tins with parchment paper.
(Lining is only an option :))

3. Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
This step is normally completed by Mr. D.

The status of the creamed butter is like the picture above, before the first egg is added.

4.Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract.
If the batter is cluttered, add about a tablespoon flour and continue beating.

5.Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and fold in the flour using a large metal spoon.

Please do not overmix!

Add a little extra milk if necessary, to create a batter with a soft dropping consistency.

6. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula.

7.Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8. Cool a little, then turn them out and peel off the parchment paper. Cool off completely on a wire rack.

9. Meanwhile, make whipping cream~ with a hand or stand mixer.

10. As the cake was risen by baking powder, cake tops are slightly risen.
I cut off the top. But it's up to you.

11. Layer the two cakes with the jam and cream - to make a sandwich.

Top with the second layer of the sponge cake.

12. Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar.

The drizzled cream and jam of Victoria sponge always stimulates my appetite. :)

I don't drink coffee.

As a tea drinker, I love having a slice of Victoria sponge with my favorite black tea, English breakfast or Darjeeling or Assam, with cream. :D So, it means that I have some regal traits shared by a Queen. :)

The cake is very easy to make. I bake it for a birthday too.

Enjoy :)

Victoria Sponge Cake