Victoria Sponge – A cake fit for royalty

It’s the morning after the night before. After yesterdays festivities the city is very quiet. It is almost a universal hangover, people talking in hushed tones on the bus, dirty torn confetti lines the streets & the bunting doesn’t appear to be quite as straight as it was last night. But yesterday London was a wash with a frenzy, a buzz, as everyone watched & waited for the moment when a prince would marry an ordinary girl just like you or me. It’s the stuff of fairy tales & Disney films. I’m not a royalist by any stretch of the imagination but as a tax payer its nice to get something back for my £0.62 per year & an extra bank holiday to celebrate young love sounds perfect. This was my contribution to yesterdays street party. A Victoria sponge. Something so simple it’s often over looked for flashier cakes, it’s elegant, refined & quintessentially British.

Makes a 8 inch cake
225g Unsalted butter
225g Golden caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting.
4 Eggs
225g Self-raising flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
400g Strawberries
300ml Double cream

2x 8 inch (20cm) Sandwich tins
Pre-heat your oven to 180˚C (350˚F or gas mark 4)

Begin by beating the butter & sugar until the mix becomes light in colour & fluffy in texture. Add the eggs one at a time to avoid the mix curdling, beating well before adding the next. Sift the flour & baking powder together lifting the sieve high to add air to mix, gently fold into the other ingredients using a large metal spoon. Butter and line the 2x 8 inch sandwich tins. Divide the mixture between the tins & level with a spatula. Bake for 25 mins in the preheated oven. Do not open the oven door under any circumstances before the time is complete, as this will cause the cake to sink. Once the 25 mins are up test the cake with a wooden or metal skewer if it comes away clean then the cake is cooked. Allow to cool in their tins for 10 mins before turning them out on to a wire wrack & leave to cool completely.

Wash the strawberries & cut them in half, arrange the pieces across the base cake ensuring there are no gaps. If you like strawberries to be very sweet dust with a little extra sugar. Beat the double cream until it forms light soft peaks. Pour lovingly over the strawberries & smooth right to the edges before topping with the remaining cake. Dust the top with a crown of caster sugar.