Monday 27 July 2009

The Walker’s take on a Victoria Sponge (i.e it’s my mum’s recipe)

I’m really enjoying #elevensestime (when I’m not pulled away for a meeting) and I thought you might like a recipe for the blog. It’s a little more high tea than elevenses, but if it was a special day, I think it could squeeze in!
7” cake tins [2]
Oven [1]
Resting rack (could use a grill tray) [1]
Big mixing bowl [1]
Smaller mixing bowl [1]
Mixing device (electric beaters or hand whisk) [1]
Pretty big spoon [1]
Washing up sink ready to wash pots.
Cocktail stick [1]
Fresh strawberries or jam to taste.
The flattest plate you have over 7” across or a big round chocolate tin lid.
Self-raising flour [8oz]
Margarine [12oz]
Caster sugar [8oz]
Medium eggs [2]
Icing Sugar [4oz]
Vanilla extract [2 drops]

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C (for fan assisted). Grease the cake tins (if you need to).
Put 8oz of margarine in the big mixing bowl. Add 8oz of caster sugar to the big mixing bowl. Mix the margarine and caster sugar. Break the eggs into the smaller bowl. Whisk the eggs. Start adding small amounts of the egg to the big bowl and mix it in. This will make the egg curdle, so add flour to the big bowl and mix it to bring the mix back. Continue until all the flour and egg has been added to the big bowl.
Spoon the mix into the two cake tins so they have equal amounts of mix. Level the mix out in the tins, but try to have a little more around the edges and less in the middle (it rises more in the middle and cooks slower so doing this will lead to a more level sponge).
If the oven is stable at temperature, put the filled cake tins in and start a 15 minute timer (if not, carry on with instructions until it is).
Wash the smaller bowl (we’ll need it again soon). Wash the big bowl and put it away. Wash the mixing device. Put the remaining 4oz of margarine in the smaller bowl. Mix the margarine to smooth it and make later mixing easier. Put small amounts (table spoon sized) of icing sugar in the smaller bowl and mix it in (if you add lots you will make a big cloud of icing sugar dust).
Continue until about 3oz of icing sugar has been mixed with the margarine. Add 2 drops of vanilla extract to the smaller bowl and mix it in.Taste the mix and decide if you need more icing sugar, keep adding sugar to taste. Put the smaller bowl in the fridge to cool until the cake is ready. When the cake is ready it will be golden and when you slide the cocktail stick in it will come out with no cake mix left on it. Once the cakes are ready, take the tins out of the oven (but not the cakes out of the tin!). Let the tins cool for 5-10 minutes. The cake should now have shrunk and the tins cooled enough to remove them from the tins and put them on the rack.Leave for another 5-10 minutes to cool more.
Choose the flattest sponge as the one for the bottom. Put the bottom sponge on the plate / upside-down lid.
With jam: Smear the jam over the top of the lower sponge.
Smear 2/3 of the butter icing over the jam.
With fruit:Wash then slice the strawberries up.
Smear the top of the lower sponge with 2/3 of the butter icing.Place ¾ of the strawberries on top of the butter icing. Place the top sponge on top. Smear the last of the butter icing over the top sponge. With fruit:Place the last of the strawberries on top of the butter icing. Put it all in the fridge for 15 minutes for the icing to harden up.

Enjoy it all with a nice cup of tea at #elevensestime

Kindest regards, StoatWithToast (aka Dave) Dave Walker

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