Garden Victoria sponge cake
British 45 Mins Prep · 25 Mins Cook
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease two 20cm round cake tins and line them with baking paper.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on high speed until creamy and smooth, approx. 1 minute. Turn the mixer speed to medium-low, add the caster sugar and 1tbsp vanilla extract to the butter and mix until well combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until very light and fluffy, approx. 5 minutes. Then reduce the speed to low and add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating just until combined. Add one-third of the flour to the butter mixture and mix at a low speed just until combined. Repeat with another one-third portion of flour. Add the remaining flour.
- Whip the egg whites to soft peaks then fold into the cake batter and add the milk.
- Set aside approx. 250ml of the batter and divide it into 6 bowls. Colour each with a drop of food colour of your choice and add into 6 small piping bags.
- Using a printed floral design, trace the design onto a 20cm round piece of baking paper. Flip the paper over so the ink doesn’t run into the batter and place it on the bottom of one cake tin. Pipe the design outline and colour in the flowers and leaves. Place the tin in the freezer for 10 minutes to solidify the pattern.
- Divide the remaining batter between the two cake tins and level out the top. Bake until the cakes are golden and a tester comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool the cakes in the tins completely.
- Hull and thinly slice the strawberries. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Zest the lime over the strawberries. Toss together with the 1 tbsp white sugar. Macerate until the sugar dissolves, approx. 15 minutes.
- To make the filling, add the whipping cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract and icing sugar to a large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Place one of the sponge cakes onto a plate and evenly spread a layer of jam on it. Place a generous amount of the filling over the jam and spread it out to cover the entire cake. Top with a few slices of strawberry. Top with the floral design cake.
- Serve immediately.
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