Victoria Sponge

Hello Lovelies,

The trusty Victoria Sponge is the quintessential English cake, it also happens to be my favourite.  So as my little step brothers were over yesterday I knocked up a cake for tea. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence as I know Victoria Sponges are hardly a tricky cake to make but as I was in the baking mood and had my camera handy I thought I would pop up the recipe. 

Ingredients:

3 medium free-range eggs,
175g self raising flour,
175g caster sugar
175g unsalted butter, softened
(1/2tsp of baking powder if using a food processor),
1tsp vanilla extract,
raspberry/strawberry jam,
200g icing sugar,
75g unsalted butter,
3-4 tablespoons water

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C, then it's time to get baking. 

First you need to beat the softened butter and sugar with an electric hand whisk or food processor until the mixture is light and creamy. 

Next beat your eggs and vanilla with a fork, then gradually add it to the butter/sugar mixture beating well after each addition.

Next sift the flour on to the mixture and carefully fold it in with a large metal spoon.  

Once you have folded in the flour, being careful to keep the air in divide it into two tins and spread evenly.
Do not open the door before the 20 mins are up, but keep an eye on them.
Once cooked they should be a light golden brown and the tops should spring back when gently pressed & you should be able to spear them with a skewer and pull it out clean.
If they're not quite done give them another 5 mins.

Leave to cool on a rack, then once they are completely chilled you can start to fill them (we didn't too many hungry horaces in this house).

Once you have slathered on your favourite jam, in our case some strawberry "Bonne Maman" you can but on your icing.

75g soft unsalted butter

200g icing sugar

3-4 tablespoons of water

Put everything in a bowl and mix until you have smooth butter icing.  Smooth your icing on top of your jam and pop on the top of your cake, then give it a dusting of powdered sugar.