Victoria Sponge Cake
This traditional British layer cake is made up of two buttery, tender spongecake rounds that sandwich a thick layer of jam and, often, a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. It’s a simple, homey confection that works as well with a cup of afternoon tea as it does for dessert. Feel free to substitute other flavors of tart jam for the raspberry. Apricot and blackberry work particularly well.
- Total:
- Serves: 8 persons
Ingredients
- 12tablespoons/170 grams unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened, more for greasing pan
- 1 ⅓cups/166 grams all-purpose flour
- 3 ¼teaspoons baking powder
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾cups plus 2 tablespoons/175 grams granulated sugar
- 3large eggs, at room temperature
- 2tablespoons whole milk
- ½cup/120 milliliters raspberry jam, more to taste
- 1cup/240 milliliters heavy cream
- 1tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, more for dusting
- ¼teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center. Grease and line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.Step 3
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then beat in milk, scraping down sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour mixture until combined, then scrape into prepared cake pans, smoothing the top.Step 4
Bake cakes until golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then unmold them onto a wire rack to cool completely, flat side down.Step 5
Transfer one cake (the less attractive one) to a serving platter, and spread jam evenly on top. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla just until it holds stiff peaks. Dollop about half the cream on top of jam, then top with remaining cake. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately, with the extra whipped cream on the side.