Classic Victoria Sponge With Strawberries & Cream
Victoria Sponge is a cake that holds a very special place in my heart. It was the first cake that my Mum ever taught me to make. It was a cake that we baked together during the earlier stages of her illness, and it was the first cake to feature on my Instagram page, which in turn reignited my passion for baking. I owe a lot to this humble cake, and for that reason I feel that it belongs within these pages. I have, however, given it a little twist, using different tastes of strawberry to make it my own.
📷Lisa Linder
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/400°F/gas 6. Grease and line the cake tins with non-stick baking paper.
Place the strawberries in a bowl with the sugar, stirring to coat, then leave to one side to macerate.
Secure the paddle attachment to the mixer and add the butter and sugar to the bowl. Cream together for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a separate jug and beat together. With the mixer running, add a little of the egg at a time, letting it combine before adding some more – you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Mix and sieve together the flour and the baking powder, then re-sieve into the mixing bowl (sieving twice will incorporate the baking powder more evenly). Add the milk, then beat together, stopping the very moment that everything combines.
Share the batter equally between the 2 prepared tins, levelling out the surface of each with the back of a spoon. Bake for 40 minutes, checking after this time to see if the cakes are cooked. Insert a skewer into the centre of each, if the skewer comes out clean they are ready, if not return to the oven for a further 10 minutes and re-test. Once fully baked, turn out of the tins (pans), remove the baking paper and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make the compote. Tip the macerated strawberries and any juices into a small pan. Add 1 tablespoon of water and the star anise, if using, and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 10 minutes or until the strawberries start to collapse and the juices turn syrupy. Add a few drops of lemon juice to sharpen, then transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.
Whip the cream, icing sugar and vanilla into soft peaks, transferring to a disposable piping bag if you have one. Cut the strawberries into small pieces and set both aside. Slice the top off each cake to even, then spoon the strawberry compote and the syrupy juices over the surface of one. Top with the softly whipped cream and place the other cake on top. Cover with more cream, piping it on if you wish, add a sprinkling of freeze-dried berries and decorate with the fresh strawberry pieces and crystallised flowers, if using.
SERVES 6
Use two 16cm (6. inch) round,
4cm (1. inch) deep cake tins (pans)
STRAWBERRY COMPOTE
250g (9oz) strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered
1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
1 point of a star anise (optional)
a few drops of lemon juice
CAKES
200g (7oz/generous ¾ cup / 1¾ sticks) softened butter
200g (7oz/1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
4 eggs
200g (7oz/1½ cups) selfraising (self-rising) flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk
TO FINISH
200ml (7fl oz/generous ¾ cup) double (heavy) cream
50g (1¾ oz/generous ⅓ cup) icing (powdered) sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
4 small strawberries crushed freeze-dried strawberries (optional)
Crystallised Flowers (optional)