Victoria Sponges are a classic. The most basic and simple sponge to make and yet so easily adaptable and enjoyed by many. A lot of my sandwich cakes have a base of a Victoria Sponge but with other flavours added in. Yet today I’m sharing with just the classic sponge on it’s own, with a simple vanilla buttercream and blackcurrant jam sandwiching the two sponges together.
Ingredients
For The Sponges
- 200g Stork
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 200g Self Raising Flour
- 4 Eggs
- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract
For The Buttercream
- 100g Butter, softened
- 160g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract
- A Splash Of Milk
- Blackcurrant Jam
Method
1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line two 8inch sandwich trays with greaseproof paper.
2. In a bowl place your stork and caster sugar. Cream together until pale and fluffy.
3. Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until well combined, taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl so nothing is left sitting on the side.
4. Repeat with the next three eggs, each one incorporated fully, taking care to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
5- Fold in the remaining flour alongside your vanilla extract. Take care when folding it through as beating the mixture unneccasarily can cause it to lose it's air and will leave you with a flat, tough, chewy cake.
6- Spoon your prepared mixture between your two prepared tins and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a skewere comes out clean.You can also do the spring back test by gently pressing the top of the cake with your middle finger. If it springs back immediately then it's cooked, if it doesn't then it needs a few more minutes in the oven. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it's onto the buttercream. Place your softened butter in a clean bowl and beat until smooth, soft and paler in colour. I advise using a stand mixer or a hand mixer as this can take a while and if you attempt to do this by hand you'll likely end up with cramp.
8- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until completely combined.
9- Sieve in the rest of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated, taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl so there aren't pockets of icing sugar sat in your mixture.
10- Beat in your vanilla and a splash of milk. These will help to get your buttercream to an easy spreading or piping consistency but won't make it overly runny. Mine looks a lot softer than normal because I made it during a hotter than normal day/
11- By now your cakes will have cooled. Now how you apply your buttercream is entirely up to you. I spread mine over as it was easier than piping but you can easily pipe a cute desgin with a piping nozzle of your choice.
12- Once you've applied you buttercream, apply a generous amount of jam and sandwich the two cakes together. If when you make this it's warmer than normal, don't push them down when you sandwich the sponges. It'll cause the icing and the jam to ooze out the sides and you'll end up with a sloppy mess that you won't want to share with anyone.
13- Then all that's left is to cut yourself a generous slice and enjoy with a cuppa or a coffee.
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