Victoria Sponge Cake!

A traditional Victoria Sponge Cake is one of Britain’s most loved bakes, with light vanilla sponges, a light cream and jam filling, and is perfect for any occasion.

This recipe is my go-to sponge for all basic cakes, and is ready to eat within a couple of hours. A six ingredient sponge, that is soft and fluffy, with a fresh filling is all you need for a timeless classic bake.

Notes from The Patisserie

There is always a debate about what actually IS the ‘classic’ Victoria sponge… so I have gone with the version that I myself interpret that to be, so if you disagree… apologies. I have made this cake countless times and I adore it.

For me, this is the traditional Victoria sponge method. There are endless versions… buttercream and jam, buttercream and fruit, cream and fruit, just jam, and cream and jam like I have chosen. All are delicious, and it’s partly why my Victoria sponge celebration cake is buttercream – as I love that version as well. However, to make this different, and potentially more classic, I went for whipped cream and jam.

Using the egg weighing method

Baking is science, and there is one simple rule that can help you make the best simple sponge ever. Eggs are rarely the exact same weight and size, even if they all say medium for example. The easiest way to achieve the best sponge is to weigh your five to six (medium) eggs in a bowl, IN their shells still, and get the weight. 

Say the weight is 318g of egg, you would then use 318g of butter, sugar and flour. It doesn’t matter that you will have slightly more ingredients than the recipe says, as baking times can vary slightly anyway.

It would also work, if the eggs weighed 290g, you would still use 290g of butter, flour and sugar. I find this the best way to achieve a good result. Also, make sure your oven is preheated correctly, and that you don’t open the oven too soon – top baking tips as well. 

Ideally, you would stay within a range of about 25g either side of the recipe itself. This prevents too much change in the bake.

Ingredient Notes and Tips

For the sponge, I did do it a smidge bigger than some people do. My back to basics vanilla cake are quite standard for a simple two layer cake, but often people find it’s not deep enough for their taste. So, I made this one a little deeper than normal for a two layer cake. 

• Eggs –  as mentioned above, stick to as close to 300g of eggs (weighed in shells)
• Butter – you can use unsalted block butter, at room temperature, or you can use a good baking spread. Often people find a baking spread results in a softer sponge
• Sugar – for a classic bake, you want to use white caster sugar. You can use golden caster sugar or light brown soft sugar, but the classic is caster.
• Flour – I use self raising flour as it’s available as standard in the UK. You can make your own with two level teaspoons of baking powder per 150g of plain flour, whisked into the flour before using. You would also then remove the extra baking powder later in the recipe
• Vanilla – this is optional, as often a traditional sponge is just seen as the four above ingredients. However, I adore some added to this cake.
• Baking powder – this may be seen as controversial, but I like the small addition of an extra little bit of baking powder. I find it helps the sponge, but it is optional.  

What filling belongs in this classic?

For the filling as mentioned above, there are many options. I went for a slightly sweetened whipped cream, and strawberry jam. Sorry if using strawberry jam is blasphemous to you, but I do like it, and it is what I had in the cupboard. 

I used double cream, with a little icing sugar and vanilla extract to make my cream – you want to whip it to soft peaks for best results to it doesn’t split. If the cream does split however, you can add slightly more cream as a liquid and simply stir it through to bring it back together. 

Seedless jam, seeded jam, a conserve… I’m not one to judge; whatever works best for you. And of course, if you would rather use fresh fruit, that is totally okay as well. I would probably spread the whipped cream on first, and then add the fruit on top – fresh strawberries are delicious in a bake like this. 

A cake for celebrations

When this post was written, it was only a couple of weeks until the coronation of King Charles, so it was only right to post such a British classic. Whether you are baking for a street party, a little family gathering to watch the coronation, or whatever you like… bakes are the best bit. 

I already have my coronation cake, and my mini coronation loaf cakes, but I thought a bit more of a classic would be a good one too – and here it is. Yes I know, based on a different royal.. but it’s such a good bake.

FAQs

Storage and Freezing

This cake is best eaten on the day of baking, due to using fresh cream in the cake. Due to the fresh cream filling, the cake will need storing in the fridge (which may dry the sponge out slightly.) Alternatively, you can use a buttercream filling so it can last out of the fridge.

The sponges can be frozen for 3+ months. Ideally you would freeze without the filling – I would wrap the sponges twice in clingfilm and then foil, and store.