A Teatime Classic: The Victoria Sponge

by Juliet Kennedy

Photography by Kenyan Library

The great English invention. No – I’m not talking about the need to beat around the bush when talking about anything remotely awkward – I’m talking about the ritual of tea. A break in the afternoon’s proceedings when you sit, sip and take a moment to savour the flavour of that ancient thing: a cup of tea. In addition, and quite often an excellent assistant in the process of beating around the bush, cake. And the quintessential cake for tea time has to be the Victoria Sponge. Was it Queen Victoria’s favourite? Some surmise, but others claim it came from that royal tradition of nursery tea – where children are seen and not heard.

Photography by Kenyan Library

When done right, Victoria Sponge is a vehicle for jam and cream in equal measure and should be scrimped on when it comes to ingredients. There’s really no room to hide with this cake – you must use the best butter, unctuous and gloriously shiny homemade jam (or the closest thing to it), and excellent quality cream – in order to turn out something that the GKBO (Great Kenyan Bake Off) would be proud to judge.

Be generous in your cutting, for the Victoria Sponge is wanting of some oohing and aahhing when presented; ensure that two cups of tea are required in the eating of one slice. And if you are lucky enough to be invited to join for tea and cake, come with an armoury of chit chat, for this is the best time of the day to sit around and while away the hours with aimless banter.

VICTORIA SPONGE

You’ll need:

• 125g Brown’s unsalted butter (room temperature)

• 200g caster sugar

• 3 eggs

• 300g plain flour

• 160ml Bio whole milk

• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

• 500ml Bio Whipping Cream

• Best quality strawberry jam (Kampi Kitchen or Olkerii)

• Icing sugar, for dusting

The How:

1. Heat the oven to 150 degrees c.

2. Beat the sugar and butter together to make a creamy, pale mixture. Add in an egg at a time and keep beating on medium speed. Add in the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Add 1/3 of the flour, and then 1/3 of the milk, and continue like this until you’ve added and combined it all.

3. Pour into a prepared cake tin (eg buttered and dusted with flour), smooth off with a spatula and bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until it springs back to the touch. Allow to cool for 15 – 20 minutes and then remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Meanwhile, whip the cream to soft peaks and bring your jam up to room temperature. Once the cake is completely cool, cut through it horizontally with a serrated knife. Spread the bottom side with jam, and then layer the cream on top. Finally, place the top half of the cake on top then dust with icing sugar.

Photography by Kenyan Library