Victoria Sponge – Celebration Cake!
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A delicious classic bake – a Victoria sponge. Soft & light cakes, strawberry jam, vanilla buttercream & fresh strawberries!
Victoria sponge
Strawberry season isn’t quiiiite here yet, but I bought a packet anyway and they were surprisingly tasty! This led me to think I should 100% do something with them, but definitely not overdo them. So… I thought I would bake a classic! Funnily enough it is one of the simplest and yet most delicious classic cakes around!
When I was younger I used to think that this type of cake was boring – why would I want it if it’s not chocolate? But oh how naive was I. This cake is SO GOOD and one of the best cakes in the world. However, sometimes the simplest of things can be the most difficult to get absolutely perfect!
Layers
I find that with a Victoria sponge, it’s all about getting everything perfectly in proportion. Such as, if you’re making a two layered cake, everything should be 300g (i.e. the sugar, flour, butter and eggs) and same for if you were doing a larger cake – everything should be 400g! It makes it far simpler and generally provides a foolproof cake. This recipe is for a three layer, 8 inch cake – so for a smaller cake (two layers), simply reduce the cake ingredients to 300g, split the mixture into two tins, and bake for 20 minutes!
Eggs
I weigh out my eggs when making a cake like this so I have no doubts it’s going to work, and once you know your oven well enough you will know when is the perfect time to take the cake out of the oven and when it might need a tiny while longer in the oven!
Cream or buttercream?
This cake is traditionally served with fresh fruit and whipped cream, or jam and buttercream – its entirely up to you! Personally, when i’m making it last a bit longer, I use buttercream so that it stays fresh for longer – whereas the cream may go a bit icky, especially on a hot day!
Assemble
I tend to pipe my buttercream around the edge of each layer, then a bit more in the middle with my jam sitting on the top, it tends to not slide around this way! It also stops jam sliding down the sides so you keep the nice clean edges of the 3 layers of sponge. I use strawberry jam in this recipe however if you would prefer raspberry then why not?! Enjoy!
Victoria sponge - Celebration Cake!
Ingredients
Cake
- 400 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 400 g caster sugar
- 400 g eggs (roughly 8 eggs)
- 400 g self raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp whole milk
Decoration
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 450 g icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 175 g strawberry jam
- fresh strawberries
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan and line three 20cm/8inch cake tins.
- In a large bowl, beat together the unsalted butter and caster sugar until combined.
- Then, add your eggs, whole milk, self raising flour and baking powder, and beat until combined again - but be careful to not over beat.
- Divide the mixture equally between the three tins and smooth it over.
- Bake for 25 minutes until the cake is golden and springs back (a skewer should also come out clean).
- Turn the sponges out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool fully.
Vanilla Buttercream
- Beat the unsalted butter with an electric mixer until it's smooth and loose.
- Then, gradually beat in the icing sugar & vanilla extract.
- If the icing is too stiff, add 1 tbsp whole milk at a time to get your desired thickness!
Decoration
- Spread or pipe the buttercream onto the top of one of the sponges, then spoon on half of your jam.
- Place the second sponge on top and repeat the process - finish with the third sponge, and any left over buttercream on top!
- Add some fresh strawberries, perhaps a sprinkle of icing sugar and serve!
Notes
- When decorating the cake, I like to pipe a small amount of the buttercream around the edge of the sponges, then put a little more in the middle with the jam on top - this stops it falling out all over the place, but this is simply my choice! 🙂
- This cake will last in an airtight container for 3 days, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months!
- I use this piping bag
- I use this Medium 2D Closed Star Piping Tip
- I use these 8" Cake Tin
ENJOY!
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J x
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Hi jane if I was to turn this into a 4 tier cake how much would I need to add to the ingredients
Hiya, for a 4 layer cake I would use a 500g mix x
Hi Jane,
I am planning on making this cake for my best friend’s baby shower as its her favourite. I was hoping to use fresh sliced strawberries in the filling and completely covering the cake in buttercream. Is there anything wrong with doing this? How long would the cake be good for if I did this?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Hey, you can try it yes, use my eat n mess cake sponge as inspiration x
Hi Jane! I absolutely love this cake, but I seem to be having trouble with a raw middle. I did the 300g in two tins. But even after 25 mins at 170 fan, it wasn’t cooked in the middle but the top was a lovely golden colour. Any advice?
Thank you! 🙂
Shannon x
Hiya, it is worth lowering the temp of your oven and baking for quite a bit longer. You can test a cake with a skewer but also if it is making a bubbling or crackling sound it needs a longer bake x
Hi Jane , I love this recipe and wondered if this method could be used to make a coffee and walnut cake? Thanks Louise
Hiya, use my coffee cake recipe and add walnuts x
Hi jane, Just wondering if its possible to sub non dairy milk in for the whole milk? Thanks!
Hiya! You can just leave it out to be honest xx
Hi Jane, I love your recipes and plan on using this one to make my little girls birthday cake. In the past when I have baked similar cakes the sides have always gone too hard (but any less time in the oven would mean wet batter still). Any tips on ensuring a nice even bake? Many thanks
Hey! Awh thank you very much. That sounds like the oven is too high, lower the temp and bake for longer!xx
Love this recipe, I’ve made it multiple times. I need to make a 10 inch cake, what would you recommend on ingredients and baking times?
Hi Jane! I’m going to make this recipe next week and want it to be perfect. Would you say that unsalted butter or stork yields better results for the sponge? I will be using unsalted butter for the frosting (of course) but I am unsure of which of the two would create a more fluffy and tastier sponge? Thank you!!
Hello! I personally use stork!xx
Hi Jane,
I was hoping to make this for a birthday but wondered if it would be ok to bake, fully cool then freeze the sponges ahead of time before defrosting and adding cream/fruit on the actual day? I don’t want to significantly impair the quality but would be great to have the sponges done earlier.
Thanks!
Kath
P.S. I LOVE your blog and can’t wait to get my hands on your book, thanks for all theamazing recipes!
Hey! Yes this would work just fine! Ahh bless you thank you so much xx
Hi Jane! Would you recommend using dowels in this cake if using cream as a filling instead of buttercream?
Hello! I think it would be fine but if you are worried, go for it!xx
Have used lots of your recipes and they always come out perfect. I tried this Victoria sponge recipe today, it tasted delicious and the sponge was nice and light but as the cakes were in the oven rising there were lots of bubbles on top of the sponges. Can you advise why that might have happened
Thankyou
Hey! I am very pleased you enjoy my recipes. This could be due to how it has been mixed – ie too much air in the mix. I hope that helps xx
Hi Jane,
Would this recipe work in one 8” tin? Then cut into 3 layers? Thanks
Hey! I would say they would be very thin layers but theoretically it would work xx
Hi Jane! I absolutely love your recipes and I can’t wait to get your recipe book! I’m wanting to add double cream in with the butter cream would you mix the butter and icing sugar together then add the double cream in as a liquid then whisk it together until it becomes thick or would you whisk the cream up first then fold it into the butter and icing sugar?
Hello! Thank you so much, I hope you love it when you get it! Adding liquid to a buttercream will loosen it so its a bit risky even if the double cream is whipped up (it may create a lumpy texture). You can add small amounts to loosen the buttercream liquid but I wouldn’t add too much xx
Hi Jane how much buttercream would I need to ice the whole cake
I would double it!
Hi Jane,
ive just recently started with the love of cooking and never baked a cake before and wanted to give it a go and chose your victoria sponge to try I followed your recipe and it turned out great and tasted amazing now I just want to try more… maybe a rainbow cake lol
p.s would love to post the picture of my efforts but can’t see how
Hi Jane
Do I weigh eggs with shell on or off? Help!
Thanks
With the shell! x
Hi Jane,
For the butter – is it unsalted or normal?
Thanks x
Unsalted! x
Thank you! Also is semi skimmed milk ok instead of whole milk? X
I would always recommend whole milk in baking x