Victoria Sponge Cake
This is an easy and elegant dessert. The reason why it's called Victoria sponge is because back in the older days Queen Victoria of The Great Britain often called out this dessert for the afternoon tea time...
This cake pairs really well with tea or milk but I prefer tea.
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3 eggs.
The original recipe states that weight your eggs with the shell and then measure the exact same weight for sugar, flour and butter. But I find that makes the cake a little bit too dense and sweet for me and most "asians" so I change it up a little bit.
2 big bowls for mixing and whipping
A spatula or something looks like a spatula ( if you don't know what a spatula looks like, google it)
1-2 18 cm cake tins lined with parchment paper or buttered and floured to prevent sticking
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200 gr Butter_Room temperature (Just take your butter out of the freezer and leave it in a warm place for an hour or 2)
150 gr Sugar
200 gr of self raising flour
1- 1.5 tbsp tbsp of milk
1-2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
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1- 2 tsp Sugar
Strawberry Jam (or whatever Jam you like)
Fresh strawberries
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2. Put in the eggs one by one and beat until the mixture become homogeneous.
3. Turn the mixer on slow speed and slowly add milk and vanilla extract in
4. Sift in flour and using a spatula gently fold it in until it just incorporated. You don't want to over mix the batter at this point. You'll find that unlike the other cakes you've seen, the batter is quite thick
5. You can either divide the batter in to 2 fairly equal part into 2 18 cm cake tins and bake it in a preheated oven at 350 F or 180 C for about 15-18 minutes or just put the batter in one tin and bake it in a preheated oven at the same temp for 30-35 minutes or until you insert a toothpick ( or a skewer or a knife, whatever you have) into the center of the cake and it comes out clean but looks like there's a little moisture on it then you're done. If it comes out completely dry that means you overcooked it and if there's some wet batter sticks on it then just leave it in the oven for 3-5 more minutes.
6. Take it out of the oven, leave it in the tins for 5-10 mins then take it out of the tins by running a knife around the edges and flip the tins upside down. Then just leave the cake there for 30 min- 1 hr or until it's cool completely. During that time, if you're using one cake tin you should use a sharp knife to cut it in half.
7. Slice your strawberries in to thin slices. Leave some in halves and quarters for further decoration
8. Whip the cream and sugar on medium speed until it forms soft peaks (2-3 minute). If you'll be eating the cake in days, you should whip it to stiff peaks (3-4 minute). This stage is quite risky so be careful not to over whip your cream. You can test it by running your finger through the cream and if it leaves a trail then you know that the cream has reached a desire stiffness
9. Place a layer of the sponge at the bottom, then layer on some jam, then cream, then fresh strawberries slices, then cream and last but not least the other sponge on top. For decoration, put a little whoop of cream at the middle and then randomly place your strawberry halves and quarters on top.
You cake sift on top a little bit of cacao powder or powder sugar for a "dreamy" effect.
ENJOY
This cake pairs really well with tea or milk but I prefer tea.
3 eggs.
The original recipe states that weight your eggs with the shell and then measure the exact same weight for sugar, flour and butter. But I find that makes the cake a little bit too dense and sweet for me and most "asians" so I change it up a little bit.
Tools
Hand or stand mixer2 big bowls for mixing and whipping
A spatula or something looks like a spatula ( if you don't know what a spatula looks like, google it)
1-2 18 cm cake tins lined with parchment paper or buttered and floured to prevent sticking
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Sponge
3 eggs200 gr Butter_Room temperature (Just take your butter out of the freezer and leave it in a warm place for an hour or 2)
150 gr Sugar
200 gr of self raising flour
1- 1.5 tbsp tbsp of milk
1-2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
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Filling
200 ml Heavy Cream or Whipping cream or Heavy whipping cream1- 2 tsp Sugar
Strawberry Jam (or whatever Jam you like)
Fresh strawberries
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How to
1. Whip up the butter and sugar on medium speed until the color turns in to a really pale yellow. It takes at least 5 min.2. Put in the eggs one by one and beat until the mixture become homogeneous.
3. Turn the mixer on slow speed and slowly add milk and vanilla extract in
4. Sift in flour and using a spatula gently fold it in until it just incorporated. You don't want to over mix the batter at this point. You'll find that unlike the other cakes you've seen, the batter is quite thick
5. You can either divide the batter in to 2 fairly equal part into 2 18 cm cake tins and bake it in a preheated oven at 350 F or 180 C for about 15-18 minutes or just put the batter in one tin and bake it in a preheated oven at the same temp for 30-35 minutes or until you insert a toothpick ( or a skewer or a knife, whatever you have) into the center of the cake and it comes out clean but looks like there's a little moisture on it then you're done. If it comes out completely dry that means you overcooked it and if there's some wet batter sticks on it then just leave it in the oven for 3-5 more minutes.
6. Take it out of the oven, leave it in the tins for 5-10 mins then take it out of the tins by running a knife around the edges and flip the tins upside down. Then just leave the cake there for 30 min- 1 hr or until it's cool completely. During that time, if you're using one cake tin you should use a sharp knife to cut it in half.
7. Slice your strawberries in to thin slices. Leave some in halves and quarters for further decoration
8. Whip the cream and sugar on medium speed until it forms soft peaks (2-3 minute). If you'll be eating the cake in days, you should whip it to stiff peaks (3-4 minute). This stage is quite risky so be careful not to over whip your cream. You can test it by running your finger through the cream and if it leaves a trail then you know that the cream has reached a desire stiffness
9. Place a layer of the sponge at the bottom, then layer on some jam, then cream, then fresh strawberries slices, then cream and last but not least the other sponge on top. For decoration, put a little whoop of cream at the middle and then randomly place your strawberry halves and quarters on top.
You cake sift on top a little bit of cacao powder or powder sugar for a "dreamy" effect.
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