Victoria Sandiwch Cake

[helenjp]

I notice that some people say that a Victoria Sandwich cake uses self-raising flour, but my recipes are identical to pound cake, except for the addition of a little milk in some cases.

I've heard that the difference is in the creaming of the butter and sugar...can anybody provide more detail, please?

What about appearance or presentation - is the jam sammy presentation the main characteristic of a Victoria Sandwich, or is the texture of the cake itself identifiably different?

[PoppySeedBagel]

Helen - I don't know how you make a pound cake, but I make a Victoria Sandwich by creaming 8 oz butter & 8oz castor sugar with an electric mixer on a stand for a very long time, until they are extremely fluffy. then I beat in 4 eggs slowly, and finally fold in 8 oz sifted self-raising flour with a little milk. The mix is then split between 2 sandwich tins, and baked at 150 deg C for about 20 mins (fan oven). When cooled it is sandwiched together with red jam, and icing sugar sifted lightly over the top. Er... that's it. How does this differ, if at all, from your pound cake?

[lexy]

I think the jam is the key differentiating factor. There probably are some slight differences between the actual cakes themselves, but in my mind, a Victoria Sandwich Cake is essentially a pound cake with jam.

[alexw]

Shouldn't this be in the baking forum?

although now i'm here, personally ever since I was a little child I thought the worst thing you could do with a cake was bake it, the mix of any cake is SOOOOO much nicer before it gets a cooked and ruined.

[helenjp]

Poppyseedbagel, it's interesting that you mention creaming the butter and sugar for a long time - if there's a difference, I think that and adding the milk maybe creates a softer texture and whiter colour than in pound cake, but that's all.

Lexy, jam - do you think that there's a strong feeling about what type of jam is used? Or any red jam? We used plum jam because it was so easy to spread.

I didn't put this in the baking forum, because I thought people might not know what a Victoria Sandwich Cake was. (And when I was small, I thought it came from Victoria, Australia ).

[lexy]

Lexy, jam - do you think that there's a strong feeling about what type of jam is used? Or any red jam? We used plum jam because it was so easy to spread.

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Um, my mother always uses either strawberry or raspberry, but I think that's because those are the two kinds she makes, and there's always some needing to be used up. (Shocking, I know - but she does make a lot of jam!)

I'd just go with whatever red jam makes you happy.

Edited March 23, 2006 by lexy (log)

[alexw]

(And when I was small,  I thought it came from Victoria, Australia ).

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I just thought it was invented by a clever girl named Victoria,

still wouldn't cook it though, just eat the mix and the jam on their own.

[ludja]

Here's a link that has a little history on the cake: click

The version they show in a photo and describe also sounds interesting. Between the two layers of cake there is the raspberry jam and a thin layer of whipped cream. The top is covered with powdered sugar. They describe the cake as a sponge cake rather than a pound cake though.

A two-layer sponge-like cake that is filled with a layer of jam and whipped cream. It is cut into small "sandwiches" and served in a similar manner.

...

Queen Victoria adopted the new craze for tea parties. By 1855, the Queen and her ladies were in formal dress for the afternoon teas. This simple cake was one of the queen's favorites. After her husband, Prince Albert, died in 1861, the Queen Victoria spend time in retreat at the Queen's residence (Osborn House) at the Islan of Wight. According to historians, it was here that the cakes were named after her.

In Isabella Beeton's 1874 cookbook called Mrs. Beeton's Cookery and Household Management a recipe is included for Victoria Sandwiches:

(A recipe is given in the link.)

Here is another recipe that also has a layer of whipped cream in addition to the jam: click

I just found a discussion of Victorian Sandwich (or Sponge) Cake on Wikepedia:

click

Victoria Sponge

The Victoria Sponge cake was named after Queen Victoria, who favoured a slice of the sponge cake with her afternoon tea. It is often referred to simply as sponge cake, although it contains additional fat. A traditional Victoria sponge consists of jam and whipped cream sandwiched between two sponge cakes ; traditionally the top of the cake was not iced or decorated in any way.

A Victoria sponge is made in two main ways. The traditional method involves creaming caster sugar with fat (usually butter), mixing thoroughly with beaten egg, then folding flour and raising agent into the mixture. The modern method, using an electric whisk or food processor, involves simply whisking all the ingredients together until creamy. Both are relatively quick and simple, producing consistent results, making this type of mixture one of the most popular for children and people in a hurry. This basic 'cake' mixture has been made into an endless variety of treats and puddings, including fairy cakes, butterfly cakes, chocolate cake, Eve's pudding and many others.

Although simple to make, Victoria sponges recipes are notoriously sensitive to cooking times and temperatures. Because of this oven manufacturers often use a Victoria sponge recipe to test their ovens.

Other names for the Victoria Sponge are Victoria Sandwich and, less commonly, Victorian Cake.

[Swisskaese]

The Great British Kitchen is my favourite site for English Tea recipes. Here is a recipe for Victoria Sandwich Cake

[helenjp]

I made one yesterday, paying extra attention to creaming the butter and sugar and whisking the eggs till pale and fluffy, and...disaster! I can't recall such a disaster in the past two decades! It looked done, had a nice resilience, so I turned it out to cool...and the entire shell broke up, sending a flood of hot, raw cake batter everywhere!

It didn't rise as well as I had anticipated, either. I suspect that maybe the sugar was a bit coarse, as well as the baking time being too short! And maybe my aging oven ain't what it were, either.

The remains of the cake baked nicely though, and were tasty enough that the kids polished it off for breakfast.

I'll try again later!

[PoppySeedBagel]

Oh dear! it should about double in volume, and I suspect it's your oven at fault. I don't actually think using granulated sugar makes much difference .

The worst one I ever made failed because I used salt instead of caster sugar... [i was 14 at the time and Mum's labelling of produce was a bit iffy]

[helenjp]

I suspect it's your oven at fault

I suspect so too, though I don't really want to contemplate it!

I will be having another go though, definitely, as its a nice compromise between the "eat quickly" sponge cake and the "cut and come again" pound cake.