Traditional British Victorian Sandwich Sponge Cake Recipes

VICTORIA SANDWICH - CLASSIC ENGLISH SPONGE CAKE FOR TEA TIME

The Victoria Sandwich is the quintessential English cake, conjuring up images of old England and afternoon tea. It's always been a favourite in cake baking competitions and is even used by manufacturers to test new cookers.This is one of the recipes that I use when I make my Victoria Sandwich sponge cake - the other method is posted at the end of the recipe; the ingredients are the same but the weight ratio is slightly different. This method is the original and more traditional way of weighing your ingredients, bearing in mind that the recipe is Victorian! A true Victoria Sandwich would only contain jam, usually raspberry, but as the cake became more popular and cooks became more affluent, cream was added as a delicious addition. I was always taught that caster sugar was sprinkled on top - again, icing sugar is often used nowadays. This recipe adaptation was taken from the WI website, a wonderful organisation in Great Britain for woman of all ages, backgrounds, race or creed - remember The Calendar Girls? They were all WI members! Historical note: Anna, the Duchess of Bedford (1788-1861), one of Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, is credited as the creator of tea time. She invited friends to join her for an additional afternoon meal at five o'clock in her rooms. The menu centred around small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches, assorted sweets, and, of course, tea.The practice of inviting friends to come for tea in the afternoon was quickly picked up by other social hostesses. Queen Victoria adopted the new craze for afternoon tea time. By 1855, the Queen and her ladies were in formal dress for the Victorian tea time parties. This simple cake was one of the queen's favourites and was named in honour of the Queen as a mark of the cake's most devoted followers! (I used home made lemon curd for the cake in my photos, a tangy change from raspberry jam!)

Provided by French Tart

Categories Breads

Time 40m

Yield 1 Victoria Sandwich, 6-8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 7

Victoria Sandwich - Classic English Sponge Cake for Tea Time image

Steps:

The measurements for this recipe are equal amounts of sugar, flour and fat to the weight of the eggs; Recipezaar will not allow me to post that as a measurement. Therefore, weigh the eggs first - if the eggs weigh 8 ounces, you will use 8 ounces of sugar, 8 ounces of butter or margarine and 8 ounces of flour. If the eggs weigh 6 ounces, all the other ingredients will be 6 ounces - easy!
Set oven Gas 4 160C (fan oven), 180C or 360F: grease and base line the bottom of 2 x 8" sandwich tins - cake tins.
Cream margarine or butter together with the sugar, until light and fluffy.
Beat the eggs, and then add them to the mixture, gradually and beating well after each addition.
Sieve the flour and fold into the mixture with a metal spoon.
Divide equally between the 2 prepared tins and bake for 25 minutes in the middle of the oven.
Remove and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.
Remove from the tins and fill with raspberry jam (and cream if using) when cold, to avoid the cream melting or the jam seeping into the sponge.
A light dusting of caster sugar or icing sugar on the top will finish it.
Place on an attractive cake stand or plate, and serve in dainty wedges with freshly brewed tea.
Cook's Notes.
If you use butter remove from the fridge to soften before using. This is not necessary with soft margarine.
If large eggs are used they may weigh 7 ½ ozs/210g. If so make sure you use this weight for the other ingredients.
A smaller sandwich cake can be made with 2 medium eggs. Weight about 4 oz/55g. If so, use 2 x 7" sandwich tins and the cakes and the cakes will need less time in the oven - probably 20mins.
Alternative measurements:.
3 eggs.
6 ounces soft margarine or butter.
6 ounces caster sugar.
6 ounces SR flour.
Proceed as above for method.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 35.8, Fat 2.4, SaturatedFat 0.8, Cholesterol 93, Sodium 35.5, Carbohydrate 0.2, Sugar 0.1, Protein 3.1

Ingredients

3 large eggs, weighed in their shells
butter or soft margarine
caster sugar
self-rising flour
raspberry jam (or jam, jelly or curd of your choice.)
whipped cream (optional) or double cream (optional)
caster sugar or icing sugar

CLASSIC VICTORIA SANDWICH RECIPE

The perfect party cake, a Victoria sponge is a traditional bake everyone will love. Makes an easy wedding cake, too

Provided by Good Food team

Categories Afternoon tea, Buffet, Supper, Treat

Time 1h

Yield Cuts into 10 slices

Number Of Ingredients 11

Classic Victoria sandwich recipe image

Steps:

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 200g caster sugar, 200g softened butter, 4 beaten eggs, 200g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 2 tbsp milk 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 100g softened butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in 140g sifted icing sugar and a drop of vanilla extract (if you're using it).
Spread the buttercream over the bottom of one of the sponges. Top it with 170g strawberry 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.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 558 calories, Fat 28 grams fat, SaturatedFat 17 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 76 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 57 grams sugar, Fiber 0.6 grams fiber, Protein 5 grams protein, Sodium 0.9 milligram of sodium

Ingredients

200g caster sugar
200g softened butter
4 eggs, beaten
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
100g butter, softened
140g icing sugar, sifted
drop vanilla extract (optional)
half a 340g jar good-quality strawberry jam
icing sugar, to decorate

TRADITIONAL VICTORIA SPONGE

This is the traditional recipe for a Victoria sponge cake, a much loved English favorite. Serve with buttercream as in the recipe, or freshly whipped cream. Dust with a layer of confectioners' sugar if desired.

Provided by TheBritishBaker

Categories World Cuisine Recipes European UK and Ireland English

Time 1h10m

Yield 6

Number Of Ingredients 9

Traditional Victoria Sponge image

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 7-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
Sift self-rising flour into a bowl; add sugar, margarine, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Crack in eggs. Beat with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Divide batter between the cake pans; smooth the tops with the back of a spoon.
Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
Sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl; add butter and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer until frosting is light and fluffy.
Spread raspberry jam over 1 cake layer. Cover jam with frosting. Place second cake layer on top.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 635.6 calories, Carbohydrate 80 g, Cholesterol 113.3 mg, Fat 32.9 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 6.3 g, SaturatedFat 9.6 g, Sodium 713.8 mg, Sugar 53.8 g

Ingredients

1 ⅓ cups self-rising flour
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup margarine
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup raspberry jam