Victoria sponge

Serves 6-8

You will need:

• 225g butter, plus extra for greasing the tin

• 225g plain flour, plus a little extra for flouring the tin

• 225g sugar

• 4 eggs

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 tablespoon milk

• 2 tablespoons jam (such as raspberry jam or blackberry jam, or see In Season, below)

• 300ml whipped cream

• Caster sugar or icing sugar, for dusting

1 You will also need 2 x 18cm cake tins with sides that are at least 2½ cms high. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4.

2 Butter and flour the sides of the tins and line the bases with discs of baking parchment.

3 In a large bowl or in an electric food mixer, cream the butter until it is soft. Add the sugar, and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4 In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together for a few seconds until they are just mixed, then gradually add the whisked eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, beating all the time.

5 Sift in the plain flour and the baking powder, then add the milk, and fold it in gently to incorporate it. Divide the cake mixture between the two prepared tins, making a slight dip in the centre of each cake, so that when they rise, they will be flat on top and not peaked.

6 Place the cakes in the centre of the preheated oven. Bake them for 18-25 minutes, or until they are golden on top and springy to the touch. 7 Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool in the tins for five minutes, then use a small, sharp knife to loosen around the edges of each cake. Carefully remove each cake from its tin before leaving the cakes on a wire rack to cool down completely.

8 Sandwich the two cakes together — see Rachel Recommends — with some jam and whipped cream (see Note, below), then dust the top of the cake with caster sugar or icing sugar, whichever you’re using.

Note: If I know that all the Victoria Sponge won’t be eaten on the day it’s made, then I’ll serve the whipped cream on the side instead. It doesn’t do the cake any favours to store it in the fridge.