Hello Eat Live Run readers!
My name’s Angharad and I write the blog Eating for England, where you’ll find delicious recipes and tales of my food experiences growing up in England and living, as I do now, in the United States.
The recipe I’m going to share with you today is a classic British cake, the Victoria sponge. It’s named after Queen Victoria and is often served at afternoon teas in England. If hosting afternoon tea isn’t on your typical weekend agenda, fear not; this is an excellent every day cake.
It’s light and airy making it dangerously easy to eat a huge slice of. The layers of jam and cream sandwiched between the two cake layers make it perfectly sweet.
The Victoria Sponge is often overlooked for flashier cakes these days but I love it for its simplicity and elegance. It’s modest, sweet, and quintessentially British. I hope you enjoy it!
Victoria Sponge Cake
makes 2 cake layers to yield one sandwich cake
Ingredients:
knob of butter, melted
1 cup (8oz) butter, softened
1 cup (8oz) sugar
4 large free-range eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (8oz) all-purpose flour, sifted (you may need a bit extra)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
For the filling:
strawberry jam
1 cup heavy whipping cream, lightly whipped
To serve:
powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Gently heat the knob of butter in a pan and brush two 8 inch cake tins with the melted butter. Line the bottom of the two cake tins with a circle of greaseproof paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, using an electric whisk or a wooden spoon. Beat well to ensure you get lots of air into the mixture.
Beat in the eggs one at a time. You want to avoid the mixture curdling, so that it stays airy. If it does curdle, add a tbsp of flour.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients using a large metal spoon (this will cut into the mixture better than a wooden spoon). Be careful not to over-mix it. Pour the mixture equally between the two cake tins and level.
Place in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the cakes are well-risen, spring back when pressed gently with a finger and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place onto a wire rack and let cool completely, about an hour.
Sandwich the cakes together with the jam and whipped cream. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.
Liv @ The Salty n' Sweet
May 10, 2011 at 5:42 amThis sounds (and looks) right up my alley! It reminds me of a jelly roll, though I don’t know if they’d taste the same.
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Estela @ Weekly Bite
May 10, 2011 at 5:54 amThis cake looks perfect for summer! Yum 🙂
Stacie @ Imperfectly Healthy
May 10, 2011 at 5:57 amMmmm…that looks pretty incredible!
Jenny @ Fitness Health and Food
May 10, 2011 at 6:03 amohhh I love how light and airy it looks!
perfect cake that won’t sit like a brick in my tummy! thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat
May 10, 2011 at 6:05 amOoh yummy! It reminds me a bit of a great big Jammy Dodger, but in cake form!
Baking 'n' Books
May 10, 2011 at 6:06 amThis is all kinds of lovely…but I’m not sure that waking up to cake on my screen is the best thing for me….;)
megan @ whatmegansmaking
May 10, 2011 at 6:08 amI love traditional foods from other countries. This cake looks wonderful 🙂
Amanda
May 10, 2011 at 6:12 amI’m making my own dessert bar for our wedding and have been searching out recipes. This looks like one I’ll have to try!
amy walters, aDESIGNdock
May 10, 2011 at 6:13 amLovely photos. And come on….jam, cream and cake?! Yum, great recipe 😉
Holly @ The Runny Egg
May 10, 2011 at 6:14 amI love how the filling just oozes out — like a big jelly donut 🙂
Ruth
May 10, 2011 at 6:21 amHooray for another British gal! And a truly classic cake!
Elizabeth
May 10, 2011 at 6:33 amEveryday cake? You’ve sold me. =)
Elena
May 10, 2011 at 6:36 amThis looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing! I love cakes with jam.
holly
May 10, 2011 at 6:42 amwhat a lovely surprise to see my friend angharad pop up in the reader of another blog i love. this cake looks lovely my friend – save me a slice for when i am in MN next weekend?!?
Jenny
May 10, 2011 at 6:58 ammm this would have been a nice treat to make for the royal wedding 🙂
Amanda (Eating Up)
May 10, 2011 at 7:06 amThis cake looks perfect for the times when I don’t want icing!
Jessica @ How Sweet
May 10, 2011 at 7:10 amThis cake looks divine Angharad!
minneville
May 10, 2011 at 7:22 amSponge cake is something I love. It’s a humble cake to start with; with jam and cream, it’s posh!
Alexandra
May 10, 2011 at 8:04 amI totally thought the first photo was of a chicken sandwich at a glance!
Heather at Heather's Dish
May 10, 2011 at 8:11 amAbsolutely beautiful cake! I love how simple it is…you don’t need a ton if decoration when it’s naturally beautiful!
Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove
May 10, 2011 at 8:21 amThis looks so yummy! I am excited to try it!!
Kari
May 10, 2011 at 8:27 amThis is the kind of classy elegance I think of when I think of England. I think I’m going to work on veganizing this…
Jesse
May 10, 2011 at 8:54 amoh looks so light and fluffy, perfect for spring!
Angharad
May 10, 2011 at 9:10 amHi everyone! Thanks so much for all your kind comments about the Victoria sponge! I’m honoured to have guest posted for Jenna today and hope you’ll all give this recipe a go. Stop by and say hi at Eating for England some time!
Bethany @ More Fruit Please
May 10, 2011 at 9:33 amI used to work in an English Tea Room years ago and the Victorian sponge cake was one of our most popular items! I had almost completely forgotten about it. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, I can’t wait to try making my own!
Natalia - a side of simple
May 10, 2011 at 10:22 amSince this recipe involves jam, it is totally going on my “breakfast” list 🙂 No complaints there!
Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen
May 10, 2011 at 11:27 amLooks beautiful. I’d love a slice of this with some afternoon tea. 😉
Sarah@The Flying ONION
May 10, 2011 at 11:31 amI love your blog, Angharad!! And I love this recipe. It sounds absolutely fabulous. I need a good excuse to make a cake. Or maybe I *don’t* need an excuse to make a cake. 😉
Thanks for sharing! 😀
Angharad
May 10, 2011 at 1:39 pmThanks so much, Sarah! I don’t think any of us need an excuse to make/eat cake. One of life’s simple pleasures, right?!
Tessa @ Amazing Asset
May 10, 2011 at 11:50 amWhat a gorgeous looking dessert! And I bet it tastes just as good as it looks 🙂
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga)
May 10, 2011 at 12:05 pmThat sponge cake looks so spongy, perfect, and I love the middle layers! I could just go to town on the middle! 🙂
Moni'sMeals
May 10, 2011 at 12:36 pmHello Eating for England! I love this! Thanks for sharing.
I am dying to head over to England, I have soooo many relatives there and I just can’t wait to do it. 🙂
Thanks for this lovely recipe!
Rachel @ Rachel's Recipe Reviews
May 10, 2011 at 12:48 pmThis looks delicious! Hubby proposed to me in London, so I have fond memories of England 🙂
Angharad
May 10, 2011 at 1:37 pmAww, I spy an anniversary cake…:)
Elena @ GagaForGrapefruit
May 10, 2011 at 12:48 pmthe boyf is a jam fiend and he would ADORE this cake!
Jayson James
May 10, 2011 at 1:03 pmThis is yummy!
I am definitely revisiting the idea of having a cheat day. A day allowing yourself to indulge to my food cravings wouldn’t really hurt me and my weight loss program. I am going to make it happen. Thanks for sharing!
Megan (The Runner's Kitchen)
May 10, 2011 at 2:02 pmA lovely, simple dish! Angharad’s recipes are always so elegant 🙂
Marisa
May 10, 2011 at 4:03 pmI have had “make Victoria Sponge Cake” at the top of my baking list for like 5 years now! Not sure at all why it hasn’t yet happened but I think your post and beautiful photos just may get me to finally check that one off my list. It looks fabulous!
Rebecca @ How the Cookies Crumble
May 10, 2011 at 4:33 pmThis looks amazing! I love sponge cake! Can’t wait to try this!!
Lindsey@ Lindselicious
May 10, 2011 at 4:46 pmYum, I love strawberry and cream cakes (any type)! The BF loves strawberries in cake too, I should practice this for his bday coming up.
The Healthy Apple
May 10, 2011 at 8:03 pmDreaming of sinking my lil’ teeth into this baby right now. Yum, Jenna.
Megan@Dirty Dishes Daily
May 10, 2011 at 8:16 pmAfternoon tea, breakfast, lunch, dinner…I would eat that anytime.
Katrina
May 10, 2011 at 8:53 pmBeautiful cake! This recipe is classy 🙂
KRISTY
May 11, 2011 at 4:54 amA SPONGE CAKE THAT IS NOT MADE WITH A MERINGUE? INTERESTING!
The Food Hound
May 11, 2011 at 5:07 amNot that I ever needed an excuse to host a tea… but this is the perfect one! The strawberries… the cream… so British! So fabulous!!
Judith
May 11, 2011 at 11:23 amThis look delicious.
Can you tell me what “Fairy Cake” is?
As a reader of all things Brtish, I see it often mentioned in literature.
Thanks!
Mikaela
May 12, 2011 at 3:37 pmI’ve never had this kind of cake before so I decided to put on my baker’s cap and make it. I’m not much of a baker so I just follow directions to a tee; the directions didn’t say when to add the vanilla. By the time I got the cakes in the oven and started cleaning up, I was scratching my head wondering why the vanilla was on the counter. HA!! Here’s hoping they still come out as delicious as these look!!!!
Christa
May 14, 2011 at 9:10 pmHi! I am wondering what the trick is to get the cake so fluffy. It looks thick, airy and amazing in the photos. I just made it twice, and both times it came out thicker and more dense. It’s definitely delicious, but not the airy cake like yours looks like. Any tips? If it helps, I used a kitchen-aid mixer w/ whisk attachment to make it. Any tips would be great. Thank you!!! 🙂
Shelley
May 17, 2011 at 12:27 pmmy goodness this looks amazing! If only I wasn’t stuck in Iraq, I’d be making this right now!
Linda @ Lemon Drop
May 17, 2011 at 5:36 pmOne of my fave cakes of all time! this looks delicious !
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November 1, 2011 at 7:44 pm[…] – making a sponge cake (my feelings about sponge cake can generally be summarized thusly: no butter? what do you mean no butter?! [which is why my first flirtation with the idea of making a sponge cake saw me trying out a victoria sponge]) […]
maya
November 4, 2011 at 8:02 pmI had tried this recipe to made victoria sponge cake it was very simple recipe but sooo delicious and i love this cake very much, thx a lot …
Water Rolls Uphill
December 7, 2011 at 6:24 pmI will be blogging about my attempt at this recipe soon. I am making it for a co-operative class that I co-teach for my daughter’s homeschooling group. We are currently studying Victorian England.
Thanks!
Carrie
February 11, 2012 at 7:13 amI tried making this for a girls’s night Dinner and a Movie: The Calendar Girls. The flavors were delicious, but my sponge was not “light and airy.” I should have taken a hint from the movie and bought mine at Marks and Spencer! I’m not sure what I did wrong. No matter, we all had a good laugh and ate 3/4 of the cake!
Aimee
April 22, 2012 at 3:41 pmI didn’t see where to add the vanilla??
Caitlin
May 9, 2012 at 2:37 pmI just made this exactly according to the instructions and it came out dense, crumbly, and greasy. What happened?
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May 27, 2012 at 6:07 pm[…] After searching for popular English recipes this is the one I came across most often so I figured that I should give it a try. There were many different recipes to make this and in the end I decided on a recipe from Eat Live Run, which you can find here. […]
Dissa
June 2, 2012 at 7:49 amThis recipe is incomplete. It doesn’t say when to add the vanilla… and it isn’t enough for two cakes, barely one. Sad that you can post this without making it first.
L Butler
August 27, 2012 at 11:14 amSounds delicious but as I was making the sponge cake I realized there was no mention of the vanilla in the instructions. I’m going to assume you add it when you add the eggs. Can’t wait to try it!
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December 20, 2012 at 11:09 am[…] (to be determined, maybe this Victoria Sponge Cake, which I have made before in muffin […]
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Avril
February 7, 2014 at 9:58 amI’m British too and this is my go to when I am craving British stuff. I love making american cookies and lots of other things but sometimes only something that reminds you of home will do.
Trudy
June 21, 2014 at 7:57 amOnly the batter should be “light and airy”! The cake itself is rather dense; holds up nicely to the jam and cream. I added the vanilla after the eggs, as that is where it usually goes in with cakes.