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?

The main difference between an all in one sponge and the traditional
method is that with the all in one a teasppon of baking powder is added to the 4 ounces of self raising flour, therefore if using 6 ounces of flour it's 1 and half teaspoon. This is because in the traditional method the air is beaten in by creaming the sugar and butter, and the other method it isn't and relies on the baking powder to make it rise.

@motortroll I have done a comparison between the two methods, and they came out exactly the same.

I never bother using a mixer for a sponge so I do the butter/sugar first as it's easier that way by hand, but it comes out just the same as my mum's who is Kenwood chef and all-in-one every time.

Yes if you’re not using any sort of electric mixer then you’d be making life very difficult for yourself by not creaming the butter and sugar together first.

I bake for a living, all in one cakes come out perfect every time, scones and pastry made in the food processor, any time saving method that gives the same outcome is a winner in my book!

Well I'm pleased to report it came out brilliantly.

And it was gluten-free too (DS is coeliac); sponge cakes are hard to achieve with GF flour.

I knew Nigella goes for the all in one method, but just expected Mary Berry to be more traditional/old school.

I'll always make a sponge cake this way now.

@44Myshitisreal thank you so much for the recipe! And everyone else, I can't wait to try all in one sponge (my old Home Economics nemesis will be turning in her grave..)

I expect we went to the same school Maisydoats!

I do the all in one method. Don’t add baking powered. People always rave about how tasty, light and nice my cakes are.

My niece and nephew are coeliac, I taught them to make this and it went down a storm. Mine always turns out the size of a small planet but It's a real crowd pleaser

www.nigella.com/recipes/chocolate-raspberry-pavlova

Well a pavlova is naturally GF isn't it?

Lots of leftover egg yolks though!

(my old Home Economics nemesis will be turning in her grave..)

Mine too. 'Cream the butter and sugar until it is pale, Janeway, pale! Use some elbow grease!'

I follow same principles as pp - if I'm using my mixer I do all in one,but if it's by hand (usually for smaller cakes),I cream the butter and sugar first.

I'm in the mood for baking now!

The trick with GF baking is to add extra liquid, the flour (especially rice and potato) absorbed more liquid than wheat flour which is one of the reasons it can be crumbly. Add an extra tablespoon or so of milk to the batter and it works so much better. As an aside, I made this cake using the all in one method and doves GF flour and it came out divine! www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chocolate-sponge-cake?utm_source=app

Actually I read somewhere that Mary Berry now uses the all in one method herself now.
However, if you don't have a blender, and doing it by hand then the traditional method is easier.

I disagree Xmasbaby and milvey. The creaming method is hard work done by hand. It is much easier to use a hand mixer.

I don’t put baking powder in either; I can always taste it.

I think cakes made with marge are lighter, but made with butter have a better flavour. I tend to go for flavour.

I know this is tantamount to treason but...

I think Mary Berry is wrong - she uses margarine in baking because it’s lighter. Butter needs more creaming to get it as light as marg, but it has a FAR better flavour. I prefer the creaming method to all in one as I can get a better rise, but both work.

Still, butter. It makes a difference.

Ha! Cross posted with tinkly

Yep old fashioned way was to do it seperatly. But but if you have soft margarine the 'all in one method' works really well and it's easier. I think it was Stork margarine that first suggested it in the 70s. That's when I firrdt came across it anyway. At school we had to cream the butter and sugar, beat eggs then fold in the flour it took ages. But I find all in one way works better!

Of course the chocolate pavlova is always gluten free. I just find the chocolate one very forgiving. I've never mastered bog standard pavlova 😁

She has an amazing all in one chocolate brownie recipe too. No faffing , just all in one bowl, mix, straight in the oven. Delicious! Yum.

Whenever there’s a Victoria Sponge thread it always turns into an argument about marg vs butter!

I always make a Victoria sponge with tub Stork - so shoot me

However, I always add vanilla extract to the mixture, and after doing a blind tasting with my family after making some fairy cakes with butter and some with Stork, I can assure you that a) There is no discernible difference in taste b) The Stork cakes were lighter c) The butter cakes were a little browner and greasier.

The Stork cakes were hands down the winner. IMO if you are making a flavoured cake - lemon drizzle, orange, chocolate etc no-one would know whether you had used Stork or butter anyway.

Mary Berry I am not, but I have done a lot of baking over the years.

I always use Stork and the all in one method.

However, no Stork or self raising flour in our supermarket for weeks