Victoria Sponge Cake
Prepare carefully. Work safely. Evaluate honestly.
- Serves / makes
- 6 servings — 1 cake, cut into 6 slices
- Preparation
- 25 minutes
- Cooking
- 20–25 minutes
- Total time
- 1 hour 20 minutes–1 hour 30 minutes, including cooling and filling
Heat / oven setting180°C conventional / 160°C fan
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 150g for cake + 56.25g for filling | |
| 150g | |
| 3 medium | |
| 150g | |
| 0.75 tsp | |
| 0.75–1.5 tbsp, if needed | |
| 0.75 tsp | |
| 75g | |
| 112.5g for filling + 0.75 tsp for dusting |
Tick ingredients as you prepare them. Ticks reset when you reload.
Equipment
- Digital scales and measuring spoons
- Mixing bowls and sieve
- Wooden spoon or electric whisk
- Baking tray or tin, as directed
- Baking paper
- Wire cooling rack
- Oven gloves
- Two 18cm round cake tins
- Palette knife
- Skewer
- Small sieve for dusting
Method
Prepare
Wash hands and clean the workstation. Preheat the oven. Grease and line the bases of two 18cm round cake tins. Weigh cake ingredients separately from filling ingredients.
Cream and beat
Beat 150g butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. If it begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the measured flour.
Fold
Sift in remaining flour and baking powder. Fold gently and add vanilla. If stiff, add milk a spoonful at a time to reach a soft dropping consistency. Do not taste uncooked mixture.
Bake
Divide evenly between tins and level the tops. Bake for 20–25 minutes until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out without wet batter.
Cool
Leave in tins for 5 minutes, then turn onto a rack, remove paper and allow to cool completely, about 30–40 minutes. Do not fill a warm sponge.
Fill and finish
Beat 56.25g butter with 112.5g sifted icing sugar until smooth. Spread jam over one cold sponge and buttercream over the other. Sandwich together, dust lightly with remaining icing sugar and cut into six slices.
Portion for six
Makes 1 cake, cut into 6 slices. Divide evenly between six people.
Food safety
- Wash hands, clean surfaces, tie back hair and use clean equipment. Check use-by dates and ingredient labels before starting.
- Do not taste uncooked dough or batter: raw flour and eggs can carry harmful bacteria. Use oven gloves and take care with hot trays, sugar and steam.
- Cool bakes on a clean rack. Keep plain dry bakes in a clean airtight container; refrigerate any perishable meat, dairy or cream-filled items promptly. Freeze extra portions if needed.
Guidance: Food Standards Agency cooking advice ↗
Nutritional considerations
Sponge and buttercream contain sugar and saturated fat. Cut equal slices and treat the cake as an occasional food.
Practical skills
Creaming, folding, dividing batter, testing a sponge, cooling and sandwiching.
Presentation
Use clean serving equipment, divide evenly and wipe the plate or dish edges. Check the finished food against your planned colour, texture and appearance.
Evaluate your practical
Describe the appearance, flavour, texture and a skill you used successfully.
Explain one improvement to the recipe, your timings or your technique.
Classroom adaptation written from the recipe title in your collection. Review portions, ingredients and timings with your teacher before a practical.
Times are approximate. Quantities are for the stated yield; accompanying foods are included only when listed. This learning sheet does not itself award a qualification.