Mum’s Victorian sponge cake
SERVES 8 / PREPARATION 15 MINUTES / COOKING 25 MINUTES
My parents emigrated from the UK and brought their Britishness with them, which they hung onto for dear life. Growing up, our roasts came with Yorkshire pudding, the only fish we ate was battered and none of us knew what a pavlova was. If we weren’t devouring apple pie for dessert, it was a Victorian sponge cake, which is the first thing my mum taught me to cook. The recipe came from an old cookbook given to my mother by her Aunt Mary and the colour plates of tarts and roasts and strange fish terrines would fascinate me and instilled in me a sense of wonder about recipes. “Could I make this,” I would continually ask myself. The book is sadly lost.
Funds were slim when I was young and we didn’t have an electric mixer. I creamed the butter and sugar by hand, beating in the eggs with a wooden spoon – I don’t recall owning a whisk – and lastly adding the flour. I found when Mum transitioned to a mixer, the texture of the cake changed slightly and became a little lighter. I always loved the buttery density of the sponge made by hand. The resulting cake was toothsome and dense, buttery with a slightly chewy crust. For a special occasion, the sponge, made in two sandwich tins, was filled with strawberries and cream, but usually, it was just strawberry jam, which I prefer.
250g unsalted butter, softened
250g caster sugar
4 free-range eggs
250g self-raising flour
4 tablespoons strawberry jam whipped cream, to serve (optional) icing sugar, to serve
Heat the oven to 180℃ and grease two sandwich tins with some butter. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, using a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until well incorporated before folding through the flour. Evenly divide the batter between the two greased tins. Place on the middle shelf and bake for 25 minutes. The cakes are done when they are golden and come away from the sides of the tin. Cool in their tins for five minutes before turning out onto a wire cake rack to cool. When cold, fill with your favourite jam and whipped cream then sandwich the two cakes together, dust with some icing sugar and serve.