Rules for Village Show Victoria Sponge Cake

[Slubberdegullion]

So I am taking the plunge and am going to enter a Victoria Sponge Cake into our local village show.

I'm not pussy-footing around with lemon curd. Oh no, straight into the Blue Riband event.

But I am a little afraid as I know there are rules. And these rules are not written down. If you have to ask, well you shoudn't be entering (well that's what I am sensing).

So I'm going to ask in happy annonymity here.

Size (18 or 20cm)?
Butter or marg?
What type of jam?
Cream filling?
Icing sugar or caster sugar on the top?
Doilly? (Sp?)

Seasoned village show entrants (or judges) your help gladly recieved.

WB also suggested that the Tygers of Wrath are wiser than the Horses of Instruction: a good principle in many ways but not, I fear, when it comes to Cake.

Slub, you have to go with Mary Berry. She is Queen of Cakes and I always use her recipes (and they've not failed me yet!).

yes absolutely motherinferior, no wrathful tigers on this here thread oh no.

Am slightly regretting using Jerusalem quote due to obvious high brow literary types who are also interested in cake perfection techniques.

fox, am looking in my Mary Berry Aga book now.

She's gone for the devils proportions.....and

I can't quite believe it

a rounded teaspoon of baking powder .

I'm very suprised. Those WI judges can taste the baking powder you see.

I so love this thread - when is this fabled show? I need to plan alternative entertainment when this saga comes to a dramatic conclusion!!

Poor old Nigella though - I know she is a bit erratic, but I can't help have a fondness for her. Did you follow her instructions to do the cake mixing in the food processor? I did that once and it was hopeless - far too dense a cake. So I always go for the traditional mixing method.

Defo agree that ingredients should be room temperature before starting.

Butter is a must - I heard mention of flora earlier - don't even think about it!

Good luck!

And when it's done, can you post a picture? It has taken the place of Ugly Betty in my life.

for passing on Nigella's recipe. I'm now nurturing hard feelings towards her

Hi motherinf - have you tried out your baby muffin tray yet? I'm having a muffin craze at the moment - triple chocolate, banana and blueberry have all been created in the last week (that's 3 varieties, not one monstrous mixed up muffin by the way)

Ooooooooooh nice word bump usage there LL

Pidge, show not until sat July 14th, which I know is ages off, but if anything this weeks attempts have taught me is that I need a lot of practice if I want a placing.

I know Slub! (think it may even have been me who mentioned the baking powder further down!)

but you can leave out the baking powder if you are willing to beat the sugar and butter (and eggs) then fold in the flour carefully.

You'll have to try two - one with the BP and one without and do a taste test.

But the 6/6/6 minus the baking powder is just the naked Delia!!!

I will try out the Mary as I am a follower (and she does look to be the very epitomy of the show class cake baker).

Aaah - that's a relief - several more weeks of cake intrigue!

My additional tuppence worth is this ... the actual recipe doesn't matter that much, it's all in the execution. So decide on one recipe now and practice the same one over and over again. I think Nigella is fine but DON'T use the food processor. Delia is probably better for a relative beginner (not suggesting this is you by the way). Then the crucial thing is in the quality of ingredients, mixing them properly, and getting the cooking right, e.g. not opening the oven door every two minutes to look at the dratted thing, don't overcook - my experience is that modern ovens often need a shorter baking time and even a slightly lower temperature than the books suggest.

Pidge, I think this week is recipe experimentation, and from then on in it will be practice and perfection.

(not sure this thread is sustainable for another whole month though)

I have given you the golden rule
and you have ignored it to your cost.

IT'S ALL IN THE SIFT

Sift very high, fold in carefully, do it all by hand except the initial creaming of butter and sugar, and it will be as light and fluffy as a light and fluffy thing.

But there's no telling some people

I bet you the reigning champion knows that it is all in the sift

A fine plan! I think Nigella minus her crazy food processing obsession is pretty much like Delia anyway.

Personally I could talk about cakes every day for a year or more.

Come to think of it ... I do ...

PPN - hear hear. It's these modern gadgets that get in the way of a fine light and airy cake-tastic experience!

also just to put an additional nuance into the whole thing, some people swear you have to weigh your eggs first, then use the same weight of sugar, butter and
self-raising flour, plus a pinch of salt

no baking powder obviously

why don't you try that? eggs vary so much in size and weight (especially if you are using eggs from your own chickens preen preen)

I challenge you to make your next cake the PrincessPeaHead Weighed Egg and High Sifted Special

And then come on here, sobbing, to tell me how glorious it is and how I've saved your social bacon

God I'd LOVE that! ha ha

I'm sorry PrincessPea, like a churlish toddler I was just pushing the boundaries.

You and the others before you were right. The magimix is for the weak and lazy.

I will be lifting my sifting arm very very high tomorrow for the MkIV (pre-school cake sale)

VSC tips:

• unsalted butter, beaten with the sugar from room temperature to a white cream using a hand-held electric beater

• very fresh eggs - buy them just laid from a farm

• silicone baking pans - stops the edges burning to a crisp

Right I'm going to buy new scales tomorrow, and some new 18cm tins (so I can do the 4/4/4 & 2). Better show cake size.

re eggs & chickens.

Is a chicken for life, not just for the Village Show?

I was discussing weighing eggs only on Saturday morning. That was with regard to cupcakes, where I think it's probably a bit OTT as they tend to be covered in gloopy icing and scoffed by little kids who couldn't care less. But I LIKE it for the serious village show baker!!

Can I just add another authority name to the mix here .... Tamasin Day Lewis and her kitchen bible anyone? Her recipe will be just like anoyone elses, but she has a good page of 'diagnosing where you went wrong', i.e. she gives a description of your cake mishaps and then tells you what to change to fix it next time.

I'll dig it out later .... must do some work though first!