Victoria Sponge Cake (2024)

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Welcome to the first post in my Baking Basics series! In this series I will be sharing recipes for basic baked goods, think perfect scones for afternoon tea, a brilliant white bread loaf, and ultimate gooey chocolate brownies! So basic in name, but definitely not basic in taste and enjoyment. This series is mainly for beginner bakers who want to learn the secrets behind baking, because getting the basics right is the best place to start. More experienced bakers will really enjoy it too, as there are so many delicious recipes to try out! And what better recipe to start this series with than a Victoria Sponge Cake. It's beautifully simple, enjoyed by everyone, and is a British classic that's known around the world.

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For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post. This post is full of helpful tips and commonly asked questions when making victoria sponge cake, so I do recommend reading through it all first.

Why is a Victoria Sponge Cake called a Victoria Sponge Cake?

It was named after Queen Victoria as she used to enjoy a slice with her afternoon tea. It is also known as a Victoria Sandwich Cake, and it is famous for being the cake to test your oven with. In the Great British Bake Off, a Victoria Sponge Cake is made in all of the ovens before the contestants start baking. This type of cake became popular when baking powder was invented, giving it a lovely rise and soft sponge like texture.

The creaming method or the all in one method?

If you're not familiar with these terms, the creaming method refers to adding ingredients one at a time and mixing between additions. For example, making a sponge cake by first mixing the butter and sugar together, then adding eggs and mixing them in, then adding flour and mixing that in. The all in one method is adding all of the ingredients in the bowl together and only mixing them together once. I personally recommend the creaming method as it gives you a chance at each stage to ensure everything is well mixed together, which in turn adds air and lightness to the batter. You can also be more vigorous with your mixing when adding the eggs to ensure they are well incorporated, but then more gentle when adding the flour so as not to knock any air out of the batter. This results in a beautifully well risen sponge.

The great filling debate!

For me, the best and most delicious way to fill a Victoria Sponge Cake is with jam (either strawberry or raspberry, but I do prefer strawberry) and fresh whipped cream. It seems that many people share this opinion, as it is a very popular filling. However, there are two other options, and everyone's got their opinion on which filling is correct and what their favourite is! One of the other options is to fill it with only jam, and in fact the Women's Institue insist on a raspberry jam only filling when you enter their baking competitions! The third option is to fill with jam of your choice and buttercream, which results in a sweeter cake. Which filling will you choose?

To decorate or not to decorate?

The traditional decoration (if you can go as far as to call it that) for a Victoria Sponge Cake is a simple dusting of either icing sugar or caster sugar. You can upgrade this by using a stencil or a doily to make a pattern on top with the icing sugar if you like. Many bakers have decorated this cake in much more elaborate and creative ways too. Adding extra rosettes of whipped cream on top is very common, as is adding fresh strawberries or raspberries. Ultimately, if you're going to be eating it, then it's up to you how you decorate it!

How to make a Victoria Sponge Cake

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

The ingredients

To make the sponge you only need four basic ingredients - butter, caster sugar, eggs and self raising flour. I've also added vanilla extract as a fifth ingredient because I absolutely love the flavour it brings to this cake. If you decide to use it, please only use vanilla extract, not essence, as the former is natural and tastes so much better.

Butter - the butter or baking spread must be softened, which means at room temperature. You can use either salted or unsalted butter
Caster sugar - also known as super fine sugar, you can also use granulated sugar if you don't have caster sugar, or even golden caster sugar
Self raising flour - if you want to make the cake with plain or all purpose flour, check the recipe notes
Eggs - large eggs are used in this recipe, and they should be room temperature before baking with them
Vanilla extract - this is optional, but it adds a wonderful flavour

What is self raising flour and what if you can't get hold of it?

Self raising flour is flour with a raising agent, and sometimes a little salt, already added to it. Therefore when using it, you don't need to add baking powder to your recipe. You cannot substitute self raising flour for plain flour, however you can easily make your own self raising flour using plain flour.

To make your own self raising flour, add 2 level teaspoons (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) of baking powder to 200g plain flour or all purpose flour. Stir together well so the baking powder is evenly distributed throughout the flour. I would advise making a batch of self raising flour, then you can store it in an airtight container and measure it out as and when you need it.

Should you use butter or margarine for a Victoria Sponge Cake?

Again, this is more of an opinion and taste lead decision as it really depends what you prefer. I made the pictured cake using unsalted butter, but I have made many Victoria Sponge Cakes in the past with margarine, or baking spread, and had brilliant results. I always use Stork as I find it very easy to use because it's so soft straight from the fridge. I also find that Stork is more consistent and reliable in creating light and moist cakes every time.

If you are using butter, you need to remove it from the fridge a while before you start baking so that it can soften. You want it to be soft enough so that you can easily press it between your fingertips, but it is still malleable. This could take as little as 20 minutes on a warm day, or up to an hour on a cooler day.

The method

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the butter (or baking spread) and caster sugar together until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Then mix in the eggs and vanilla extract, again using an electric mixer. You can do this by hand, but electric mixers will give better results and speed up the process.

Then gently whisk or fold in the self raising flour by hand. Divide the mixture between the tins, you can use scales for accuracy to get an even amount of mixture in each one. When lining the tins, I line the bottom with greaseproof baking paper, and grease the sides lightly with butter or margarine.

Once the cakes are golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, around 25 minutes, remove them from the oven and leave them to cool for 15 minutes in the tin. Then run a knife around the edge and remove the cakes from the tin to cool fully on a cooling rack.

Level off the cakes with a knife or cake leveller, then spread the jam over the first layer. Use a piping bag and nozzle to pipe the whipped cream on top, but you could spread or dollop on with a spoon too. Then add the second sponge and dust it with icing sugar.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Do you need an electric mixer to make this recipe?

While an electric mixer is not absolutely necessary, you will get better results and a lighter more fluffy cake if you use one, so I do recommend it. It doesn't have to be an expensive stand mixer either, a budget hand held electric mixer will do the job too!

What are the cup measurements for a Victoria Sponge Cake?

I always strongly advise on using digital weighing scales for baking as they ensure accuracy. They're low cost and easy to get hold of too. So much can go wrong when it comes to cup measurements, for example if you scoop up flour with the cup, or spoon flour into the cup, they will weigh different amounts. The cup measurements for this recipe are 1 ¾ cups + 2 tbsp self raising flour, 1 cup + 1 tbsp butter or baking spread and 1 cup + 1 tbsp caster sugar (super fine sugar). I used the scoop method to convert the flour and sugar amounts, rather than spooning the ingredients into the cup measures.

Can you bake this Victoria Sponge Cake in a different size cake tin?

Yes, absolutely! I've used 8" cake tins for this recipe, but please check out my Conversion Guide to find out how you need to adjust the ingredient amounts for a different tin size.

Can this recipe be made gluten or dairy free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add additonal baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add 2 teaspoons baking powder. You may also like to add ¼ tsp xanthan gum for better texture. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free baking spread for the cake and fill it with a dairy free whipped cream alternative. Please do check the labels for everything you use to make the cake if you are serving it to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

How should the cake be stored and can it be frozen?

The cake should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and will last for 3 days. If you do not fill it with whipped cream, it can be stored in a cool place. You can freeze the sponges once they are fully cool, wrap them well with cling film or put them in an airtight container with some baking paper between them. I do not recommend freezing the cake once it is filled with whipped cream, however if you fill it with jam only, or buttercream, you can freeze it. Again, wrap it well (either whole or in slices) in cling film or place it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

What can go wrong?

Of course there are always things that can go wrong when baking a cake, here are some common issues and how to solve them:

The cake sank

Whatever you do, do not open the oven while the cake is baking! This will certainly cause the cake to sink. When the baking time has been reached you can open the door to check on it, then give it longer if needed. Other causes of this issue are over beating the batter when adding the flour, under baking the cake, leaving the batter sat out for too long before baking it and using too much raising agent.

The cake is dry

The main cause of dry cakes is that they have been over baked. Check the cake is done within 1-2 minutes either side of the recommended baking time, insert a thin skewer or co*cktail stick in the centre, if it comes out clean the cake is done. Giving it an extra 5 minutes to make sure it's done, will over bake the cake and make it dry. Remember that when you take the cake out of the oven, it stays hot and carries on cooking, so you don't need to give it extra time as long as the skewer is clean.

The cake didn't rise enough

Firstly, double check you didn't mix up your plain flour and self raising flour! Self raising flour can also become less effective over time, so if it has gone out of date this will also affect the rise. Mixing the butter and sugar together for a good 3-4 minutes is also really important and will aid the rise and overall fluffyness of the sponge.

The cake has a domed top

There are a few reasons for this, the main reason is the oven temperature being too high. Ovens vary massively and often the temperature on the dial is not the true temperature inside the oven. You can get an oven thermometer to verify this. Domed tops can also occur if too much raising agent is used, or if the cake tin is smaller than the recipe recommends.

Variations

There a lot of ways you can add a twist to a Victoria Sponge Cake, here are some delicious ideas!

Add the zest of two lemons to the batter, then use lemon curd instead of jam. You could also try another tangy fruit curd like blood orange or passion fruit.
Fill the cake with blackcurrant jam and sweetened mascarpone cheese, just add icing sugar or maple syrup to sweeten it, it's one of my favourite combinations!
Replace 35g of the flour with cocoa powder, and fill with cherry jam and whipped cream for a black forest style cake!

Troubleshooting

If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

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