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Editor Roger DuPuis left the Times Leader last month for a new challenge reporting online for WVIA, and it was MT who first suggested we should make some sort of British-inspired test kitchen for his last (or technically, next to last) day. We tossed around some ideas and settled on me making this “Victoria Sponge Cake.”
Regular readers surely know that despite the French-sounding surname, Roger is a pretty serious Anglophile. Even if you never saw some of the tell-tale signs on or near his desk during his tenure as TL news editor, you saw it in his comments to several dishes I took into the newsroom taste testers.
He critiqued my ice box cookies thusly: “having tasted proper British shortbread I can tell you, this is it.” Upon sampling divinity fudge, he speculated the name came from Victorian times when “People wouldn’t have regularly had access to so much sugar, so it would have seemed heavenly.” And when I made coronation chicken at the suggestion of reader Charlotte Matiska in honor of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, Roger offered a somewhat detailed explanation of how the British started importing different foods in the post-war years and “curry would have been a relatively new flavor, and it would have matched the joyous occasion of a beautiful young queen being crowned.”
So, yeah, when I came upon this Victoria Sponge Cake concoction at allrecipes.com, it seemed an appropriate choice for his send off. It is said to have been a favorite for Queen Victoria at tea time.
My only tip is don’t ignore the fact that it calls for “baking spray” rather than a regular non-stick spray. I haven’t tried to substitute them, but the chefs at America’s Test Kitchen have pointed out they really are different. Baking spray has some flour particles in it, creating more gap between the metal and cake. But don’t despair, ATK also offers an alternative: Mix 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon flour into a paste and brush it inside the pan.
Knowing the jam and whipped cream filling would make it harder to keep the two layers together in transit, I considered doing final assembly at work. But I opted to finish it at home for the photos, then tried to drive the short distance to the office carefully to keep it intact. Predictably, the top layer started sliding offthe bottom, but a little luck kept the garnish strawberries exactly in place; the restoration at work was less than perfect but much better than I expected. After the fact, it occurred to me that it may have traveled better if I’d pulled a few layers of plastic wrap snugly around the cake.
Roger loved it, and started snapping pictures even before I had it reassembled. But I confess I didn’t bother taking notes on everyone’s reactions. I don’t think it was necessary. It’s sponge cake, with sweetened whipped cream, and a jam filling, and powdered sugar, and fresh strawberries.
What’s not to like?
Dobru chut!
Victoria Sponge Cake (all recipes.com)
Baking spray
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup whole milk, room temperature
½ cup strawberry or raspberry preserves
Fresh strawberries, for garnish (Optional)
For the whipped cream:
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray; line bottoms with parchment paper. Lightly spray parchment paper with baking spray.
Sift flour, cornstarch, and baking powder into a medium bowl; whisk in salt and set aside.
Beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. (The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color.)
Beat in eggs, one at a time, on medium speed, allowing each egg to blend into butter mixture before adding the next, 1 to 2 minutes total. Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla. With mixer on medium-low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with milk, beating until just combined after each addition.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes. Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a wire rack. Let stand, parchment side down, on wire racks until cooled completely, about 1 hour.
Remove and discard parchment paper. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Stir preserves in a small bowl until mostly smooth; spread in an even layer over cake.
To make vanilla whipped cream: Whisk heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract by hand in a large bowl until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Dollop over jam, then spread into an even layer.
Top with remaining cake layer. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with strawberries (if using).
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish