The Lovely Drawer: Not The Dowager's Victoria Sponge Cake


What Victoria was to Albert,
so Victoria Sponge cake is to a cup of tea.

Until I moved to the United Kingdom,
I had never heard of or tasted this classic treat.

For all of the Americans out there
who, like me, may not have grown up 
with this on the table at tea time,
I'll walk you through the basics.

Two sponge cakes 
+ one layer of whipped cream 
+ one layer of strawberry jam 
_______________________

Classic Victoria Sponge Cake

When my friend Teri of The Lovely Drawer
(you know, the one who did that killer Chorizo Stew recipe?)
mentioned she didn't like cream
(as in cream, whipped cream & ice cream)
I slapped her in the face.

Fine.

Not really.

But I was really sad.

Fortunately, she offered a peace offering
in saying that she accepted marscapone cheese.

Which, obviously, is the next best thing.

{Or maybe the best thing. Not sure how to rank the dairy family. They're all winners!}

And when she made me this cake
for dessert after dinner at their house one night,
I not only forgave her 
for shunning my camarades in the dairy section,
but I vowed to never settle for regular Victoria Sponge again.

{Which means, I'll also need to start crafting up a lot of reasons to invite myself over to her house.}





Here's how you can make one
with instructions from Teri, herself.

(This reads better if you read this in an English accent.)

***


So.....Victoria Sponge with a twist. Not so typically British but far superior, I think. I've been of the opinion that this classic can so easily be dry and boring but replacing the cream with mascarpone icing and the changing up the jam to raspberry gives it a whole appeal. My friend made me this cake originally and I totally had to eat my Victoria sponge-dissing words, along with my huge slice of cake. 

Here's the recipe...

Ingredients; 
225g self raising flour
225g butter (softened)
225g caster sugar (US read: normal)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons 
vanilla extract



For the filling;
Raspberry jam
250g mascarpone cheese
2 heaped tablespoons icing sugar plus extra for dusting (US read: powdered sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract. 
A punnet of raspberries to decorate (US read: little plastic basket of raspberries)

Method:
Whip together butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy
Then add vanilla extract and one egg and beat again. 
Add each remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of your flour and beat thoroughly after each addition. 

Once mixed, fold in the remaining flour with a spatula until combined. 

Pour mixture into a lined 20cm cake tin and put into the oven. 






Bake at 150 C degrees (US read: 325F) for about 45 mins or until golden and a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Leave the cake to cool slightly and remove from tin to cool completely. 

Once cold, cut horizontally in two to put your filling in. Spread the top half with as much jam as you want.
Mix all the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl until fully mixed and spreadable. Spread this mix on your bottom half and put the two halves back together. 

Dust the top of the cake with plenty of icing sugar and then arrange raspberries on top of the cake. 
Lightly dust some more icing sugar on top of the raspberries.




Who's mad about that?

Now, go...
make this immediately!

Or at least pin it for later
and let me know
so I can stop by accordingly.

(Also, check out Teri's SUPER CUTE blog. You'll be impressed.)



*all images from The Lovely Drawer

15 comments:

  1. YUM - I'll be baking this the minute I hit Cannes - thanks for sharing and safe travels x

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  2. This looks amazing! Out of respect to Prince George, I think I will need to make this and eat it.

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  3. Haha! Yes. Everyone in the dairy family are winners. Thank you for acknowledging that.

    And HOLY MOLY these photos are beautiful! She's one talented lady and you are one witty and delightful writer. Have an awesome weekend, Lauren.

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  4. Classic way to end the Week of the British - and those peonies are a killer companion for this pretty cake!

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  5. OMG this looks so good-- like a perfect summery dessert!I totally want to make this now.

    --Anne
    www.aasquaredblog.com

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  6. Ohhh myyy. I think I need to make this NOW. These pictures are gorgeous, too. I may have just drooled on my keyboard. I am only half kidding.
    - Rachel/ With Love, Rachel

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  7. Totally going to make this!!!! :) :) :)

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  8. Where do you purchase such a beautifully modern tea set like the one pictured? Incredible post!

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  9. What a beautiful cake and looks divine!

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  10. This looks so delicious - and so cute too!

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  11. yummm thanks for the intro! i've never heard of victoria sponge cake before! kinda like angel food cake-ish?! but smancier. xo

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  12. I tried to convince Jon that our wedding cake should be a Victoria Sponge. We're close in the end!

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  13. Whoa this recipe came out fantastic! I really enjoyed making it. Found it pretty easy to duplicate in the kitchen, and my family loved it. Thank you! Keep up the great work!
    Karachi Food

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