Victoria sponge cakes are a deliciously simple bake, often filled with fresh cream or buttercream and topped with jam. The sponge should be light and fluffy and the levels of sweetness should be balanced perfectly. Mary Berry has shared a plethora of recipes throughout her career, including many sponge ones, but her Victoria sponge recipe couldn’t be easier.
Sharing it with BBC Food, the notes said: “Mary Berry’s easy Victoria sponge cake recipe is a baking classic and a tasty tea-time treat. Simply fill it with jam and cream and eat while it’s fresh.” For this recipe, you’ll need two 20cm sandwich tins to ensure the cake is even, and it’ll only take around 25 minutes in the oven.
Ingredients:
Four free-range eggs
225g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
One teaspoon of baking powder
225g baking spread
To serve:
Strawberry or raspberry jam
Whipped double cream
Method:
Start by preheating the oven to 180C or 160C Fan and then greasing and lining your sandwich tins.
Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar, flour, baking powder and butter, mixing well until combined.
Make sure not to overmix, though; the mixture should fall off a spoon easily.
Divide the mixture evenly between the tins, you can weight the filled tins to make sure they’re even if you wish.
Gently smooth the surface of the cakes before baking them on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes.
Once done, they’ll be golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Set aside to cool in their tins for five minutes before running a knife around the inside edge of the tins and turning them onto a cooling rack.
To assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with plenty of jam. You can also spread whipped cream over it, making sure it’s just reached stiff peaks to hold its structure.
Top with the second cake, top-side up and then sprinkle over some caster sugar before digging in.