Home

Victoria sponge cake

17/11/2023

The Victoria Sponge Cake is a classic British pastry, a soft and buttery cake named after Queen Victoria. Let me guide you through the process of preparing this delicious treat.

Ingredients

  • 200 g of soft butter, plus a little extra for greasing the tins
  • 200 g of caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 4 medium-sized eggs
  • 200 g of self-raising flour, sifted
  • A pinch of salt
  • A few spoonfuls of strawberry jam
  • Icing sugar for dusting

For the filling:

  • 100 g of soft butter
  • 140 g of icing sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons of milk

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 190 °C (170 °C fan-assisted). Grease and flour two round 20 cm cake tins or line them with baking paper.

  2. In a large bowl, beat the soft butter with the caster sugar and vanilla extract until the mixture is light and fluffy.

  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture starts to separate, add a spoonful of flour to stabilise it.

  4. Gently fold in the sifted flour and pinch of salt, taking care not to deflate the batter.

  5. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins and level the surface with a spatula.

  6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Once baked, let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the tins, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling: 7. While the cakes are cooling, prepare the filling by beating the soft butter with the sifted icing sugar, vanilla extract and milk until you have a smooth and spreadable mixture.

Assembly: 8. When the cakes are completely cool, spread the strawberry jam over one of the two bases. On the same one with the jam, also spread the buttercream.

  1. Carefully place the second cake on top and press down lightly to adhere.

  2. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Curiosity

The Victoria Sponge Cake was much loved by Queen Victoria, who is said to have enjoyed a slice of this cake with her afternoon tea, thus inaugurating the British tradition of “tea time”. To pay homage to Italian cuisine, you could try spreading a bit of mascarpone mixed with icing sugar between the layers instead of the buttercream, for an Italian creamy touch.

Victoria sponge cake