Victoria Sponge
Who doesn't love a simple Victoria sponge cake?
Below is my favourite recipe taken from The River Cottage Collection.
Ingredients
175g self raising flour
pinch of sea salt
175g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened
175g caster or vanilla sugar, plus extra to finish
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten
1tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp. soft set raspberry jam
Equipment
2 x 20cm sandwich tins or a 23cm round tin, lightly greased and base lined with baking parchment
Method
pre heat oven to 190C/gas mark 4
Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl and put aside
In a large bowl beat the butter to a cream
Add the caster sugar and continue to beat until light and creamy ( this will take around 5 mins using an electric whisk and 10 mins by hand) The lighter and fluffier the mixture is the easier it will be to blend in the eggs, which in turns helps to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the eggs about a quarter at a time, adding 1tbsp of the weighed out flour with each addition and beating thoroughly before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla extract with the last of the egg.
Sift in the rest of the flour, half at a time and use a metal spoon to carefully fold it in. The mixture should drop off the spoon easily when tapped against the side of the bowl. If it doesn't then add a spoonful of hot water.
Divide the mixture equally between the prepared sandwich tins, spreading it out evenly with the back of a spoon.
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes or until the cake(s) are lightly golden and spring back into shape when gently pressed with a finger.
Leave the cakes in the tins to cool for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
When cold spread on cake layer with the jam, place the second on top and dust lightly with caster sugar.
This cake will keep for 5 days in an air tight container.
I know this cake definitely doesn't last 5 days in my house!
Put the kettle on and enjoy.
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