Classic Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a good sponge cake? ›

Go with room temperature ingredients

Make sure that the butter you use is not too cold. Using cold butter can make you over-mix since it takes a long time to thoroughly mix butter, sugar and eggs. You can end up with a cake that is too heavy. Avoid all that by simply using room temperature ingredients.

If your sponge has come out too heavy or dense but cooked through, this could be due to under-mixing. Mixing is an important step in incorporating lots of air so that the sponge becomes light and fluffy. It could also be due to the fact that there weren't enough raising agents used.

Queen Elizabeth II's pastry chef shared her favourite recipe for Victoria Sponge Cake - and we can't wait to try it out for ourselves. The Victoria Sponge 🍰 was named after Queen Victoria, who regularly ate a slice of sponge cake with her tea, each afternoon!

With our naturally lower gluten plain flour, made from “softer” British wheat, it gives the cake an airy quality. Queen of cakes Mary Berry insists that margarine makes for a lighter texture than butter.

By mixing them too fast, you'll destroy the air bubbles, which will result in your sponge cake flattening. Better mix them longer and it will end up just perfect. The egg yolks and egg whites should be mixed together. If you mix them separately, there is a high chance to overmix the egg whites.

Eggs are the key to making your sponge cake fluffy and moist. You will want to beat your whole eggs with the sugar until the volume increases by three times. You will want to make sure you don't overbeat the eggs, as this will result in a flat cake.

The key to an airy sponge, is... well air! In each stage of the sponge making process you need to add as much airiness as you can. Once your flour is measured, hold the sieve a few inches above your mixing bowl, pour the flour into the sieve and gently sift away, this will ensure a light sponge once baked.

Select the best looking sponge for the top layer and then lay the other one, top side down on your serving dish. Spread the jam over the bottom layer, and then whip the cream to soft peaks and spread over the jam. Place the other layer on top and dust with icing or caster sugar when serving.

Too Much Flour

A cake batter with too much flour will be dry, crumbly, and heavy. To avoid this, make sure you weigh your flour instead of scooping it. Although it's quick, scooping with a measuring cup can easily result in too much flour.

Posted on www.today.com (Read original article here.) “This chocolate biscuit cake is Her Royal Majesty the Queen's favorite afternoon tea cake by far,” chef Darren McGrady, The Royal Chef and former personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, told TODAY Food.

What cake did the Queen have at her wedding? ›

The Majesty of Queen Elizabeth's: Royal Wedding Cake

The result was a magnificent four-tiered fruit cake standing at nine feet tall. The cake design was an epitome of royalty with intricate sugar-work representing the couple's family crests, symbols of love and friendship, and scenes from their lives.

The Victorian creation of baking powder by English food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge.

Stewart told the publication she tends to bake with two different butter brands: Vermont Creamery and Kerrygold. Even though they're “just butter,” Vermont Creamery's cultured butter and Kerrygold's Irish butter are anything but basic.

If there is too little raising agent, or it is out of date, there won't be enough gas for a rise. Maybe my oven is too hot? Rising happens during the first two thirds of the baking time, this is followed by setting. If it is too hot then the outside will set before all the gas has expanded and the cake will not rise.

Prepare ahead: The cake is best eaten on the day of baking, but it will keep in an airtight container for 1–2 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months: freeze the unfilled layers separately, with the base papers on. Wrap each layer in foil and put in a freezer bag.

What creaming does is it introduces air into the mixture, creating small air pockets. During baking, these air pockets expand due to the leavening agents (like baking powder or baking soda), leading to a light and fluffy texture.

Add a leavening agent to the flour. Most cakes will call for a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. These create the bubbles you need for the cake to rise.

Make sure that all of the ingredients are at room temperature. If the ingredients are at different temperatures then they may not combine properly and the cake will be dense. If the eggs are stored in the fridge then remove them several hours before using, so they are properly at room temperature.