Vanilla Sponge Cake - Victoria Sponge
Vanilla sponge cake is a simple but delicious plain cake that you can add any icing to. Fill it with jam and whipped cream to make a traditional British Victoria sandwich!
Servings: 8
Calories: 348kcal
Equipment
- Baking Pans
- Electric Whisk
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 225 g self raising flour
- 225 g butter
- 225 g caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Victoria Sponge toppings (optional)
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
- 150 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar (powdered sugar)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C / 160 C fan oven
- Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, and weigh them.
- Add the same amounts of butter, self raising flour and caster sugar to the mixing bowl as eggs. This is usually between 215-230g depending on the size of the eggs.
- Add vanilla extract and baking powder to the mixing bowl.
- Mix the ingredients with an electric whisk until just combined. Don't overmix it!
- Pour the cake batter into two lined and buttered sandwich cake tins (20 cm / 8 inch)
- Bake the cake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven, and leave them to rest for about 10 minutes. Then, gently remove them from the cake tins, and allow them to cool down completely on a cooling rack (at least 1 hour).
- You can now add any icing or decorations to your plain vanilla sponge cake, or continue to make a classic Victoria sponge.
To make Victoria Sponge
- Whisk double cream (heavy cream) and 1 tablespoon icing sugar to make whipped cream.
- Spread the whipped cream over one of the vanilla cakes. Add a layer of strawberry jam or raspberry jam on top of the cream.
- Place the second cake on top of the jam. Sieve remaining icing sugar on top, and serve.
Video
Notes
- Store leftover vanilla sponge cake in a sealed container in a refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezing Victoria sponge: Make the two vanilla sponges, and freeze them down separately for up to 6 months. Thaw and defrost the cakes in a refrigerator overnight, then decorate them and serve.
- Make sure not to over mix the cake batter. The ingredients should be just combined.
- Allow the cakes to cool down completely before decorating them, or the whipped cream might melt right off them.
- Avoid opening the oven door before the cake is baked! This can affect the rise and texture of your bake. You should only open the oven door towards the end of the baking time, when you're ready to check if it's done.
- Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for an even result. You might also want to swap the two baking pans halfway through cooking to make sure that they bake evenly.
Nutrition
Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 176mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 441IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 1mg