Victoria Sandwich Sponge Cake

The technique used in making this classic English Victoria Sponge Cake results in a tender and perfect crumb, moist and super yummy cake! I dare you to eat just one slice. Always perfect with a cup of tea!

 Course Dessert

 Cuisine English, Great Britain

 Keyword Classic Sponge Cake, English Sponge Cake, Victoria Sandwich, Victoria Sponge Cake

 Prep Time 20 minutes

 Cook Time 30 minutes

 Total Time 50 minutes

 Servings 8

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 8 oz unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups self-rising flour, sifted with the salt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp half and half or whole milk

For the Cream Filling (2 Types) and Topping

• 6 tbsp red raspberry jam, or to taste
• 1 cup creme fraiche or sweetened sour cream, sweeten the sour cream with 4-6 tablespoons confectioners sugar, or to taste
• 1 cup heavy or double cream, freshly whipped and sweetened with 2-3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar, or to taste
• confectioner's sugar, for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In the bowl of an electric mixer, place the softened butter and beat until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat for 4 minutes or until the mixture is fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times as needed.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times to mix everything perfectly. Pour the vanilla extract and quickly beat to stir it in.
3. Slowly fold in the sifted flour, adding a tablespoon of milk each time a portion is added. Fold the flour in very gently so as not to knock down the air beaten in earlier. Just mix until no more streaks of flour appear. Batter would be pretty thick and elastic.
4. Evenly divide the batter into 2 prepared (7-8 inch) cake pans. Bake in the preheated over for 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when gently pressed with a finger. Leave in the tins for 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
5. Once the cakes are completely cooled, take one of the cakes and place in a cake stand or serving plate and then top with the jam. Spread the raspberry jam evenly all over.
6. For the cream filling, you can use either creme fraiche (or sweetened sour cream) or freshly whipped heavy cream sweetened with icing sugar. Beat the heavy cream until stiff and thick, slowly adding the sugar as you mix it. Spread the cream filling evenly on top of the jam. Serve the cake immediately with tea or coffee.

Recipe Notes

Add the jam and cream filling to the cake only when you're ready to serve it so they don't make the cake mushy. If making the cake ahead, make sure to serve the cake at room temperature first to allow the cake to soften so the crumbs are perfectly tender, moist and for perfect slicing. You can also simply microwave a slice for 15 seconds or so to warm it up quickly and soften it and it would have the same exact taste and texture like it's freshly baked.