Victoria Sandwich

On our recent Edible London trip, we visited the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft in Sussex where our group was treated to a welcome tea and slices of delicious Victoria Sandwich. This iconic, British treat sometimes goes by the name “Victoria Sponge Cake.” However, Paul Hollywood, the celebrity chef and co-host on “The Great British Bake-Off” claims this name is wrong.  It’s just called “Victoria Sandwich” referring to its  filling of butter cream and strawberry jam which is sandwiched in between two layers of simple sponge cake.

As legend has it, the cake got its name from Queen Vitoria who liked it so much that she enjoyed a slice every day at teatime.

I’ve seen several recipes for this cake, some of which use whipped cream in place of butter cream as part of the two-ingredient filling. However, for this post I wanted to develop a recipe using butter cream which reflected its more classic version. Despite this effort of authenticity, I made a series of technical errors along the way. In fact, my first attempt ended in total disaster.  However, as making mistakes can also be an opportunity to learn, I am happy to share my goof-ups. Now, pay attention bakers.

Luckily, my friend and former food editor Jan Hazard was available to offer her expertise.  When I described my cake as being only half the intended height, she started her analysis. My first mistake, she told me, was using old baking powder. In fact, when I finally had a look, I saw my can’s “use by” date had expired three years ago! 

And then there was the issue of using the wrong size cake pans.  It really does make a difference as I found out the hard way. So, do pay attention to what the recipe calls for before you start baking. In creating my own recipe, I was working off several English version, all of which called for two 8-inch pans, however, I only had 9-inch pans at home.

In doing some research after the disaster, I discovered that a 9-inch round is 25 percent bigger than an 8-inch. Naturally, your cake is going to be very thin because it has to cover 25 percent more surface area in the baking process.

Conversely, what happens when you use a cake pan which is too small? I learned the following from Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Baking Bible: "If the pan is too small, the batter will run over the sides and the cake will collapse from inadequate support."

My final error was mis-interpreting the term “at room temperature.” To reveal my mistake, I kept my butter, eggs, and milk out overnight. Wrong! Jan told me that was far too long. 

Now we are getting into the science of baking. Jan patiently explained that butter is an emulsion. When it is creamed with sugar, air and sugar are beaten into the emulsion. If the butter is at the wrong temperature, either too cold or too warm, it can easily break the emulsion resulting in a batter that curdles. This is exactly what happened to mine.

For my second attempt at the cake, I followed Jan’s guidelines to the letter. Those ingredients which were supposed to be “at room temperature” were kept out of the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes only. She also told me that if your butter starts to looks greasy or glossy, you can put it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes before proceeding with the recipe.

Luckily, my second attempt at the Victoria Sandwich was a success. I also used some of Jan’s homemade raspberry jam (she’s allergic to strawberries) as part of the filling. This made the cake even more delectable. Other dense fruit jams such as apricot, fig or blue berry work beautifully as well.

Ingredients:

For the cake batter:

1 1/3 cups/166 grams all-purpose flour 

3 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

12 Tablespoons/170 grams (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter (at room temperature)

¾ cups plus 2 Tablespoons/175 grams/175 grams granulated sugar

3 large eggs (at room temperature)

2 Tablespoons milk (at room temperature)

For the filling:

8 Tablespoons/100 grams (I stick) sweet butter (at room temperature)

1 cup/140 grams confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

¾ cup good quality strawberry (or raspberry) jam

Cooking instructions:

1.    Heat oven to 350 °F.  Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.

2.    Have butter, eggs, and milk at room temperature.

3.    Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Set it aside.

4.    In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully integrated before adding the next one.  Beat in milk, scraping down the sides of the bowl, if necessary.

5.    Mix in flour mixture combining until you have a smooth batter. Avoid over working the dough or else the cake will be tough.

6.    Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans, smoothing the top of each.

7.    Bake cakes until golden brown and until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Allow to cool for ten minutes, turn cakes onto cooling racks and cool completely, flat side down.

8.    Make the filling by beating the softened butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in the powered sugar, vanilla and finally, lemon rind.

9.    Spoon the buttercream evenly over the flat bottom of one of the sponges. Top with the fruit jam, then “sandwich” or top with the second sponge.

10. Dust with a little confectioner’s sugar before serving.  Serve immediately. Can be kept in an airtight container refrigerated for up to two days.

Serves: 10-12

Wine recommendations: None! This cake is made for tea.  Ask Queen Victoria.