Victoria Sponge Cake

Contents… Recipe Ingredients How to Make Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks How to Keep It From Deflating Storage and Serving FAQs More Cake Recipes to Explore Watch How To Make It

What is Sponge Cake?

Sponge cakes are mostly eggs with a little sugar and flour. Because of this, they are light, airy, firm, and absorbent (like a sponge 😁), making them ideal for filling with homemade whipped cream, buttercream, and fruit sauces.

Because it’s so light, you don’t have to worry about the filling squishing out from the weight of the cake. That is something a pound cake can’t do for you (ask me how I know). And it’s incredibly mouthwatering in a Victoria sponge cake sandwich or strawberry shortcake.

Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe Ingredients

This super-easy recipe takes simple shortcuts to make a light and fluffy sponge cake faster and without worries. After trying out several recipes, this is the one that I like the best, and it’s the easiest. It’s not your typical sponge cake because I couldn’t resist “Immafying” it.

Cake Batter

• Granulated sugar – Sweeten up your life with this versatile sweetener. If you want a sugar-free sponge cake, you can use a ½ cup of stevia and erythritol granules to replace the cup of granulated sugar.
• All-purpose flour – This basic pantry staple gives bulk to baked goods and thickens sauces and stews. If you need a gluten-free version, a good all-purpose gluten-free flour that does NOT have xantham gum should work. It has its own party with the eggs and messes up the texture, and experience has taught me that plain rice flour doesn’t work either.
• Unsalted butter – Creamy fat that gives rich moistness to baked goods. Sorry guys, you can use margarine if you want, but it won’t taste the same. Butter goes in both the cake and the buttercream.
• Eggs – The star of this sponge cake recipe acts as a leavening agent and binder, giving soft fluffiness, height, and strength.
• Baking powder – Not all sponge cake recipes include a leavening agent. However, I like to add it for good measure, especially since I’m not patient enough to beat the eggs for 20 minutes.
• Vanilla extract – There’s something about vanilla extract that adds a subtle creaminess and flavor that makes cakes even more delicious. With the price of real vanilla extract, it’s so much cheaper and better-tasting to make your own.
• Milk – While milk is in the cake, too, it is an essential ingredient in a good buttercream filling. You can use it to adjust the texture of frosting, too. Dairy free? Coconut milk will work.

Cake Filling (and Topping)

• Powdered sugar – This sweetener has a finer texture, so you have a smoother texture in frostings and cream fillings than you would if you used granulated sugar. A little secret: I grind granulated sugar in my blender with just a tad of cornstarch for a cheaper powdered sugar.

PRO TIP: To bring the eggs to room temperature quickly, simply submerge the eggs in a small or medium bowl filled with warm water for about 5-10 minutes.

How to Make Victoria Sponge Cake

The Cake

1. Accurately measure ingredients – Weigh the sugar, flour, and softened butter. (Photos 1-4)

1. Beat the eggs – Put eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat them. (Photo 5 & 6)
2. Add the sugar, flour, and softened butter and mix thoroughly. (Photo 7 & 8)

1. Add the rest of the ingredients – Add the baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, and milk.
2. Thoroughly mix ingredients – using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer works just as well. Stir well until everything is fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. (Photo 9)
3. Pour the batter – pour batter evenly into greased cake pans; you can use a food scale to measure accuracy. Tap pans on the work surface to eliminate any large air bubbles. (Photos 10 & 11)
4. Bake at 325℉/107℃ until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes or until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. (Photo 12)

Buttercream Filling

1. Get your ingredients together – Add butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract into a large bowl. (Photo 13)
2. Cream the filling – Using a handheld mixer, mix until smooth and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar if the mixture is too light or more milk if it’s too dry to reach desired frosting consistency.

Assemble the Cake

1. Organize the process – Place one cake on a cake stand or plate, then use a spatula to evenly spread strawberry or raspberry jam on the surface of the cake. Pipe or spread buttercream filling on the cake. (Photos 14-16)
2. Top with the other cake and press lightly. (Photo 17 & 18)
3. Finishing touches – Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cake, then decorate with strawberries, raspberries, or berries of your choice, if desired. (Photos 19 & 20)
4. Enjoy! Slice and serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe Variations

• Flavor Explosion – Add a teaspoon of your favorite extract, raspberry, almond, lemon, or a mix of two or three (blueberry lemon sounds good).
• Switch out the Fillings – Use your favorite pudding and fruit for a different style of cake. Or top it with a rich ganache for an extra special touch.

Tips and Tricks

1. To get a fluffier cake, bring the eggs to room temperature before starting. 
2. If you want a British tea taste, then try soaking it with a strong Earl Gray tea.
3. Fully preheat oven!
4. Not the right pan? Split the batter between smaller pans. Keep an eye on it because it will bake faster.
5. Make sure your mixing bowl is spotless, with no oil residue to hinder the eggs fluffing.
6. For a chocolate sponge cake, you can replace some of the flour with cocoa powder. For example, you can sift together 2 ounces cocoa powder and 6 ounces of flour and continue with the instructions.
7. To get the right consistency, pause, lift the beater and make a figure 8 using the batter dripping from the beater. Count to 10, and if you can still see the design in the batter, it’s ready. If it sinks into the batter before you make it to 10, beat it some more and try it again.

How to Keep Sponge Cake From Deflating

1. Make sure the eggs are room temperature and beat the heck out of them.
2. Don’t use an electric mixer to fold the egg whites into the flour; use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold them in gently, and don’t overbeat.
3. Don’t grease the pan. That way, the cake will stick slightly to it, and the pan will help hold it up.
4. Make sure your oven is fully preheated, so the cake raises and cooks fast enough. An oven that isn’t hot enough is a major culprit for falling cakes.
5. Resist the temptation to open the oven door during the first 20-30 minutes. The sudden temperature when the oven door is opened before the egg has cooked enough to hold the cake’s shape will cause it to fall.
6. Bake it long enough for it to cook thoroughly.
7. The ratio of flour and eggs to the sugar, butter, and baking soda has to be right to provide a solid structure to stay fluffy. (Gluten-free sponge cakes are not impossible to make, just harder.)
8. Try turning the pan upside down while cooling the cake. Gravity can help you out and keep it from falling before it cools. After it’s cool, it should be more stable.

Storage and Serving

Yes, you can make this drool-worthy cake ahead of time. As long as you allow it to cool completely, it stores well at room temperature in an airtight container.

Alternately, you can keep it in the fridge for a week or freeze it for up to 3 months.

FAQs

More Cake Recipes to Explore

• Hot Milk Cake
• Chocolate Pound Cake
• Coconut Cake
• Strawberry Pound Cake

Watch How to Make It

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