VICTORIA SPONGE

PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR (+COOLING TIME) SERVES 8 4 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup (220g) caster sugar

1½ cups (225g) self−raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder

⅓ cup (80ml) milk

225g butter, chopped, softened

300ml thickened cream

250g crème fraiche

2 tablespoons icing sugar

¾ cup (240g) raspberry jam

125g raspberries unsprayed flowers or extra raspberries

(optional), to serve

BUTTER CREAM

125g butter, softened 1½ cups (240g) icing sugar 1½ tablespoons milk rose pink food colouring

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease and flour two 20cm round cake pans; line bases with baking paper.

2 Place eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, milk and butter in a large bowl of an electric mixer (see notes). Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium; beat mixture for 2 minutes or until smooth and pale. Divide mixture evenly between pans; smooth tops.

3 Bake cakes for 25 minutes or until golden brown and shrinking away from sides of pans. Stand cakes in pans for 5 minutes. Turn cakes, top−side up, onto wire racks to cool.

4 Meanwhile, make butter cream.

5 Beat cream, crème fraiche and icing sugar in the small bowl of an electric mixer until firm peaks form (see notes).

6 Split cakes in half horizontally. Place one layer on a serving plate. Spread with one−third each of the jam and cream mixture; sprinkle with one−third of the raspberries. Repeat layering twice, ending with a cake layer.

7 Gently spread butter cream over top and side of cake, scraping the side with a palette knife to give a ‘naked’ cake effect. Decorate with flowers or extra raspberries, if you like.

BUTTER CREAM

Beat butter in a small with an electric mixer until as white as possible. Gradually beat in half the sifted icing sugar, then milk, then remaining icing sugar, beating until mixture is smooth and spreadable. Tint with a few drops of food colouring.