Victoria Sponge Cake – Indian Tadka to a Global Cuisine

The Victoria Sponge cake, famously named after Queen Victoria, who ruled England from 1 May 1876 until 22 January 1901, was so called, since she was famous for enjoying these small cakes with her afternoon tea.

At that time in England, the most popular cake was the pound cake, which was made with equal parts of flour, butter, eggs and sugar.

The sponge cake gained popularity after the invention of the baking powder by Alfred Bird in 1843, which allowed the cakes to rise higher than previously possible.

Queen Victoria is known to have enjoyed her cakes with jam alone, but over time, these cakes started to be made with jam and cream.

Our recipe of the Victoria Sponge Cake is 2 layers of cakes with a layer of cream, strawberry jam and strawberries in between, and topped with more cream and fruits.

Ingredients (for the sponge cake)

130 gms sugar

1 tsp vanilla

80 gms cold water

2 eggs (yolks separated)

90 gms all purpose flour

2 tsp cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

Ingredients (for the whipped cream frosting)

1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold

3 tbsp sugar

Ingredients (assembly and topping)

2 tbsp strawberry jam

strawberries and blueberries, to decorate

Instructions

(1) To a bowl, add the sugar, vanilla, water and egg yolks. Beat the mixture till light and fluffy.

(2) To that, add the all purpose flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt, and And mix everything in.

(3) To a separate bowl, add the egg whites. Beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form.

(4) Then, add the egg whites to the cake batter. And mix it in slowly (mixing in one direction) to incorporate everything together.

(5) Line 2 cake pans with parchments paper, and pour and divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans.

(6) Bake the cakes in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes or till a skewer inserted inside the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool down completely before turning them out.

(7) To make the whipped cream frosting, take the heavy cream in a bowl and add the sugar. Beat the cream until stiff peaks form.

(8) To assemble the cake, put a little whipped cream frosting on top of a board, and gently put one cake on the cake board.

(9) Take a dollop of cream and put it on the cake, and evenly spread it out. Put a spoonful of strawberry jam, and strawberries on the whipped cream.

(10) Put the other cake on top of the strawberries and whipped cream and cover the top of the cake with it.

(11) Cover the cake with the remaining whipped cream, and clean off the excess from the edges. Decorate with strawberries and blueberries and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving.

(12) This cake will stay in the fridge for up to 3 days when refrigerated.

Instructions (step-by-step)

This is a list of ingredients.

To a bowl, add the sugar.

Then, add the vanilla.

Next, add the water.

Then, add the egg yolks.

Beat the mixture till light and fluffy.

Add the flour.

Then, add the cornflour.

Add the baking powder.

Finally, add the salt.

And mix everything in.

To a separate bowl, add the egg whites.

Beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form.

Add the egg whites to the cake batter.

And mix it in slowly, mixing in one direction to incorporate everything together.

Line 2 baking pans with parchments paper.

Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes or till a skewer inserted inside the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool down completely before turning them out.