I chose this as the first recipe because this is the most basic cake recipe you can probably make, and it's not really that hard to make. I'd say that if you can master this, then you can move on to the next level. Also with this cake, you can make a lot more complicated things whether you make more than one cake and sandwich them with creams, frostings, jams, and other ingredients of your choice, or you frost the whole cake and put toppings. Whatever it is, you start with this cake and then build on it.
Note: There are tons of recipes for sponge cakes (or plain vanilla cakes in general), but I like this one. In the future, I'll probably have different recipes for cakes, but this recipe, as I said before, is actually a sponge cake. In that, it is different from other cake recipes because it tends to be more dry but also light and airy. It is meant to be eaten with cream, frosting, or other such accompaniments. What I suggest, is making this cake and eating it with tea...it tastes AWESOME and it's my dad's ultimate favorite thing to eat for breakfast. As for the Victorian Sandwich cake, this recipe is actually a classic British recipe that originated from the time of Queen Victoria (hence the name of the cake), and is traditionally eaten at tea-time. And as my mom's side of the family is British, it's also no surprise that they make this cake pretty often and which is why it is one of the first things I learned how to make.
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter (4 oz)
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
2 eggs (preferably at room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup of self-rising flour
These are the tools/equipment you will need:
* A mixer (Hand mixer or any kind of electric mixer)
* 2 separate 7-inch pans or 1 9-inch cake pan
* A rubber spatula (To fold in the flour and spread the batter into the pan)
* Measuring cups (Size: 1 cup) and spoons (Size: 1 teaspoon)
* 1 toothpick (To determine whether the cake is baked after you take it out of the oven.)
1. Mix 1 stick of butter with 1 cup of castor sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. (Use the medium/high speed on the mixer.)
2. Mix in 1 egg and beat until just incorporated (use medium speed for the mixer).
(Tip: Do not mix too much. Beat until the egg is just mixed into the batter. If you overmix, the cake will turn out dry and flat. The reason being that the egg creates air bubbles in the mixture after you add the flour. You will actually be able to notice this if you did everything right - knocking out the air bubbles will cause the air to be knocked out of the mixture. After creaming the butter and sugar, the key is to never overmix!)
3. Beat in the second egg with a 1 tbs (tablespoon) of the self-raising flour (from the 3/4 cup).
4. Mix in 1-2 tsp of vanilla essence (I suggest putting 2. It gives the cake a better and stronger flavor, or else it ends up being bland.)
5. Fold in the rest of the flour with the rubber spatula gently, and don't fold too much.
(If you don't know what folding is, it can be tricky. Basically you take the spatula and use your hand to make circular motions, but not full circles. It's more like making lifting motions from the bottom of the mixture while your rotating the mixing bowl. Again, DO NOT fold agressively because you will knock out the air bubbles.)
6. Take a little bit butter and grease the pan(s) - you just take the stick of butter and wipe a little bit all over the inside. Then you pour the mixture into the pan(s).
(You can line the pans with waxing paper or parchment paper and grease them. I don't usually use anything, but it's up to you.)
7. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. (The cake should be lightly brown and when you take it out, if you insert a toothpick into the cake and pull it back out, it should come out clean with no batter or cake stuck to it...this means it's done)
*You have to preheat the oven ALWAYS for at least 5 minutes at the baking temperature that is given in the recipe...DO NOT FORGET TO PREHEAT THE OVEN! This ensures even baking.)
Note: Below are different recipes for toppings and creams to sandwich the cake, and tips for baking cakes. To serve: When cake is cool sandwich both cakes with jam and cream. Cream can be whipped (1/4 pint and until stiff peaks form) or you can use vanilla buttercream. Lastly, dust with icing sugar.
- For jam, you can use any of your choice. Stawberry, rasberry, peach, pineapple, etc.
- For chocolate sandwich cake, make as the victoria sandwich cake, then replace 25 g of the self-rising flour with 25 g sieved cocoa powder. Sandwich with chocolate buttercream and decorate with chocolate glace icing and chocolate curls. You can also use milk chocolate icing.
Glace Icing
Ingredients:4 oz/ 100 g/ 3/4 cup icing/confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp hot water
1-2 drops lemon juice
1. Place sugar in a small saucepan, add water and lemon juice.
2. Add any flavoring or coloring, heat gently for 1 minute and then use at once.
*For vanilla, you can use vanilla essence or extract, and for chocolate, use 1 tbsp cocoa powder with the icing sugar.
Milk Chocolate Icing
Ingredients:2 1/2 oz/ 60 g/ litte more than half of a stick of margarine
1 tbsp cocoa powder, sieved
9 oz/ 250 g/ 2 cups icing/confectioner's sugar
3 tbsp hot milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
Melt margarine, then stir in cocoa powder, icing sugar, milk, and essence. Beat until smooth and thick.
Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients:
3/4 stick of butter
1 1/2 cup of icing sugar
3 tsp hot water/ 2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1. Beat butter until soft and creamy.
2. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, then water/milk and essence.
*For chocolate buttercream, add 1 tbsp sieved cocoa powder with the icing sugar. Or, instead of using 1 1/2 cup icing sugar, use a little less sugar and only 1 tbsp milk, and then add 1 tbsp cocoa powder with 1 tbsp hot water.
This is a picture of the finished Victoria Sandwich Cake that i made. Sorry, it's all I have. When I first started baking a few years ago, I wasn't very experienced in photography:
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