*Wikipedia refers to a 'sponge' in the same terms that North Americans refer to a 'Pound Cake' in that it does not contain a levelling agent such as baking powder.The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first of the non-yeasted cakes, and the earliest recorded sponge cake recipe in English is attested to the 1615 book of English poet and author Gervase Markham entitled; The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman.[1] Though it does not appear in Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery in the late 18th century, it is found in Lydia Maria Child's The American Frugal Housewife,[2] indicating that sponge cakes had been established at Grenada in the Caribbean, by the early 19th century.Now I had never made a Victorian Sponge before and so I wanted to practise to make sure that I got it just right. I ended up making four Cakes in total. Much to my friends and Dave's delight...and yes, they all got eaten...After all that practise I felt I was ready. Now the interesting thing about the Victorian Sponge despite its history, is it is incredibly simple.
*Anna, the Duchess of Bedford (1788-1861), one of Queen Victoria's (1891-1901) ladies-in-waiting, is credited as the creator of teatime. Because the noon meal had become skimpier, the Duchess suffered from "a sinking feeling" at about four o'clock in the afternoon. At first the Duchess had her servants sneak her a pot of tea and a few breadstuffs into her dressing room.Only four ingredients are used generally in a Victorian Sponge and each of them must weigh the same as the total weight of your eggs. Cool! So, I had a lot of fun using my brand new scale and making loads of cake!
The 4th Victorian Sponge we had cake for days with our tea....yum yum!
Victorian Sponge
Most people know how much I LOVE Jamie Oliver. I found his recipe for Victorian Sponge the best and easiest to follow. I did look at many recipes for this classic cake, but discovered Jamie's recipe to be very straight forward. However, I did not follow his recipe for the filling. I used a very good quality Strawberry jam and made a wonderfully rich butter cream for the centre. Those were the only variations. Enjoy!
http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com/recipe.php?title=classic-victoria-sponge-with-all-the-trimmings
serves 10
Ingredients:
for the sponge- • 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
- • 225g self-raising flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
- • 225g caster sugar
- • 4 large eggs, preferably free-range or organic
- • 1 lemon
for the filling
(here is where I altered from the recipe but I do recommend trying this as it is delightful I tried it once I did find the jam went a wee bit runny once heated would recommend adding the strawberries without heating the jam)
- • 250g fresh strawberries
- • 1 vanilla pod
- • 150g good-quality strawberry jam
- • 150ml double cream
- • 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- • icing sugar, for dusting
• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4
• Grease the bottom and sides of two 20cm sandwich cake tins with butter
• Line the base of each tin with greaseproof paper, then dust the sides lightly with flour
• Grease the bottom and sides of two 20cm sandwich cake tins with butter
• Line the base of each tin with greaseproof paper, then dust the sides lightly with flour
trace&cut your parchment paper prior to baking
Line only the bottom of your Spring form pan
Grease the sides of your pan generously!
(take your eggs out about 2 hours prior to baking so that they are room temp)
Your butter should weight the same as your eggs!
You can make your sponge like this (by hand), or in a food processor
(I have done it both ways with equal success)
• Beat the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon, until very light and fluffy 
Sift in the flour
Divide the cake mix into the prepared tins and spread it out using a spatula
• Bake in the hot oven for around 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and risen
• You can check to see if the cake is cooked by sticking a cocktail stick or skewer right into the middle of the sponge 
Remove it after 5 seconds and if it comes out clean the cake’s cooked; if slightly sticky it needs a bit longer, so put it back into the oven
• Allow the cakes to cool slightly in the tins, then carefully turn them out on to a rack to cool completely
Hull and slice your strawberries
• Carefully score the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out all of the seeds • Gently warm the jam in a pan over a low heat
Remove from the heat and stir in your sliced strawberries
• Add the cream to a bowl with the sugar and vanilla seeds, and squeeze in the juice from your zested lemon • Whip until you have nice soft peaks
Pick the least attractive sponge to go on the bottom and put it in the middle of your serving platter or cake plate
• If it’s a little rounded on top, simply trim and flatten it off by using a sharp knife and rotating the plate and sponge as you cut Smear over the jam and strawberries, then spread the sweetened cream over the top
• Place the second cake, with the pretty side facing up, on top and dust it with icing sugar
#SIMONSTRONG's Cake...he told me after I added the fresh Farmer's Market Strawberries to the Jam filling
that he doesn't like fruit in his cake, but that he would eat it anyway Bless!
You can Tweet Simon @CyclingSimonMBE https://twitter.com/#!/CyclingSimonMBE
http://simonrichardsonmbe.yolasite.com/
*http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/VictoriaSponge.htm
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge_cake
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/victoriasponge_13555
http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com/recipe.php?title=classic-victoria-sponge-with-all-the-trimmings
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