This cake and beloved friend Abdul Karim saved the English queen Victoria from missing her late beloved husband, Prince Albert. How many millions of pieces of Victoria sandwich cakes were baked in the UK since then history is silent, but even now it often decorates family parties and the windows of English Tea houses.
This cake and beloved friend Abdul Karim saved the English queen Victoria from missing her late beloved husband, Prince Albert. How many millions of pieces of Victoria sandwich cakes were baked in the UK since then history is silent, but even now it often decorates family parties and the windows of English Tea houses.- Prep time: 10 minutes, plus 10 minutes’ chilling
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Serves: 8
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: cake
- Cookware: 2 round 24cm cake tins, silicone spatula, cooling rack
- Cuisine: English
Ingredients
For the sponges:
- 225 g flour
- 250 g butter, room temperature
- 225 g icing sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste
- butter for greasing
For the filling:
- 4 tbsp berry jam
- 200 ml double cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar, plus some for dusting
Cooking method
Step 1⠀
Heat the oven to 180°C. Beat together all the ingredients in the stand mixer until smooth. Butter cake tins and line the bottom with parchment paper. Pour the cake mixture evenly into the tins. Tap the tins lightly on the table to spread the dough. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Turn out the cakes onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment paper and leave to cool.
Step 2
Beat the cream with icing sugar in a mixer until thick and even. Put one of the sponges on a dish and top with jam, then cream. Cover with a second sponge. Dust the cake with icing sugar and serve.
My tips and tricks:
I do not like to pierce my golden and smooth sponges with skewers, in order to check if they are ready. So not to spoil their ideal surface. I do it differently. I check if the cake is ready with my hands. In general, I like to touch food. And food loves hands very much. By the way, it is very easy to check whether a person likes to cook: if yes, they will touch everything on the market, they will not be afraid to get dirty in flour and dough, pick up raw chicken or fish, put their finger in a saucepan to check the temperature of the chocolate, or put their hand over frying pan with hot oil, to determine if it is hot enough for frying. Well, let’s go back to the sponge, you just need to press it gently with your finger right in the middle. If the cake regains its shape, it is ready. Instead of jam, in the summer it is better to use fresh strawberries or other berries for Victoria sandwich. And if you would like a contrasting sweet and savoury taste, take lemon or orange curd.
- For the sponges:
- 225 g flour
- 250 g butter, room temperature
- 225 g icing sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste
- butter for greasing
- For the filling:
- 4 tbsp berry jam
- 200 ml double cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar, plus some for dusting
- Heat the oven to 180°C. Beat together all the ingredients in the stand mixer until smooth. Butter cake tins and line the bottom with parchment paper. Pour the cake mixture evenly into the tins. Tap the tins lightly on the table to spread the dough. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Turn out the cakes onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment paper and leave to cool.
- Beat the cream with icing sugar in a mixer until thick and even. Put one of the sponges on a dish and top with jam, then cream. Cover with a second sponge. Dust the cake with icing sugar and serve.