A crowning pleasure with tea or after dinner, Victoria Sponge Cake showcases two delectable vanilla and almond layers melded with lingonberry preserves and orange buttercream frosting.
Victoria Sponge Cake
Makes 1 (8-inch) cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups butter, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 3 cups self-rising cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- ÂĽ cup plus 2 tablespoons cool water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup lingonberry preserves
- Orange Buttercream (recipe follows)
- Confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350Ëš. Spray 2 (8-inch) cake pans with baking spray with flour. Line with parchment paper, and spray again; set aside.
- In a large bowl and using a mixer at high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, water, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add egg mixture and flour mixture alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Using a mixer at low speed, beat well after each addition. Beat batter for an additional 5 minutes at medium-high speed.
- Divide batter between prepared pans, smoothing tops. Bake until a wooden pick inserted near centers comes out clean, about 30 to 45 minutes. (Cover with aluminum foil halfway through baking time to prevent excess browning.)
- Remove from oven, and let cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and transfer cakes to wire racks to let cool completely.
- Spread preserves onto 1 cake layer. Top preserves with Orange Buttercream and remaining cake layer. Cake can be stored, covered, in refrigerator for up to 3 days. For a decorative pattern, place a stencil or paper doily atop cake, and sift confectioners’ sugar over template.
Orange Buttercream
Makes approximately 3 cups frosting
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites
- Âľ cup sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
Instructions
- In the work bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together egg whites and sugar.
- Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture reaches 140Ëš on a candy thermometer.
- Place bowl on stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and beat at high speed for 10 minutes, or until tripled in volume and cool to the touch. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and orange zest, and beat to combine. Buttercream can be used immediately or can be stored, refrigerated, in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If refrigerated, allow frosting to come to room temperature, and beat again before using.
For more enticing delights, see “Blissful Berry Confections” on page 31 in the January/February 2015 issue.Â
