A Royal Victorian Sponge Recipe

The Victoria Sponge was named after Queen Victoria, who regularly ate a slice of sponge cake with her tea, each afternoon!  To mark Royal Garden Parties, Buckingham Palace Pastry Chef’s are delighted to share this traditional recipe.  Ingredients sponge: -3 eggs -150g caster sugar -150g unsalted butter -150g sieved self-raising flour -1/2 tsp of vanilla essence -Jam (strawberry or raspberry) Ingredients buttercream: -150g softened unsalted butter -220g sieved icing sugar -1/3 vanilla pod or vanilla essence Method Sponge: -Preheat the oven to 180C (375F, gas mark 4) -Grease and line two 8 inch cake tins (if you only own one tin, you can bake the sponge and slice in half) -Cream the caster sugar, vanilla essence and softened unsalted butter until light and fluffy -In a separate bowl whisk the eggs -Gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, to avoid the mixture curdling -Sieve the flour and fold into the mixture -Divide the cake mix between the two cake tins and smooth -Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the cake appears golden brown -Insert a skewer and ensure it comes out clean -Remove the sponges from their tins and leave to cool Method Buttercream: -Cream the softened butter with the sieved icing sugar and seeds from the vanilla pod (or vanilla essence) Assembling the cake: -Ensure that both sponges are completely cold before spreading a layer of jam onto the surface of one sponge -Spread a thick layer of buttercream on top of the jam ( if you prefer this can be done first) -Gently place the second sponge on top and gently press down -Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with a pot of fresh English tea!