Victoria Sponge Recipe

Fair Trade Victoria Sponge Recipe

To celebrate our sugar being back in stock, we thought we’d share our favourite fair trade Victoria Sponge recipe, which uses our caster sugar. Named after Queen Victoria, as she notoriously enjoyed a slice with her afternoon tea, this cake is the ultimate crowd pleaser. Well, if it’s good enough for a queen, it’s good enough for us…

What you’ll need for the sponge:

3 medium eggs, locally sourced if possible 175g unsalted butter, softened 175g Traidcraft caster sugar ¾ tsp vanilla extract 175g self-raising flour 1 tbsp warm water

For the filling:

6 tbsp strawberry jam 150ml double or whipping cream, well chilled (optional) Icing sugar, for dusting

How to make:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease and line two 20.5cm round, deep sandwich cake tins with butter and baking paper. 2. Soften the butter into a large mixing bowl and beat well with

Celebrate our sugar’s return!

SHOP CASTER SUGAR

a wooden spoon until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time. Beat well for a minute or until the mixture looks very light and fluffy. 3. Break eggs into a small jug, add the ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract and beat with a fork just until the eggs are broken up. Gradually add to the butter mixture a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. 4. Sift the flour onto the mixture and gently fold it in with a metal spoon. After two or three movements, add the warm water. Keep folding in until the flour is well mixed. 5. Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins and spread evenly. 6. Bake for 20–25 minutes until both sponges are a light golden brown, and starting to shrink back from the sides of the tin. Check that the sponge springs back when lightly pressed in the middle. 7. When cooked, carefully turn out the cakes onto a wire rack. Leave until they are completely cooled. 8. Now to assemble your cake - set one sponge crust-side down on a serving plate. Using the back of a tablespoon, evenly spread the sponge with the six tablespoons of strawberry jam. 9. If you choose to use cream, pour into a chilled bowl and whip with a chilled whisk or attachment until it thickens and soft peaks form when you lift out the whisk. Spoon the cream onto the cake and then gently smooth it evenly over the jam. Top with the second sponge, crust-side up, and dust with icing sugar.