Overview:
By: Steve: Blake & Bull Community Member
Meal Type: Dessert
Cook time: 40 Minutes
Servings: 1 Cake
Here we are! The starting point for any cake baker, the sometimes tricky, fully adaptable and always satisfying Victoria Sponge Cake.
This Recipe comes from community member @stevecooksmakesbakes . Steve and Christine are Blake & Bull community members, home cooks, practiced bakers, and explorers of food, who love their beloved Aga range cookers.
Steve says - "You can adapt this recipe a zillion times - it’s the base of my chocolate cakes, coffee and walnut cakes, coconut and lime - endless variations and fillings. The drop of vinegar acts as a reagent to the baking powder and really gives a lift. Old wartime tip! You can make a very presentable cake with 3 eggs for everyday consumption - but the 4 eggs gives a better ‘wow’ result to show off with!
This recipe is the perfect fit for our Spun Iron 8½" (22cm) Cake Tin. Our cast iron bakewarerange has qualities that makes it the perfect choice for baking in a range cooker. If you are making a cake that you want in 'one piece' then our NEW 9inch (22.8cm) diameter round cake tin will be perfect, maybe for a lemon drizzle version of this base recipe?
UPDATE: Feedback from bakers, who have tried and tested this recipe!
"Just had to tell you that I tried the Victoria Sponge recipe - to compare with all my others! I used fewer eggs as I was a bit short and I have to say I've never seen such a good rise for just 3 eggs! Simply brilliant! That vinegar trick seemed to make a real difference. Please pass on my thanks. Gail"
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs weighed in their shells - aim for 220g in their shell
- Then the same amount in grams of..
- Caster Sugar
- Cake Spread (stork) - must be soft
- Self Raising flour + 10% (so if your eggs weighed 220g add 22g)
- A pinch of baking powder
- A drop of white wine vinegar
- A drop of vanilla extract
You may need...
- A cake tin
- A whisk
- A mixing bowl & wooden spoon
- Or a food processor
- A cold plain shelf
Method:
1. Combine your ingredients using the all in one method, (you can soften your stork if it is hard in a bowl on the back of your range cooker top)
2. Beat for about a minute (food processor)
3. Divide between two greased and lined (but not floured!) cake tins
4. Knock gently to get air bubbles out on the work surface by lightly dropping the tin or tapping the sides, pop into the baking oven for about 30 mins but check! (or roasting oven with cold shelfinserted 5 mins before you bake, 25-30 mins cooking time)
5. Leave to cool in tins for about 10 mins then remove to cool completely on wire rack.
The cake is cooked when a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Turn onto a rack to cool and serve.
More to come - adaptations, variations, and toppings!
< back to our 'Recipes with instructions for Aga range cookers' homepage.
< see our accessories for range cookers including baking tins, kettles and lid covers.