Victoria Sponge
A light sponge cake, filled with sweet jam and topped with a dusting of sugar, this classic Victoria Sponge is a timeless teatime favourite.
Print Recipe
Servings: 8
INGREDIENTS
- 225 g Soft Margarine (at room temperature)
- 225 g Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar)
- 225 g Self-raising flour
- 4 Free-range Eggs (at room temperature - see notes below)
- Seedless Jam (Seedless Jelly) (raspberry or strawberry)
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 170°c (150°c for fan-assisted oven, Gas Mark 4 or 325°F). Grease and line two 18cm (7 inch) sandwich tins with greaseproof paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at time, ensuring each is mixed through before adding the next.
- Sift in the flour and gently fold to create a batter.
- Transfer the batter to your pre-lined tins and bake in your pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes until risen, golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely
- Once cool, sandwich the sponges with jam (& buttercream if desired). Top with a generous sprinkling of caster sugar.
VIDEO
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
NOTES
Egg Size:
When it comes to eggs, I always buy the Mixed-weight Free-range Eggs. Generally speaking, egg size doesn’t make a huge difference in most baking, unless you are using sizes that lean into the extremes. But with that in mind, medium-sized eggs are probably the best option if you are unsure what size eggs to use.Storage:
Victoria Sponge Cake should be stored in an airtight container and will keep for about 1 week.Freezing:
You can freeze Victoria Sponge, ideally before you jam the sponges together. Tightly wrap your Victoria sponges in cling film and then again in tin foil. To defrost, remove from the freezer and allow to warm to room temperature before eating. Do not refreeze once defrosted, and do not leave in your freezer for more than 3 months to avoid freezer burn.Substitutions:
- Margarine: I use a soft baking margarine in most of my sponge cakes because I find it to be easier & more predictable to use, while always giving a light, moist crumb to your cake. You can swap this out for butter if you prefer, but make sure you use a very soft butter for the best results.
- Caster Sugar: When it comes to sponge cakes, caster sugar is preferable as the finer consistency is ideal for mixing through the batter. In a pinch, you could swap it for granulated sugar. In terms of taste, it would be fine, but the texture of your sponge may vary slightly because less-fine sugars won’t dissolve into the batter as efficiently.
- Self-raising Flour: Although easy to buy in the UK, self-raising flour isn’t always available across the world, but you can easily create your own. For this recipe, you would use 225g of Plain Flour and 3 tsp of Baking Powder (baking soda). I always recommend both mixing and sifting the flour & baking powder together before using to make sure they are very well combined.
- Jam: You can use any flavour of jam (jelly) you like, with raspberry or strawberry being the most traditional. But I would always recommend sticking with a seedless jam for the best texture.
Buttercream:
If you wish to use buttercream, mix 300g of icing sugar with 150g of softened butter until light and fluffy.You can also increase the quantities (maintaining a 2:1 ratio) to make extra buttercream for crumb coating the cake before covering with fondant icing.
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