Victoria Sponge Recipe

You will need:

  • 225g butter
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • 4 tbsp raspberry jam

How to make a Victoria Sponge cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 170°C/gas mark 4. Cut 2 greaseproof paper circles, grease the sandwich tins with butter and put the circles inside. Grease the circles.

2. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl, then add the caster sugar, self-raising flour and baking powder. Crack the eggs one at a time and then add to the bowl.

3. Using the electric mixer on slow speed, beat for 2 minutes until smooth. The mixture will be soft enough to drop off the beaters when you lift them up.

4. Divide the mixture equally between the prepared tins and level the surfaces with a palette knife or spatula. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes.

5. The cakes are ready when they are risen and pale golden. The tops should spring back when lightly pressed. Cool for about 2 minutes; loosen the edges with a knife.

6. Push the cased out of the tins on their bases, invert them and remove the bases. Cool the cakes the right way up on a rack. Soften the jam with a palette knife.

7. When the cakes are cold, remove the lining papers and invert one cake layer onto a plate. Spread with jam, put the other layer on top and sprinkle with caster sugar.

To make your Victoria Sponge a little more indulgent, add a layer of whipped cream in between the two halves of the cake.

This recipe is taken from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, BBC Books 2009. Find out more about the book at maryberry.co.uk.

The featured image on this post is taken from euphro’s Cakes album on Flickr.

Chocolate Cake Recipe

You will need:

  • 225g plan flour
  • 350g caster sugar
  • 85g cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 250ml milk
  • 125ml vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 250ml boiling water
  • 200g plan chocolate
  • 200ml double cream

How to make a Chocolate Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line two 20cm/8in sandwich tins.

2. For the cake, place all of the cake ingredients, except the boiling water, into a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, or electric whisk, beat the mixture until smooth and well combined.

3. Add the boiling water to the mixture, a little at a time, until smooth. (The cake mixture will now be very liquid.)

4. Divide the cake batter between the sandwich tins and bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

5. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely, still in their tins, before icing.

6. For the chocolate icing, heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over a low heat until the chocolate melts. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth, glossy and thickened. Set aside to cool for 1-2 hours, or until thick enough to spread over the cake.

7. To assemble the cake, run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the cake tins to loosen the cakes. Carefully remove the cakes from the tins.

8. Spread a little chocolate icing over the top of one of the chocolate cakes, then carefully top with the other cake.

9. Transfer the cake to a serving plate and ice the cake all over with the chocolate icing, using a palette knife.

This recipe is from BBC Food. You can find it here.

This image is from Good Housekeeping Magazine.