What's the secret of a good Victoria Sandwich?

[saltyseadog]

I need to know :o!

Having failed miserably at a horticultural show this weekend, I'm going to have a second attempt at another show this weekend.

What are your tips please? I have to use a three egg, 6oz of everything else recipe.

I aim for a light texture but quite a tall sponge IYKWIM? I use an all in one recipe - 8oz of everything and 4 large eggs - more if they are small. I think the secret to getting a fluffy sponge is in the fat though - I use half Stork and half butter. Too much butter makes it heavy and too much Stork makes it too light and crumbly. Good luck!

should of watched the Bake off last week!
View the BBC website for Mary Berrys tips.

Also over mixing and too long baking can affect it.

I think its very difficult and results always vary.

Quality pans, turn off fan assisted, I find 180/gas 4 sometimes to harsh and turn down a tiny bit.

On the bake off they were using in oven thermometers - may be a good investment.

Quality eggs a must - not cheap pale ones, the fresher the better.

Whisk butter and sugar together until they go white before adding eggs and flour.

To me the real secret is to let someone else make it and just have to sit down and enjoy eating it.

Also, egg should be at room temperature, not cold from the fridge.

I use the BBC Good Food recipe (4 eggs) which is basically putting all the ingredients in a KitchenAid / Kenwood and beating together. I am usually rubbish at making cakes and this actually works! Have made it three times in the last month and it worked everytime!
Hope you can find it.

baking powder

I would second the idea of getting an in-oven thermometer.

My baking improved considerably after I bought one (just £5 in Debenhams or Lakeland) and I felt so good that I could blame the baking failures on the oven temp

Weigh your eggs and then use double that weight of everything else to be very accurate.

Quality ingredients also tell.

surely the same weight as the eggs, not double?

Salty - there was a fab thread in 2007, one of my all-time favourites, in which Slubberdegullion attempted to win 2nd prize for her cake in her village show (not first prize, because they were relatively new to the village and she didn't want to look pushy.)

It involved all sorts of lunacy including a great many practice cakes and a sift so high she had to lean out of her bedroom window to do it. You need to find that thread.

I always use Mary Berry's all in one recipe - 4 eggs, 8 of everything else. Works every time.

Is this Slubberdegullion's thread?

Oh and I forgot to say I use all stork.

I always weigh the eggs and use the same amount of everything else.
Have everything at room temerature - I use slightly warmed baking tins as well.I bake mine in an Aga type oven so can't actually control the temperature but I find a lower longer bake is usually better

and i know its hard, but really try not to open the oven too much

I have made loads over the years. The best one I have ever made is this - followed it exactly, no fan, right size tins etc. It was for DD's 4th birthday so a bunch of 4 year olds benefitted. Cos, like, they really appreciated it.

I get my eggs from the butcher who has them delivered from a local farm each morning. For sponges I use them either that day or the next. I don't put them in the fridge at all - just leave them out on the counter.

I use stork sb. Anything 'low fat' or cheap margerine will just make the sponge dry. You NEED fat in a sponge.

Homepride self raising flour. Well sifted.

I put my homemade jam in my sponges.

Then, for the filling... but your average village fair would probably fail you for this... so save this for a real pig out type victoria sponge to scoff at home!, I use full fat double cream for the filling and whisk it too much! so it goes completely solid like clotted cream. Stands up on its own so you can get a layer a good inch thick between the top and bottom

rockbird
I am proud to say that not only do I remember that thread.... but I was the first to mention proper sifting [proud emoticon]

er, and.... soggy bottoms

Heck - I'm only at page 11 of slubber's epic thread (which I'd forgotten all about). What happens next? Does she get 2nd prize? The suspense is killing me :o.

I didn't realise that there is special sponge flour .

I did add a cheeky little spoon of baking powder in my last entry, so I suspect I was found out. Oops.

Mmmmmmmmm at fresh cream for the filling.

an aga
a kitchenaid

I've got an Aga - it's shoite (and currently switched off) :o

get it ON

I have cooked 3 Victoria sandwiches in a week ( this is not the norm!)

its due to

1. new kitchenaid
2. a levels
3. 18th birthday
4. GCSEs

They have all been lovely tasty light and moist although not particularly well risen

i do nigella 4 eggs 8oz x three and a drop of milk

Oooh new kitchenaid - larvely!

The aga has died unfortunately. I need the aga man to come and fix it, which would drive up the unit cost of my cake from £3 to £300 :o

I use plain flour and 3 x 3/4 tsp baking powder for a 3-egg cake.

I also separate the eggs and whisk the whites and fold them in, sometimes I add a couple of tbsp milk when folding the flour in.

To cook I use 2 tins and they are just a little bit smaller than an 8" circle of baking parchment from Lakeland.

Tbh, they turn out slightly different each time. Maybe the oven isn't always the same or the eggs are different.

For me, it's got to be a butter sponge every time. Have also discovered that said KitchenAid is wonderful for creaming butter & sugar and that elec oven (fan off) is better for rising a cake than my Aga (although have done some lovely cakes in aga). I do a 5 egg sponge for a 20cm tin and it's a lovely, deep cake when finished. Thinks about making one for the weekend