Victoria Sponge Cake

All those things that keep getting in the way of baking, like exams and changing jobs and more exciting things like running and trying to keep a diet of sorts (who am I kidding? I love cake). However, there is an important date coming soon, Friday 14th June is the International Steampunk day.

Steampunk is cool if you're a geek and only a tiny bit weird but harmless if you are not. The whole idea is to dress and act (and relive) the period of the industrial revolution during Queen Victoria's reign with clothing adorned with cogs and brass. In a fictionalized period of the age of steam, there are blimps in the sky and fascinating machines as if from the works of Jules Verne propel adventurers on whatever journey they might be on.

Anyway, when I learned that there was such a thing like a Steampunk day, I immediately knew how to celebrate it. Majestic Queen Victoria which lived for 800 years (she looked great for her age) supposedly loved this one dessert which is today known after her. When I looked into it more, I found some background info that she had it with her daily afternoon tea with her personal assistant. Charming! And since Steampunk is tightly knit with the Victorian period, a slice of Queen's favourite dessert should satisfy everyone from high aristocrats to the greasiest of monkeys.

The pictures of Victoria Sponge Cake look great and I couldn't wait until I made my own cake, unfortunately, I didn't notice until just before I was about to crack first egg, the cake tins had to be smaller that those I had. You see, VSC is a cake sandwich with two light layers of sweet fluffy cake held together by a layer of buttercream and berry jam. If the layers are too large, they squish the filling which is exactly what happened to me.

Instead of a beautiful Victoria Sponge Cake, I ended up with a funny looking but delicious cake hamburger. Also I should have flipped the bottom the flat side up or cut the convex top because as soon as I put the jam on the top, it started running to the sides which resulted in the hamburger look when I squished it with the upper half. I am, however, still sharing the recipe because the cake, even though it didn't look as great as it should, was fantastic and I can somewhat proudly say it made one person break their diet... Wait, two people actually, because I count as well.

Learn from my mistakes and make a Victoria Sponge Cake worthy of Queen's afternoon tea.

Victoria Sponge Cake
for the cake you will need:

• 150g caster sugar
• 100g softened butter
• 3 eggs
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp milk

for the filling you will need:

• 100g butter, softened
• 140g confectioner's sugar + some on the top
• drop vanilla extract (optional)
• 300g strawberry jam

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, line two smaller (18cm) cake tins with baking paper and butter the sides. 
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until it's nice and fluffy. Add the eggs and incorporate them well.
3. Mix the baking powder with the flour and add them both into the buttery mixture, adding spoonfuls of milk when it gets too thick. Remember, you want the batter to be nicely light and smooth, so stir until it's well mixed.
4. Pour the batter into the cake tins, dividing equally. Put them in the oven and bake them until slightly golden and risen, about 20 minutes. Check if they're done with the toothpick method. Set on a wire rack to let them cool down.
5. While the cakes are resting, prepare the filling. In a bowl, beat the butter with the confectioner's sugar until it's creamy. Add in the vanilla extract and incorporate it well.
6. Once the cakes are ready (they really should be cool, otherwise the filling will melt), consider cutting off the top of the bottom one if it has risen in the oven. There should be a flat top over which you'll spread the filling, covering it completely in a thick layer and topping that with the strawberry jam. Place the second cake on it carefully and dust its top with the confectioner's sugar.