Put a twist on a classic bake with these delicious Victoria Sponge Cupcakes! The soft vanilla sponge is filled with jam before being topped with whipped vanilla cream, a dusting of icing sugar and a fresh strawberry. The perfect cupcake for picnics, summer parties or as an afternoon treat served with a cup of tea.
About these Victoria Sponge Cupcakes
- FLAVOUR: Victoria sponge cupcakes have all the flavour of a classic layer cake but wrapped into a cute cupcake. Think strawberry, vanilla and cream. They’re light, refreshing and the perfect sunshine bake!
- TEXTURE: buttery soft sponge, sticky jam filling, light and fluffy whipped cream. Melt in your melt textures in every bite.
- EASE: an easy recipe that uses staple baking ingredients. These cupcakes require zero baking skill and can be made by all.
How to fill the cupcakes with jam
Question… is a cupcake complete without a surprise filling? I just love the extra layer of deliciousness a filled cupcake has. Inside these Victoria sponge cupcakes, you’ll find a generous amount of sweet strawberry jam. YUM!
Filling cupcakes is easy peasy and you don’t need any fancy equipment. First wait until the cupcakes are completely cool. If you try to remove the middle whilst they’re still warm you’ll risk the outside of the cupcake cracking and falling apart. To remove the middle, you can use an apple corer, piping nozzle, teaspoon or one of these handy gadgets. If you’re wondering what to do with the removed cake, it’s time to taste-test your bake! To fill the cupcakes with jam, either use a teaspoon to spoon it in, or pop the jam into a piping bag and pipe it in. Just make sure you fill the holes right up to the top with jam, so that the cream has a flat surface to sit on.
Tips for whipping the cream
To keep these Victoria sponge cupcakes true to the classic recipe, I decided to top them with whipped vanilla cream instead of buttercream. However, if you’ve whipped cream before you will know it can turn from soft, pillowy clouds into a grainy mush in a flash! So here are a few tips that will make sure the cream is the perfect texture for piping or spooning on top of your cupcakes:
- Be careful not to over-whisk. Stop whisking as soon as the cream starts to thicken and the whisk is leaving noticeable streaks (typically 2-3 minutes). The texture should look like soft, pillowy clouds. At this point, the cream won’t be thick enough to top your cupcakes with, but if you swap the whisk for a metal spoon and gently fold the cream a couple of times you’ll see that it very quickly thickens up and you’ll have more control over the texture.
- Piping will thicken up the cream. If you’re piping the cream, spooning the cream into a piping bag will make it thicken up even more. So it’s best to under whisk the cream so that it doesn’t turn hard or grainy when being piped.
- How to save split cream. If all else fails and the cream is too thick, looks grainy or has split, don’t worry it can be saved! Just drizzle in more double cream and mix slowly to bring it back to the perfect texture.
Have you made these Victoria Sponge Cupcakes?
I really hope you enjoyed it! And I’d also love to hear what you think, so feel free to leave a comment or rating below. You can also drop me a DM on Instagram or tag me @jessie.bakes.cakes so I can see your delicious cupcakes.
Victoria Sponge Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 180 g Margarine or unsalted butter I like to use Stork baking spread
- 180 g White caster sugar
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 180 g Self-raising flour
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp Milk
For the jam filling
- 1 jar Strawberry jam
For the whipped cream and decoration
- 300 ml Double cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 50 g Icing sugar
- 6 Strawberries sliced in half to make 12 in total
Instructions
Start by making the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional. Line a cupcake tray with 12 cases.
- Beat the margarine (or butter) and caster sugar together until light and creamy.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time. TIP: Add a spoonful of the flour with each egg to stop the mixture from curdling.
- Add the remaining flour, vanilla extract and milk, and fold everything together into a smooth cake mixture.
- Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling each one roughly two-thirds full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
Fill the cupcakes
- Use an apple corer or teaspoon to remove the middle of each cupcake.
- Fill the holes to the top with strawberry jam.
Whip the cream and decorate
- Use an electric whisk to whisk the double cream and vanilla extract together until soft, pillowy and just starting to hold its shape. TIP: Whipped cream can turn grainy very quickly, so it's best to stop whisking at the point the cream has just started to thicken. Then swap the whisk for a metal spoon and gently fold until you reach the right consistency.
- Spoon or pipe the cream on top of the cupcakes. Then dust with icing sugar and finish with half a fresh strawberry.
Notes
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