Not long ago I shared with you a nifty, new kitchen tool - the Spon - sent to me by Neal Robertson, a tearoom owner in Scotland. Well, I finally had the opportunity to use the Spon to make Neal's signature Victoria Sandwich and I am absolutely tealighted with the results!
As is often the case with a first-time recipe, there were a couple of "hiccups" (explained later) but overall, the results were teariffic.
Here we go:
Gather ingredients
8 oz. self-raising flour (I used White Lily)
8 oz. golden caster sugar
(I used white caster sugar; Neal says golden produces a richer color.
If you can't find caster sugar, try superfine granulated sugar.)
4 large eggs (I used Eggland)
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 oz. butter or margarine (I used butter)
Measure ingredients into a large bowl .....
.....and beat with the Spon until creamy.
Grease and base line two 8-inch round tins.....
.....and split the mixture between them.
Bake at gas mark 4 (350 degrees).....
.....35-40 minutes until golden brown
and shrinking in from the sides of the tins.
Cover and cool completely on a wire rack .....
.....before turning out.
Sandwich together.....
.....with strawberry jam.
Dust top with icing sugar (powdered sugar).
Victoria Sandwich.
Done!
Now, about those "hiccups." The cake centers caved in a bit. I think this was due to the oven temperature. According to my Delia Smith cookbook, gas mark 4 equals 350 degrees, but I think next time I will set the oven to 400 degrees. The batter for this sponge is rather dense and I think a higher oven temperature might work better.
Or ... could it have been because I used 7" tins instead of 8" tins?
Also, next time I'm going to cream the butter before adding it into the bowl. Just a personal preference.
Despite the above, the cake's consistency is perfect, it looks great and tastes even better! I definitely think the Spon has a lot to do with this. I love it!
