Classic Victoria Sponge Cake

It’s back to basics with my brand new recipe series Jessie Bakes Classic Cakes and I’m starting off with this delicious, all-time favourite: Classic Victoria Sponge Cake!

Two layers of fluffy sponge cake sandwiched together with strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream, finished with a simple dusting of icing sugar. Simple but oh so tasty 😍

Welcome to Jessie Bakes Classic Cakes Part 1

I’m so excited to launch my brand new recipe series: Jessie Bakes Classic Cakes!

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing simple, timeless, comforting cake recipes that ANYONE can easily make time and time again. Think coffee and walnut, lemon drizzle and black forest gateaux 😍 To kick-start the series, I had to go with a beautifully simple British favourite… Classic Victoria Sponge Cake.

Victoria Sponge Cake dates back to 1861 and was named after Queen Victoria, who supposedly enjoyed a slice with her afternoon tea (I’m totally with her on this 😉). Traditionally the sponge layers were sandwiched together with a thin layer of jam, however over the years the recipe has been tweaked and now it is most commonly filled with whipped cream or buttercream. Personally, I prefer my Victoria Sponge cake to be filled with whipped cream. It’s lighter, easier to make and uses less ingredients. After all, a Classic Victoria Sponge is all about simplicity!

This Classic Victoria Sponge Cake is:

• A British classic, known and loved by all
• Made using only 7 ingredients
• Quick and easy to make
• Filled with freshly whipped cream and jam
• Soft and fluffy in texture
• Light and delicate in flavour

Ingredients & alternatives

You will need 7 simple, everyday ingredients to make this Classic Victoria Sponge Cake:

• Margarine or butter – I prefer to use Stork Original margarine instead of butter. It makes the sponge light and fluffy, and helps the cake layers rise with a flat top.
• Sugar – you can use either white or golden caster sugar for this recipe.
• Self-raising flour – the raising agent in self-raising flour will help the cake layers rise. You can instead use 300g plain flour + 1.5 teaspoons baking powder.
• Eggs – you’ll need 3 large room temperature eggs for this cake, or you can use 4 medium eggs.
• Milk – you can use full-fat or semi-skimmed milk.
• Double cream – for the filling you’ll whip double cream to soft-peaks. Double cream can also be called whipping cream or heavy cream in the US. Do not buy single cream, it will not whip or thicken.
• Jam – Victoria sponge cake is traditionally made with strawberry jam, but you could also use raspberry jam or even lemon curd.

Wondering if you can use an alternative ingredient? Leave a comment at the bottom of this recipe, and I’ll reply to you ASAP!

Recipe troubleshooting

Below I’ve answered the most common questions you might stumble across with this recipe.

Got a different question? Leave a comment at the bottom of this recipe, and I’ll reply to you ASAP!

What size cake tin should I use?

This recipe uses 2 x 20cm (8inch) round cake tins. Here is a link to the exact tins I used from Lakeland. Make sure your baking tins aren’t too shallow because the cakes will rise, the tins I used were 8cm in height.

Can I use a different sized baking tin?

Yes absolutely! Here’s how to adjust the baking time:

• 15cm (6inch) round tin = plus 5-10 minutes. Check on the cake after 5 minutes.
• 23cm (9inch) round tin = minus 5-10 minutes. Check on the cake after 5 minutes.
• 20x20cm square tin = minus 5-10 minutes. Check on the cake after 5 minutes.
• Cupcakes = the recipe will make roughly 18 cupcakes. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 180°C.

Can I use gluten-free flour?

Yes you can! Just sub the 300g self-raising flour for 300g gluten-free flour + 1.5 teaspoons of xanthan gum (this will improve the texture of the cake) + 1 teaspoon baking powder.

My cake sunk in the middle, what happened?

Urggh, this can be so annoying! There are two main reasons this could have happened:

1. You opened the oven door too early and caused a sudden change in temperatue
2. The cake wasn’t fully baked before it was taken out of the oven

But don’t worry, there is a way you can rescue your cake. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out of the middle of the cake layers. Sandwich them together with cream and jam, and then fill the middle with fresh berries. It’s basically a Victoria Sponge Bundt Cake 😅

My cream has curdled and split, what should I do?

This is likely due to over-whisking the cream, and trust me it’s SO easy to do! Don’t worry though, there is an easy way to fix it. Gradually mix in 1-2 tablespoons of cold double cream on a low speed until the whipped cream returns to a soft and smooth consistency.

Tips for whisking cream to soft-peaks

If you’re me, you’re probably thinking “what is soft-peaks!?” 😆 Don’t worry, I’ve got you!

Soft-peaks is when the cream has a soft, pillowy, cloud-like texture that can hold its shape. As a rough guide, if you’re using an electric whisk this should take roughly 5 minutes. If you’re whisking the cream by hand, expect this to take up to 10 minutes (and expect an achy arm 😅).

Whipped cream can turn from soft peaks to hard peaks in a hot minute, so watch it like a hawk! If in doubt, I always suggest stop-whisking, swap for a spoon and gently fold the cream until the consistency feels right.

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Equipment & ingredients used for this recipe

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