A birthday cake fit for a... queen!

What does the royal ‘we’ have for tea? Well, since the Queen’s grandmother, Queen Victoria, fresh from slicing up the globe, sampled a slice of this sponge cake, it has become a teatime favourite of society.

Credited with establishing teatime in England, the Duchess of Bedford, who was one of Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, adopted the European custom and invited friends to join her. Victoria soon became a teatime regular and a cake was later named in her honour.

So, what better way to celebrate the Queen’s birthday than with a piece of cake just like granny used to make... or have had made for her at least?

Layered Victoria sponge cake
    
You will need:
 
200g butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 2/3 cups self-raising flour, sifted

Italian Buttercream
1¼ cups sugar
½ cup water
5 egg whites, room temperature
500g unsalted butter, room temperature (see tip opposite)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
few drops of pink gel food colouring

¾ cup raspberry jam, warmed and sieved to remove the seeds

To prepare:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Lightly spray a 24 x 30cm baking pan (or similar) with oil and line it with baking paper.

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a food processor until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla essence. Using a spatula, gently fold in the sifted flour.

Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven until cake is golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside to cool.

To make the buttercream, place the sugar and water in a pan. Bring slowly to a boil and continue to boil for 6-8 minutes until mixture reaches the soft-ball stage (112ºC on a candy thermometer). Make sure you have egg whites ready (see next step) before the sugar syrup reaches its temperature.

Place egg whites in the bowl of a food processor. Using the whisk attachment beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Continue beating as you pour in the hot sugar syrup in a slow, steady stream. Beat for a further 5-6 minutes, or until the mixture has cooled.

Add the butter, bit by bit, until it has amalgamated into the egg white mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. Add the vanilla essence and food colouring and combine.

To assemble the cakes, slice the sponge cake in half to form two rectangles, approximately 15cm x 24cm. Slice each one in two through the middle to make 4 sponge sheets.

Place one sponge sheet onto a piece of clean baking paper. Spread with a thin layer of the raspberry jam and then a layer of the buttercream. Repeat the layers, finishing with the fourth sponge sheet. Make sure the cake is a nice, even shape before refrigerating for 15 minutes to firm.

Remove sponge cake from the fridge and trim the edges with a large serrated knife. Slice the sponge in half lengthways to make two log shapes. Using a palette knife, cover the top and sides of each log with a very thin layer of buttercream (this will seal in the crumbs). You can refrigerate them again at this stage for a few minutes to firm up the icing.

Spread the cakes with a final layer of buttercream on the sides and top or pipe the top with swirls. Keep cakes refrigerated, but bring them to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

And... enjoy!

Tip: Make sure the butter is soft. You should be able to pinch off bits with your fingertips.

Thanks to Food magazine for this most righteous royal recipe.
 
Please try this recipe and send us your feedback, or your recipes to share with our readers, by emailing us at: info@garden-nz.co.nz .