Mini Victoria Sponges!

These mini Victoria sponge cakes are perfect for kids' parties or wrap them up for someone special in gift boxes. They're extremely versatile and can be simply adapted (e.g. to make chocolate sponges). These delectable little cakes went down a treat with my family and friends!

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 200g caster sugar
• 200g unsalted butter, softened, plus a little for greasing
• 4 medium eggs
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 200g self raising flour, sieved
• 1tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp milk

For the filling:

• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g icing sugar, sifted
• A drop of vanilla extract
• 340g jar good quality British strawberry jam (or raspberry)
• Caster sugar to decorate

1. Heat oven to 190C (gas mark 5). Fill a cupcake tray with 12 cases.

2. Beat together the unsalted butter and sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or preferably with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. This can take up to 10 mins.

3. Break the eggs into a small bowl and add the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture lightly with a fork. We decided to use a handheld, wheel-turner whisk.

4. Add the egg very gradually to the mixture. Do this slowly to avoid curdling. If the mix does curdle, add a tablespoon of flour. Once all the eggs are in, fold in the flour with a large metal spoon. The mixture should be of dropping consistency, if not add a little milk.

5. Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and bake for about 20 minutes ot until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Remove cakes from cases and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

 6. To make the butter icing: Beat the unsalted butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in the icing sugar. Beat in vanilla extract.

7. Cut the cakes in half with a sharp knife (horizontally through the middle of the cake). Spread the butter cream on the bottom half of the cake, followed by a teaspoon of jam. Sandwich the top half of the cake. Dust with a little caster sugar before serving.

8. Keep in airtight container and eat within 2 days.

These cakes were easy to make and the timings on baking gave a perfect sponge consistency! The jam and buttercream together, however, were slightly over-powering. So, I'd recommend adding a very thin layer of both fillings. 4/5

Happy Baking!

Classic Victoria Sponge

 I wanted to make something to celebrate the end of the Olympics and team GB, so I made a classic Victoria Sponge. I know this is a day late, but I fell out with the icing yesterday. Firstly, I attempted to make a cream cheese icing but it completely flopped, who knew that simply butter, cream cheese and icing sugar would form a consistency of water? So today, I tried a sweetened cream. I was planning to colour it with food colouring and ice the Union Jack (for team GB) onto the cake, but apparently if you add food colouring to sweetened cream it separates and turns to curds and whey. Oh well! Learn from your mistakes.

 Victoria Sponge is not my favourite cake, as I don't particularly like jam. However this recipe has made me change my mind! Light, sweet, soft, fantastic. So easy to make and a great treat if you're feeling a bit peckish!

Ingredients

• 4 free-range eggs
• 225g/8oz caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting the finished cake
• 225g/8oz self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 225g/8oz softened margarine or butter, plus a little extra to grease the tins
• Cream and jam for filling and/or icing

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2) Grease and line two cake tins, making sure you get up all the sides so that when the cake is baked it will be easy to take out.

3) For this recipe, use the all-in-one method. This is simply putting every single ingredient into the bowl and mixing them together, in the order listed above. When everything is combined, the finished mixture should fall off a spoon easily.

4) Next, pour the mixture into the two cake tins. Try to get the same amount in each tin, but it doesn't matter if the amounts are slightly different.

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes. To test if they are baked, stick a skewer down inside the center of the cake and if it comes out clean the are ready.  I found that the cakes felt too soft and under-baked, however this is how Victoria Sponge is meant to be; it is a very delicate cake. The cakes also have to look golden-brown when they are done. Put the tins on the side and after several minutes move the cakes onto a cooling rack.

6) When cool, cover one half with the jam (you can also cover cream on top too or you can use it for icing at the end). Sandwich the other half upside-down on top of the covered half, so that the top of the cake is flat. You can use ay icing you want- a dusting of icing sugar, butter-cream, royal icing. I sweetened the cream (using this recipe) and used it as icing instead of a filling.

This cake has converted me to loving jam on my cake! I now also have a special love for delicate cakes like Victoria Sponge, opposed to dense chocolate fudge cakes.  4/5

Happy baking!

Credit: www.bbc.co.uk/food/