Victoria Sponge
My grandmother taught me that you could use stork instead of butter for a lighter, less dense sponge . Always use eggs that are room temperature and the best tip of all is to add the wet ingredients into the creamed butter & sugar in slow a gentle stream, take your time. Add the flour a spoonful at a time.
The Sponge
200g caster sugar
200g stork (butter can make for a heavy sponge)
4 eggs, beaten
200g self-r
aising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
For the filling
100g butter softened
140g icing sugar, sifted
drop vanilla extract (optional)
half a 340g jar good-quality strawberry jam (we used Tiptree Little Scarlet)
icing sugar, to decorate
Or for a little more luxury, you can make Chantilly cream and quarter up fresh strawberries, fold together, gently. Don’t forget to spread a little of the strawberry jam on the bottom sponge.
Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.
In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed.
Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
To make the filling, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar. Beat in vanilla extract if you’re using it.
Spread the butter cream over the bottom of one of the sponges. Top it with jam and sandwich the second sponge on top.
Dust with a little icing sugar before serving. Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.