Victoria Sandwich (Buckingham Palace recipe)

Ingredients:

Ingredients for a traditional Victoria Sponge
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
150g unsalted butter
150g sieved self-raising flour
1/2 tsp of vanilla essence Jam (strawberry or raspberry)

Ingredients buttercream:
150g softened unsalted butter
220g sieved icing sugar
1/3 vanilla pod or vanilla essence

Method:

Instructions for traditional Victoria Sponge:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (375F, gas mark 4)
2. Grease and line two 8 inch cake tins (if you only own one tin, you can bake the sponge and slice in half)
3. Cream the caster sugar, vanilla essence and softened unsalted butter until light and fluffy
4. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs
5. Gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, to avoid the mixture curdling
6. Sieve the flour and fold into the mixture
7. Divide the cake mix between the two cake tins and smooth
8. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the cake appears golden brown
9. Insert a skewer and ensure it comes out clean
10. Remove the sponges from their tins and leave to cool

Method Buttercream:

1. Cream the softened butter with the sieved icing sugar and seeds from the vanilla pod (or vanilla essence)

Assembling the cake:

1. Ensure that both sponges are completely cold before spreading a layer of jam onto the surface of one sponge
2. Spread a thick layer of buttercream on top of the jam (if you prefer this can be done first)
3. Gently place the second sponge on top and gently press down
4. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with a pot of fresh English tea!