Saturday, March 5, 2022

Victoria Sponge Cake #Recipe @PegCochran


 


Victoria Sponge Cake, also know as Victoria Sandwich was a favorite of Queen Victoria's.  Lady Fiona Innes-Goldthrope, aka Figgy, bakes plenty of Victoria Sponges and other goodies for her tea shop located inside the Open Book in my Open Book Series set in the village of Upper Chumley-on-Stoke, England.  The third book in the series, Peril on the Page, is now out and in your bookstores as well as online.

Victoria Sponge is generally served along with scones and small sandwiches at afternoon tea in Britain.  It is meant to fill the gap between lunch and dinner and was a practice introduced by the Duchess of Bedford, lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria.  She found herself getting hungry in the afternoon and had her maid bring her tiny sandwiches, pieces of cake and a pot of tea.  Afternoon tea is also known as a "cream tea," not to be confused with "high tea."  High tea is a heartier meal consumed by workers upon returning home after a long day.  It is known as high tea because diners sit at high-backed chairs around a table as opposed to afternoon tea when those partaking are ensconced in low, comfortable armchairs.

Victoria Sponge is not like the typical American sponge cake.  It is not quite as airy but is still light and moist.  The cake has no frosting, but traditionally has strawberry jam and whipped cream or butter cream between the layers.  There is no need to stick to the traditional--you can customize the cake with any flavor jam you like. The recipe I used came from the King Arthur web site.

Cake:

16 TBL unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup plus 3 TBL sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract (optional and not traditional)
2 cups self-rising flour

Filling:

3/4 cup of jam
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 TBL sugar or to taste
2 TBL simple syrup or agave syrup

Garnish:

Confectioners sugar  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds and spray again.


 

Beat butter and sugar until combined and smooth.  Beat in eggs one at a time. Add the extracts.

Add the flour and beat gently until combined.


 

Divide the batter evenly between cake pans. There should be approximately 15 ounces in each.


 

Bake the cakes for 22 to 26 minutes.  Do not over bake.  The cakes should be only slightly golden on top and be pulling away from the sides of the pans.

Cool for several minutes and turn out onto a rack.  Let cool completely.


 

Place one layer on a plate and spread with strawberry jam.


 

Whip the cream and sugar and spread on top of the jam.  Top with the second layer of cake.


 

Brush the top of the cake with syrup.  (I  don't think this is really necessary--the cake is sweet enough as it is.)  Sprinkle with confectioners sugar before serving.




OUT NOW!

Book #3 in the Open Book Series


Amazon

Barnes & Noble

A murder in her quaint British bookshop drops American Gothic novelist Penelope Parish into her deadliest caper yet.

Penelope Parish is ready to close the book on her amateur sleuthing—from now on, The Open Book’s writer-in-residence will be sticking to villains of the fictional variety while she puts the final touches on her new novel. But when an author is murdered inside the bookshop, all of Upper Chumley-on-Stoke goes on high alert.
 
Now it’s up to Pen and the quirky citizens of Chumley to stop a killer and protect the charming British town she’s begun to call home.

 


 

 Book #1

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

    Book #2


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8 comments:

  1. Sounds so yummy! Thank you for the recipe.

    Can't wait for the opportunity to read "Peril on the Page".
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  2. Penelope Parish is living my dream ~ working in a quaint British bookshop in a wonderful English village. I'm glad I can "visit" Chumley-on-Stoke through the pages of Ms. Loudon's Open Book series & while I'm at it, I can enjoy the truly British experience of afternoon tea with this Victoria Sandwich. Thank you for the recipe!

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  3. Lovely.
    That looks like whipped cream with substance. Nothing wimpy about it.

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  5. This looks so good. I have never heard of "cream tea" but I have been to "high tea" on some cruise ships.

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