Recipe: Victoria Sponge/Victoria Sandwich

The Victoria Sponge --or more properly the Victoria Sandwich as it isn't a true sponge-- is one of the first great cakes of the chemical leavener age. A British tea time icon, it is supposed to look regal but not overdone; not unlike Queen Victoria herself. Originally a Victoria Sponge would've only been spread with seeded raspberry jam, topped with caster sugar and contain no additional flavorings like vanilla. While purists will still argue over seeded or seedless preserves, caster or icing sugar, and whether vanilla has any place at all, most will allow some form of light, creamy filling between the layers, although HRH would've had hers without. I personally side with the traditionalists and use seeded raspberry preserves, caster sugar and absolutely no vanilla. For a cream filling, I find a barely-sweetened créme Chantilly stabilized with a bit of cream cheese to be the right combination of ethereal and practicality for a royal but understated classic. -Pola

VICTORIA SANDWICH
Cake Rounds: For Assembly: To Bake: Oven: 350F/180C. Prepare and line two 8" round cake tins, set aside. Sift together dry ingredients (or at least give them a vigorous stir to aerate) set aside. Cream butter+sugar until fluffy and nearly white then beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides as you go. Gently fold in dry ingredients and mix until no dry streaks remain. Stir in enough milk, a tablespoon at a time, to thin the batter so it plops easily off a raised beater or spoon. Add optional flavorants if using. Divide evenly between pans, smoothing the top and creating a slight indentation in the center. Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan 15 minutes, then cool on rack. Tips: While not prone to collapse, even the strongest empires have been known to fall. Take care not to jostle the oven and avoid using extra-deep cake tins which make collapse more likely.
 * 3 eggs in their shells, weighed
 * The same weight each of soft butter, white sugar, and self-rising flour
 * 1 slightly rounded tsp very fresh baking powder
 * 3/4 tsp salt
 * Milk sufficient
 * Optional: 1/2 tsp liquid flavorant or no more than 1 tbs dry flavorant
 * Preserves of your choice (raspberry is traditional)
 * Vanilla buttercream or (my preference) stabilized creme Chantilly
 * Sugar, either granulated (traditional) or powdered/icing
 * Fresh berries, optional

To Assemble: Spread preserves thickly on top of the least-pretty cake. Top preserves with generous amounts of the buttercream/Chantilly. Gently place prettiest cake on top and top with sugar, don't press down too hard. If using berries, place decoratively along the outside of the layer of filling. Serve with tea then shut your eyes and think of England.