AuthorSteve Nubie
Victorian Sponge cake is a classic British recipe that was often served at high tea-time in the afternoon. The recipe and the tradition followed the British to their colonies from Hong Kong and India to The United States. It’s a light batter bread filled and topped with a red raspberry filling and then further topped with fresh red raspberries.
The batter can be made in your bread machine, but the actual cakes are baked in the oven in two buttered cake pans. The best settings to use on your bread machine are either a cookie dough setting or a pasta dough setting. These settings simply mix the batter but do not subject the batter to a heated, rising cycle. Most bread settings on a bread machine have both a heated, rising cycle and a baking cycle. The rising cycle alone will compromise the batter.
If your machine only has a dough setting you can use that, but you need to shut off the machine and remove the batter before the rising cycle because even the basic dough setting has a rising cycle.
The red raspberry filling and topping should be made in a bowl with a hand mixer or in a bowl with a countertop mixer. The small number of ingredients for the filling won’t mix well with just the bread machine paddle.
Add the butter and sugar to the bread pan and begin a dough setting that does not have a rising cycle. Cookie dough or pasta dough settings are a good example of settings to use for this recipe.
Once the butter and sugar have blended add the rest of the ingredients. You may need to scrape some of the sugar into the butter to get it all incorporated. Let the batter continue to come together until it is smooth.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Butter two circular cake pans and use a rubber spatula to evenly distribute the batter into the two cake pans.
Smooth the batter to the sides of the cake pan so the batter is distributed and leveled evenly in the pan.
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. Open the oven and insert a toothpick into the center of each cake. If the toothpick comes out wet, continue to bake for 5 minutes. If it comes out dry the cakes are done. Let both cakes rest for 5 minutes.
Turn one of the cake pans over on a plate and tap gently until the cake rests on the plate
In a bowl using a handheld egg-beater or in a bowl using a countertop mixer combine the softened butter and confectioner’s sugar and blend until well incorporated.
Add the vanilla and the red raspberry jam and continue to mix and blend until the filling is well incorporated.
Spread half of the filling over the first layer.
Top the first layer of the cake with the second cake and spread the remaining filling over the top of the second cake layer.
Dot with fresh, red raspberries and slice and serve.
Ingredients
Directions
Add the butter and sugar to the bread pan and begin a dough setting that does not have a rising cycle. Cookie dough or pasta dough settings are a good example of settings to use for this recipe.
Once the butter and sugar have blended add the rest of the ingredients. You may need to scrape some of the sugar into the butter to get it all incorporated. Let the batter continue to come together until it is smooth.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Butter two circular cake pans and use a rubber spatula to evenly distribute the batter into the two cake pans.
Smooth the batter to the sides of the cake pan so the batter is distributed and leveled evenly in the pan.
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. Open the oven and insert a toothpick into the center of each cake. If the toothpick comes out wet, continue to bake for 5 minutes. If it comes out dry the cakes are done. Let both cakes rest for 5 minutes.
Turn one of the cake pans over on a plate and tap gently until the cake rests on the plate
In a bowl using a handheld egg-beater or in a bowl using a countertop mixer combine the softened butter and confectioner’s sugar and blend until well incorporated.
Add the vanilla and the red raspberry jam and continue to mix and blend until the filling is well incorporated.
Spread half of the filling over the first layer.
Top the first layer of the cake with the second cake and spread the remaining filling over the top of the second cake layer.
Dot with fresh, red raspberries and slice and serve.
