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.

Magimixes?! But they make their cakes by hand, how else could you get the perfect consistency...

Shit chonky...they will be able to tell if I have done it with a magimix?

Surely everyone does it with a magimix these days? I can't believe that anyone would actually choose to cream by hand. That is madness.

If I find out there is judging on hand creaming I'm leaving.

They'll be getting chutney and a funny potato and a bit of scribble entitled 'Rainbow'. That's IT. No VSC from me, no siree.

even nigella does it in the food precessor

of course they hand beat you heathen!

I'm beginning to see why they haven't given you the rules. You've been cast out already! With your icing sugar nipples and your mixers.

But this is the new age of cake making.

Can we not embrace new technology as the path to the lighter cake.

Why must we women remain stuck in the past with our crappy little whisk and the achy arm?

Nigella is the natural evolution of the Dehlia. And she has used cornflour.

Cornflour. Now that is progress.

Noo..it's deffo magimixes or kenwoods all the way. Maybe a packet of powdered Senokot in their flour would be a plan?

Sheesh, this thread takes me back to my childhood, when my mum used to enter VSC. She baked to win, oh yes. Only the competition wasn't too hot, we lived on the Isle of Dogs in 1978. Hmm...not many VSC bakers there me thinks

I'm now feeling inspired to dust down my Kenwood and bake a lemon drizzle .

Cornflour, baking powder AND a magimix.

This is where VSC needs to be at.

I will (I think) be sticking to the Dehlia recipe as underneath my bravardo am quite afraid of the 'disappointing' comments.

Yeah chonky, if they did a LDC catagory I would so be in with a placing (courtesy of Marslady obviously).

Message withdrawn

slubber, you have to give nigella a try. you've said it, it's progress
we need brave women, who are willing to push the boundaries. you could even burn your bra.

magimixes???? am i really the only one in the world yet to embrace modern technology and use a fork? i am stuck in the stone age of cake making -aaargh

I will try it Franca. But will I enter it? I just don't know.

I am torn between my anxieties of 'fittig in' and my loyalties to the Young(ish) mothers movement towards free thinking in cake bakery (YMMTFTICB).

Fork-shmork morocco...you need a whisk at the very least. Forks are for eggs woman.

although you should probably re-mortgage the hhouse and get yourself a kitchen aid. Whatever you choose, I'll support you.

Didn't HFW win best VSC in a village fete? let's see if we can find his winning recipe

Blimey, have been thinking about VSC for nearly 2 hours now. If that's not devotion to the cause I don't know what is.

I need to go to bed now as my eye is twitching but in summary (so far) collective MN wisdom on this matter is indicating.

18cm cake. Recipe to be decided. Magimixed: am NOT doing the fucker by hand.

raspberry jam. No whole fruits.

Light dusting of caster sugar. Patterns and breast designs probably should be avoided.

No cream

Plain plate (or paper hmmmmmmmm)

To doilly or not to doilly?

Will check back tomorrow to see if any further 'knowledge' has been forthcoming overnight.

must be decent raspberry jam

HFW winning jam recipe

I am the smug one that makes her own (damson) jam each year.
In my granny's original jam cauldron.
The most theraputic evening I have each year.
could post recipe tomorrow if anyone interested? Start saving all your jars now ready for fruit later in the year and we can all do jam making. NOTHING impresses your DPs granny like home made jam.

HFW writes about victoria sponge He uses the classic recipe is 3 eggs and their exact weight in caster sugar , butter and self-raising flour (and no food processor)

i am such a nerd, i should join the WI.

Shall I have a look in my mum's 1950's Good Housekeeping food book, it will be a proper one where you cream the butter and sugar.

post flibberty post!

Agre, the sugar and butter must be creamed (use an electric beater but not a processor)before gradually adding the eggs with a spoonful of flour to prevent curdling. Then the remaining flour folded in with a metal spoon.

will post recipes tomorrow, DP thinks I am doing research for marketing my self employedness at the mo, would look a bit suspicious if I jump up for recipe books right now