Victoria Sponge – Celebration Cake!
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A delicious classic bake – a Victoria sponge. Soft & light cakes, strawberry jam, vanilla buttercream & fresh strawberries!
Victoria sponge
Strawberry season isn’t quiiiite here yet, but I bought a packet anyway and they were surprisingly tasty! This led me to think I should 100% do something with them, but definitely not overdo them. So… I thought I would bake a classic! Funnily enough it is one of the simplest and yet most delicious classic cakes around!
When I was younger I used to think that this type of cake was boring – why would I want it if it’s not chocolate? But oh how naive was I. This cake is SO GOOD and one of the best cakes in the world. However, sometimes the simplest of things can be the most difficult to get absolutely perfect!
Layers
I find that with a Victoria sponge, it’s all about getting everything perfectly in proportion. Such as, if you’re making a two layered cake, everything should be 300g (i.e. the sugar, flour, butter and eggs) and same for if you were doing a larger cake – everything should be 400g! It makes it far simpler and generally provides a foolproof cake. This recipe is for a three layer, 8 inch cake – so for a smaller cake (two layers), simply reduce the cake ingredients to 300g, split the mixture into two tins, and bake for 20 minutes!
Eggs
I weigh out my eggs when making a cake like this so I have no doubts it’s going to work, and once you know your oven well enough you will know when is the perfect time to take the cake out of the oven and when it might need a tiny while longer in the oven!
Cream or buttercream?
This cake is traditionally served with fresh fruit and whipped cream, or jam and buttercream – its entirely up to you! Personally, when i’m making it last a bit longer, I use buttercream so that it stays fresh for longer – whereas the cream may go a bit icky, especially on a hot day!
Assemble
I tend to pipe my buttercream around the edge of each layer, then a bit more in the middle with my jam sitting on the top, it tends to not slide around this way! It also stops jam sliding down the sides so you keep the nice clean edges of the 3 layers of sponge. I use strawberry jam in this recipe however if you would prefer raspberry then why not?! Enjoy!
Victoria sponge - Celebration Cake!
Ingredients
Cake
- 400 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 400 g caster sugar
- 400 g eggs (roughly 8 eggs)
- 400 g self raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp whole milk
Decoration
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 450 g icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 175 g strawberry jam
- fresh strawberries
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan and line three 20cm/8inch cake tins.
- In a large bowl, beat together the unsalted butter and caster sugar until combined.
- Then, add your eggs, whole milk, self raising flour and baking powder, and beat until combined again - but be careful to not over beat.
- Divide the mixture equally between the three tins and smooth it over.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the cake is golden and springs back (a skewer should also come out clean).
- Turn the sponges out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool fully.
Vanilla Buttercream
- Beat the unsalted butter with an electric mixer until it's smooth and loose.
- Then, gradually beat in the icing sugar & vanilla extract.
- If the icing is too stiff, add 1 tbsp whole milk at a time to get your desired thickness!
Decoration
- Spread or pipe the buttercream onto the top of one of the sponges, then spoon on half of your jam.
- Place the second sponge on top and repeat the process - finish with the third sponge, and any left over buttercream on top!
- Add some fresh strawberries, perhaps a sprinkle of icing sugar and serve!
Notes
- When decorating the cake, I like to pipe a small amount of the buttercream around the edge of the sponges, then put a little more in the middle with the jam on top - this stops it falling out all over the place, but this is simply my choice! 🙂
- This cake will last in an airtight container for 3 days, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months!
- I use this piping bag
- I use this Medium 2D Closed Star Piping Tip
- I use these 8" Cake Tin
ENJOY!
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Hi Jane, love your cakes and bakes and books! Am looking to bake this as a semi baked. Do you think this would work please? Also can you help with how much I would need to increase the buttercream ingredients by for this? I am using 3 x 8 inch tins xx
Hey! Yes this would work. I would double the buttercream, but then you can freeze any leftover you may have! x
Hi there, I love your recipes they are my go to! Can I use Stork in this instead of the unsalted butter?? Thanks
Hiya! Baking spreads work well for cake sponges, but no frostings! x
Hi Jane,
I’m planning on using this recipe to make a novelty cake for my cousin’s little boys 1st birthday but adapting it to be dairy free.
Do you need to add the milk in this recipe?
Also how much buttercream would you suggest to cover the cake before adding the fondant?
Thank you 🙂
No, you don’t need to add the milk – sometimes people do to just thin the mix ever so slightly. And I usually double it to cover the sides and top as well x
Hi, could I make this with fresh whipped cream instead of butter cream?
I’m worried about then sliding as I stake them
Thank you x
Hi Amy, I made this recipe with fresh cream in April.
I added a small amount of gelatine into the cream before whipping (about 1/4 teaspoon melted into some cream in the microwave) and it worked out great!
Hi Jane! I hope I’m not repeating a question but could I freeze the cakes then taken them out on the day and defrost slightly before filling and covering the outside in Swiss meringue buttercream? I just don’t want them to dry out but usually find freezing keeps cakes moist, wasn’t sure with the Victoria sponge though! Thanks so much
Hi Jane I’m wanting to do a 8”x4”deep cake and cut it in half can you point me to the recipe you use for this tin size please x
Have a look at all of my drip cake recipes x
Hey, so my situation is that I only have one 8inch pan so would it be okay for the batter to sit while I bake each cake at in batches?
I have made this cake before for a birthday and it was great! I am planning to make the chocolate version. I will swap out 60-75g of flour as per a previous comment, but how do I need to adjust the buttercream to be chocolate also please?
Hi Jane
I love your cakes and recipes etc ,
And find it hard to follow and trust anyone else as your instructions always turn out so well .
The question I have is I have 3x 9in x 2in springform tins , I would like to use this recipe for my friends wedding cake ( hence it being bigger )
Please help me increase the recipe to fit these tins please .
Thankyou
Hi Jane
I’ve made this recipe many times and is my favourite sponge recipe!
What would be the measurements please for a 10inch 2 layer version. I want to use the receipe for my grandaughters birthday cake.
Thank you
Hi Jane!
I’m making this as my boyfriend’s birthday cake and was planning on doing it with two tiers.. I’ve just weighed out five large eggs that I’ve got at home and it’ll be about 324g, would this be okay or does it need to be as close to 300g as possible?
Thank you! ☺️
Hi Jane!
Just made your Victoria sponge r for my sisters birthday, everyone loved it! 🥰🥰 thank you
I Jane I would like to cover the whole cake with frosting how much of each will I need
Hiya! I would double it to be safe, you can always freeze any excess! x
Hi, would this recipe be suitable to use in a regular size Bundt cake tin ? If so, would you use the 300 g version or the 400 gr.
Thank you.
Hiya! I would recommend using my marble bundt tin recipe, but just leave out the chocolate parts! Hope this helps! x
I was wondering how you get your cakes so flat? I used cake strips on mine and even then they were very domed. Thanks 😊
Hiya! Try baking lower and slower, and when cooling the sponges, cool them upside down! Hope this helps! x
I always cool my cakes on the cooling rack upside down it helps loads to even them out