Victoria Sandwich Cake

My adaptation of the traditional Victoria sandwich, is baked using the “all in one” method, and this sponge should cut into 8 pieces.

You will need:

• 6 oz, 175 g, of soft butter or margarine at room temperature.
• 6 oz, 175 g, of caster sugar.
• 6 oz, 175 g, of self raising flour.
• 3 medium sized eggs, at room temperature.
• 1 and a half level tsps of baking powder.
• a few drops of vanilla essence or extract.

Set the oven to Gas Mark 4, 350 f, 180 c, 160 fan.

With a little extra butter or margarine, grease then line the bases of 2 7 inch (18 cm) diameter, 1
and a half to 2 inches (4 and a half to
5 cm) deep sandwich cake tins with greaseproof or silicone (bakewell) paper,
or a ready-made cake tin liner, then lightly grease the paper again. (See
glossary, lining cake tins) for further information.

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.
2. Weigh out the sugar, and butter or margarine, and add them to the bowl.
3. Break each egg separately into a small bowl to make sure that it is fresh, before transferring
   them into the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients.
4. Add a few drops of vanilla essence, but cover the top of the bottle with the tip of one finger to
   prevent too much coming out all at once, remember that vanilla extract is less
   concentrated. If you prefer you can
   transfer the essence or extract into a clean glass dropper bottle and dispense it by inserting the glass dropper into
   the bottle, squeezing the bulbous rubber top to draw up a small amount, then
   squeezing its contence into the mixing bowl.
   Please be careful though, because even using this method it is still
   possible to dispense too much. It might
   be a good idea to monitor the amount being dispensed, with a finger.
5. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the ingredients together well. When thoroughly mixed, which should only
   take a few minutes, it will be a little bit softer than a normal light sponge,
   what’s called a “soft dropping consistency”, which means that it will fall easily
   from the spoon when it is shaken lightly over the bowl.
6. Transfer the mixture, a tablespoon at a time, alternately, into the two prepared tins.
7. Level the top of each tin with a flat bladed palette knife by keeping the blade flat (horizontal), and skimming it across the top, from edge to edge, giving
   the tin a quarter turn each time to evenly distribute the mixture.
8. Transfer the tins to the centre shelf of the pre-heated oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, by
   which time your cake should be firm but springy to the touch and shrinking away
   from the sides of the tin slightly, (see glossary is my cake cooked) for more
   information.
9. Don’t be tempted to check on the progress of your sponge until it has been in the oven for at least
   25 minutes or a little earlier if you are using a fan oven.
10. Leave the cakes in the tin to cool for just a couple of minutes before tipping them out onto a wire
    rack to cool completely.
11. Don’t forget to remove the lining paper before spreading to or 3 tablespoons of strawberry jam, over
    the base of one of the sponges with a flat bladed palette knife. Now sandwich the two sponges together,
    pressing gently all the way round to create a good seal.
12. Dust the top of the cake with a little sifted icing sugar before storing in an airtight tin.

This cake will keep for 3 to 4 days, but my guess is that you will want to eat it straight away while the sponge is moist.