Victoria Sponge Cake, Afternoon Tea Cake – Recipe for US Kitchens
Victoria sponge cake is possibly the most quintessential British cake, and loved by Brits across the world. Don’t worry if you’re no longer in the UK, now you can make this beauty in your own kitchen!
Isn’t this cake a beauty?
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A classic Victoria sandwich, or Victoria sponge cake, can still be found all over Britain at tea rooms, restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and homes. Madeira cake doesn’t seem to have held on to its popularity as much as the Victoria sponge. I’d liken it to chocolate chip cookies in the US. If you visit the UK, do not leave without having a slice of Victoria sponge cake!
Why is it Called a Victoria Sponge Cake?
That’s an easy one: Queen Victoria was the reason. The cake is also called a Victoria Sponge, although truly, a sponge cake has no butter. Queen Victoria’s love of this layer cake with jam (and later, also cream) is the reason for its name.
According to Mrs. Beeton (an authority in British cookery), the original Victoria Sandwich was baked in an oblong tin and filled with jam or marmalade and then sliced into fingers, or “sandwiches.”
A British Tradition
This cake is such a British classic and readers have often asked me for a recipe over the years that I’m so happy to finally share this recipe with you. As with many other recipes on my site, this is not mine. I change and adapt recipes, but I always try to give credit to where the recipe originated. This Victoria Sandwich recipe is from Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Cookery and Household Management.
Sometimes, the recipes are just from what my mother taught me when I was growing up, like my apple pie recipe, another British classic. Just like the apple pie, a Victoria sponge is finished off with sugar. My Favorite (British) Apple Pie
Keeping it British
If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you’ll know I give a rant or “strong suggestion” from time to time. I won’t go into a full blown rant this time, but I want to give you a few tips about the decoration and filling, especially about the cream, if you decide to use it.
- I’ve never had cream in the US that wasn’t sweetened. However, in the UK, more often than not, especially in Scotland, cream is left as is. It’s probably because it’s so fabulous and so incredibly creamy that nothing else is needed. I still never add sugar to my cream here in the US. So, please, don’t be tempted to add sugar (or vanilla) to the cream for a Victoria sponge cake; it just won’t taste the same.
- Even Mary Berry’s recipe doesn’t have sugar in the cream, and many people think she’s the original recipe creator, which is pretty funny! She’s even been quoted as saying, “I know people think I invented the Victoria Sandwich, but I’m really not that old.” – Mary Berry
- Use good quality raspberry jam, if possible. Strawberry jam is a second choice, and obviously, you can choose to use any jam you like, but raspberry is the classic choice.
- To keep it authentic, use granulated sugar to dredge on top.
- As noted below, please USE A SCALE. The weight of the ingredients is so important with this cake which is why a scale is so important for best results. Scales are readily available and inexpensive in the US now, and you won’t regret buying one.
Here’s my point: if you decide to make this Victoria sponge cake, make it as the recipe is written the first time. Don’t top it with frosting, and sprinkles, or add sugar to the cream (in fact, the most geniune and original Victoria sandwich only had jam). Taste a traditional and genuine Victoria sponge here in the US, and let me know what you think.
If you ever end up with stale Victoria sandwich cake, make a trifle!
The next time you bake one, add the frosting and sprinkles if you like, but I have a feeling they won’t even cross your mind.
Victoria Sponge Cake,
Traditional British Afternoon Tea Cake
slightly adapted from Mrs. Beeton’s recipe makes one 8″ cake
please use a scale for best results!
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 sticks (300g) good quality butter, unsalted and at room temperature (if you only have salted butter, omit the salt)
- 1 1/4 cups (300g) superfine or Baker’s sugar (caster sugar in the UK)
- 6 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups (300g) self-rising flour (or all purpose flour with 2 tsp baking powder), SIFTED
- a good pinch of salt
- raspberry jam for filling
- heavy whipping cream for filling
- superfine/Baker’s or confectioner’s sugar for the top of the cake
Special equipment: 2, 8″ round cake tins, parchment paper, handheld mixer
Oven temperature: 350° F (180°C)
Make the Victoria Sponge Cake
Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Grease the pans using butter or a spray and dust with flour. Set aside.
In a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. It will begin to pale in color, too.
Add about one third of the beaten eggs, and mix well at medium speed.
Then add about a third of the sifted flour. Repeat this step. Add the rest of the eggs and mix well, then turn the mixer to low and add the final flour and just mix until well combined.
Using a scale, divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and place in the center of a preheated oven for about 35 minutes. Since ovens vary greatly, do not open the oven until you start to smell the cake and it looks well risen (through the glass).
Carefully check that the cake is done with a cake tester or thin skewer. If it is too raw, the cakes will fall and you won’t be happy, so the previous step is important. When the cake is done, remove them from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the tins.
To remove: place a cooling rack over the top of the cake and flip it over quickly. Remove the tin and the parchment paper and allow to cool completely before filling.
Fill and Decorate the Victoria Sponge
Beat the cream without any added sugar or flavorings until it’s thick enough to fill the cake, and support a layer, but not so thick that it starts to become butter.
Using a cake leveler, or large serated knife, place the cake layers, flat side down on the counter and slice off the top to make them even.
Save or freeze the leftover cake to make trifle(s)! More trifle recipes at the very bottom.
Place one layer, CUT SIDE UP on a serving plate and spread a generous amount of the raspberry jam to cover the top.
Don’t worry if you put too much or too little jam the first time as it will take a little experience to know just how much to put, and it won’t affect how good it will taste in the end.
Next, spread the cream over the jam. Again, be generous, but bring it almost to the edge as the weight of the top layer will push it down a bit.
Top with the second layer, but this time, CUT SIDE DOWN.
Sprinkle with sugar, or dust with confectioner’s sugar, and place in the refrigerator for an hour or two. This helps a lot in making nice slices when you cut into the Victoria Sandwich.
All that’s left is to enjoy this beauty with a hot cup of tea!
Let me know what you think in the comments below, thank you!
Victoria Sandwich, Traditional British Afternoon Tea Cake - Recipe for US Kitchens
A classic British afternoon tea cake named after Queen Victoria. Yellow sponge filled with jam and usually cream.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 sticks (300g) good quality butter, unsalted and at room temperature (if you only have salted butter, omit the salt)
- 1 1/4 cups (300g) superfine or Baker's sugar (caster sugar in the UK)
- 6 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups (300g) self-rising flour (or all purpose flour with 2 tsp baking powder), SIFTED
- a good pinch of salt
- raspberry jam for filling
- heavy whipping cream for filling
- superfine/Baker's or confectioner's sugar for the top of the cake
Instructions
Special equipment: 2, 8" round cake tins, parchment paper, handheld mixer
Oven temperature: 350° F (180°C)
Make the Cake
- Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Grease the pans using butter or a spray and dust with flour. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. It will begin to pale in color, too (given that you're using a good quality, yellow butter).
- Add about one third of the beaten eggs, and mix well at medium speed. Then add about a third of the sifted flour. Repeat this step. Add the rest of the eggs and mix well, then turn the mixer to low and add the final flour and just mix until well combined.
- Using a scale, divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and place in the center of a preheated oven for about 35 minutes. Since ovens vary greatly, do not open the oven until you start to smell the cake and it looks well risen (through the glass).
- Carefully check that the cake is done with a cake tester or thin skewer. If it is too raw, the cakes will fall and you won't be happy, so the previous step is important. When the cake is done, remove them from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the tins.
- To remove: place a cooling rack over the top of the cake and flip it over quickly. Remove the tin and the parchment paper and allow to cool completely before filling.
Fill and Decorate the Victoria Sandwich
- Beat the cream without any added sugar or flavorings until it's thick enough to fill the cake, and support a layer, but not so thick that it starts to become butter.
- Using a cake slicer, place the cake layers, flat side down on the counter and slice off the top to make them even. (Save or freeze the leftover cake to make trifle(s)! More trifle recipes at the very bottom.)
- Place one layer, cut side up on a serving plate and spread a generous amount of the raspberry jam to cover the top. Don't worry if you put too much or too little jam the first time as it will take a little experience to know just how much to put, and it won't affect how good it will taste in the end.
- Next, spread the cream over the jam. Again, be generous, but bring it almost to the edge as the weight of the top layer will push it down a bit. Top with the second layer, but this time, CUT SIDE DOWN.
- Sprinkle with sugar or dust with confectioner's sugar, and place in the refrigerator for an hour or two. This helps a lot in making nice slices when you cut into the Victoria Sandwich.
Notes
Please, don't be tempted to add sugar (or vanilla) to the cream for a Victoria Sandwich; it just won't taste the same.
Use good quality butter and jam.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 196Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 145mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 6g
Nutrition information is estimated.
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Our double cream in the UK is 42% fat. We do have whipping cream at 38% which gives a lighter texture, but the creaminess of double cream is unmistakable! And I think our pasteurisation techniques are different – our cream has around a week shelf life, even when stored in the fridge
Yes, definitely a HUGE difference in our creams!
I was excited to see and try this recipe, but the condescending remarks about Americans and the U.S. are really off-putting. Surely you can write and remark on the differences in things without being rude about us and our food.
Not sure I know what you’re referring to, India? If it’s about adding sugar to cream, that is an absolute FACT. I don’t believe I’ve ever had cream without sugar in the US unless it was in my own home or my mother’s. Where are the condescending remarks? And in case you are unaware, I am also an American.
HI,
I’ve read through your recipe and everything else, to which I found not a single condescending remark towards “American” or “U.S”.
Thank you, Sandra. Sadly, sometimes people just aren’t happy unless they’re complaining.
This sounds terrific. However, I have food allergies. If it was just the gluten substituting a commercial GF self rising flour might work out. But, I also have problems with dairy. Easy enough to skip the whip and just stick with a jam, but the butter! I could use pure coconut oil (has the flavor removed) or palm shortening. These products are different from butter, besides lacking the flavor, in that they lack the water content of butter. I am not sure how they would be in the final cake. If desired I could whip some coconut cream, but it carries the flavor. There are other allergies not in the original ingredients that limit substitutions including tree nuts and soy.
Hi Martha, unfortunately a Victoria sponge is a rather difficult cake to master if anything is changed. :( Sadly, I can’t recommend any of those changes for good results. There are just too many changes in the cake batter itself to warrant a cake you’d want to eat. The only one of my recipes I can recommend that will meat your dietary restrictions (closest to a cake) are my vegan doughnuts which are phenomenal.
The cake was fantastic, definitely make this again, thank you for the recipe.
Awesome, Tina! Thank you for letting me know (if you can click the 5 stars on the recipe card, I would so appreciate it)!
I think I did it lol
So I made this yesterday and it was way dense and didn’t rise. I specifically bought self rising flour. I’ve asked around and heard different things….eggs should be at room temp, the butter was too cold? Mine wasn’t crumbly at all? I couldn’t find my sifter so I ran a whisk in it to break it up….could that have done it? I’m retrying tomorrow….
Oh definitely use a sieve to get the air into the flour, I bet that did it! Let me know on your next try, Melissa!
Hm. I have no idea how a cake with 2 1/2 sticks of butter and 6 eggs could be so DRY, but it was. I did not overbake it! My crumb looks just like your photos. I knew it would be dense–more similar to a pound cake than an angel food cake, but the dryness really confounds me.
I made 2 8-inch rounds, filled it with 10 oz seedless raspberry jam and 8 oz heavy cream, whipped. Assembled and refrigerated overnight. It’s delish, but the cake is so dry–even with all the fat of the butter and heavy cream.
And cutting it was quite the exercise. How do the Brits cut it so the whipped cream doesn’t sploosh out? I used a serated knife and and up-and-down motion (rather than a sawing back-and-forth motion) and barely kept the cream withing the layers.
I wonder what I’m missing–what went wrong? I can’t imagine an entire nation getting behind this tasty but problematic concoction.
Hi Sue, sorry for the troubles, but I don’t know what to tell you about the dryness. I do know what the problem is with the cream and it’s because I have the same issue. We don’t have the same cream (less fat content) as the UK so it doesn’t thicken the same way as theirs. If we beat it more, it would turn to butter, it’s a sad state of affairs :( What helps is to refrigerate the cake, cut it and then let it sit for a while before serving (so it’s not cold).
Now that I think about it, perhaps it’s also got to do with our ultra-pasteurized dairy. I don’t think it does milk or cream any favors to have a shelf life of MONTHS…
No worries, Christina. I made syrup with fresh blackberries to drizzle over each serving. Moistens things up quite nicely!
Since half the cake remains, I am now considering making vanilla pudding and turning the rest of it into a trifle.
May as well have fun experimenting and enjoying the changes!
I’m wondering if you measured the flour? I believe this could make a big difference in the dryness.
G’Day Christina. I have overcome the cream swooshing out of a Victoria sponge. when I beat my cream I add a pinch of gelatine then beat the cream again. for 5 seconds. add cream to cake.
I do not have any problems cutting the cake.
ps I never put my cakes in the fridge, it is a cert it will dry the cake very quickly. I keep my cake on my bench top under a cake dome. Ann L xx
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Oooh, I may try that, Ann! Thank you!