Is Mary Berry also wrong about Victoria sandwich cake?

[UntamedWisteria]

DS has been trying his hand at a Victoria sponge.

I got alarmed when he started putting all the ingredients in the bowl together... instead of creaming the butter & sugar then adding the eggs then the flour, as I was taught to do 40+ years ago and have been doing since.

He said "But Mary Berry does it this way." So I checked 3 different MB books, and lo & behold he is right!

Will report back when it's out of the oven & we've tasted it ...

Can anyone else vouch for this method?

Works every time.

Mary Berry is holy and I'll not hear a word against her.
Presumably this is an "all in one sponge"?

Yes it’s the all in one method, my mum is 71 and that’s how she taught me, it always turns out fine!

Can do it both ways but I prefer your method.

Works every time guaranteed. I wish I had some cream. Could murder a Victoria sponge!

It's just an all in one don't panic 😂 it's disconcerting but in sure it's gorgeous. I'm fairly sure the hairy bikers have a pastry recipe you can make in a food processor which is also strange because it goes agaric what we are used to. I've just made a coconut and lime cake which is all in one, it always comes out beautifully 😍 report back!

I haven't creamed butter and sugar for years. Always chuck everything in together without problems.

All in one doesn’t have the risk of the eggs and butter doing that weird curdling thing when you add the eggs to the creamed butter and sugar 🤷🏻‍♀️

Nigella Lawson likes making cakes by wanging everything in a food processor of all things, they turn out fine too.

@drspouse I hear you sister!
Let no one disrespect the Berry
And my friend has worked with her IRL and she says she’s delightful and very good to her assistants.

Ooh coconut lime cake sounds divine, can you post the recipe or a link please?!

Mary Berry is right.

Ooooh! Rushes off to make a Victoria sponge sandwich. Misses point of thread entirely.

Delia Smith also recommends the all in together method.

I tried mary berry's Victoria sponge recipe for the first time last week. Only decent cake I've ever turned out! A+!

I actually made it yesterday. All in together. Was lovely.

Don't know how true this is, but I was taught at school that a Victoria sponge and Victoria sandwich are different recipes.

Not 100% sure which way round. Think the sponge is the traditional method and sandwich is the all in one method.

Mary Berry can do no wrong. Fact.
I've just made her lemon cake to try to counteract all the chocolate the Easter Bunny delivered. #logic

Coconut lime cake. I make twice the amount for a large loaf or split it between two normal size rounds cake tins. I poke holes in it warm and drizzle when warm also. It's from the bero book. Really old classic baking

I was going to say Delia has an all-in-one method too.

As long as the butter/marg is soft, the all in one method works well.

She’s right about margarine making a better sponge cake than butter too! I made some chocolate cupcakes with some exceedingly old Lidl Olive spread from the back of the fridge as there’s not enough butter and they were so moist and delicious!

I do it your way in my 1960s kenwood chef. My mum does it all in one in a food processor. Something's a bit backward here 🤣

I like to do it your way as you need to whisk the eggs in but just fold the flour in otherwise you beat all the air out. I prefer my sponge your way.

I also add a tablespoon of flour with each egg to stop curdling.

Many years ago in home economics we did an experiment comparing the 2 methods and there was no difference in the cake, but the all in one method was much easier!

Can anyone else vouch for this method?

Yep. The creaming method is old hat and completely unnecessary for a bog standard sponge cake. It is basically all the same ingredients with the addition of an extra teaspoon of baking powder to aid the rise. It always, always works.

Using the creaming method is a waste of electricity and takes longer than the all in one method. TBH I'm surprised that you haven't come across it before.

All in one generally uses a bit of baking powder to help it rise. The creaming method adds air to do the same.