Victoria Sponge Cake is an established British classic and an all round crowd pleaser!
Here, you can use my recipe to create a simple sandwich cake or something that’s a bit more extra special – perfect for a birthday or celebration.
Traditionally, a Victoria Sponge consists of two layers of sponge cake sandwiched with jam and dusted with icing sugar. A cream-based filling was added later as a modern touch and has become the cake we know and love today.
This cake consists of three layers of vanilla sponge, sandwiched with homemade strawberry jam and buttercream enriched with fresh whipping cream. I gave the cake an elegant nude finish and topped with mini meringues, macarons and fresh fruit.
A Victoria Sponge is made using equal proportions of egg, flour, fat and sugar and so you may be wondering why I’ve added ground almonds to the recipe. Well, this is a great trick as they help to keep the cake soft and fluffy and prevent it drying out quickly (a problem with gluten free baking!) without adding an almond taste.
You don’t have to make the jam yourself if you’re short for time (or just don’t want the faff!) so feel free to use store bought in it’s place. My go-to recipe can be found here.
If you also want to decorate with macarons, I have lots of fantastic, easy to follow macaron recipes on the blog! I used red food colouring for the shells and filled them with left over buttercream and jam.
This recipe makes a three layer 6″ cake and will take approximately 4 hours total to make. This includes making the mini meringues and homemade jam. The jam can be made well ahead of time and takes about 40 mins to make. The mini meringues take about 90 mins to make and can be made 3-5 days in advance.
Ingredients:
For the sponges:
- 350 g caster sugar
- 350 g unsalted butter, softened
- 6 eggs, at room temperature (TIP: this amount may differ if your eggs are various sizes, weigh out your eggs in their shells and check you have roughly 350 g in total)
- 250 g gluten free self raising flour
- 100 g ground almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder (check that this is gluten-free)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the filling:
- 250 g unsalted butter, softened
- 500 g icing sugar
- 50 ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- 6 tbsp strawberry jam
For the mini meringues:
This may make more meringue than is required for the cake but you can always crush it up and make eton mess with any fruit and cream you have leftover!
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
- 100 g caster sugar (+1 tsp for fruit)
- 1 tsp lemon juice or cream of tartar
For decoration:
- mini meringues (see above)
- fresh fruit (e.g. strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)
Useful Equipment: baking tray, baking paper, stainless steel or glass bowl, hand/stand mixer, piping bag with nozzles (I used both a 9FT and a Wilton 1M for the meringues), mixing bowl, three 6″ cake tins, spatula, sieve
Method:
Step 1: Make the Mini Meringues
This step can be done in advance. The meringues will keep in an airtight container up to 3-5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 125 °C fan/250 °F and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- In a clean bowl (preferably glass or stainless steel), whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice or cream of tartar until soft peaks form.
- Gradually pour in the caster sugar, whisking with each addition, until glossy stiff peaks are formed and the sugar is completey dissolved.
- Spoon the meringue into the piping bag with your chosen nozzle (I used a 9FT tip and a Wilton 1M) and pipe small peaks onto the baking paper.
- Bake for 45 mins – 1 hour until crisp. If you have the time, turn off your oven and leave them to cool inside completely. If not, place on a wire rack and allow to cool.
Step 2: Baking and Assembling the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C fan/350 °F and grease three 6″ cake tins, lining the base with greaseproof paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Whilst beating, add the eggs one at a time.
- Add the vanilla and mix.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and add the ground almonds. Fold gently until just combined.
- Divide the cake mix equally between the cake tins and bake for 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool for 10 mins whilst in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack.
- Whilst the cake cools, beat the unsalted butter for your buttercream until pale and soft. This is best done using a hand or stand mixer. Gradually add the icing sugar, whisking until combined. Add the double cream and vanilla and whisk to incorporate. If your buttercream is a little too thick to pipe, add 1-2 tbsp of hot water until the right consistency is reached. Place in a piping bag ready for decorating.
- To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on your serving board and cover evenly with 3 tbsp strawberry jam. You can pipe the buttercream on top or spread as desired. Repeat this for the second layer and place the third on top.
- Now that your cake is assembled, spread a thin layer of buttercream around your cake using a palette knife to create a crumb coat and refrigerate for at least 30 mins. This will create the nude-like finish. If you want a full coating, you can add more once the crumb coat has set in the fridge.
- Pipe some of the buttercream on top of the cake and arrange your meringues, fruit and decorations how you please. Enjoy!
This cake is definitely going to impress! As it contains fresh fruit and cream, it needs to be stored in the fridge where it will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container. For best enjoyment, bring to room temperature before serving.
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