Victoria Sandwich Cake Recipe (Gluten Free)

Welcome back!  If you watch baking shows or follow recipe posts on Facebook you may have come across a Victoria Sandwich.  As a Canadian I was like what is this?  Well after a little research I found this is a traditional snack for an English tea; a delicious yellow sponge cake with strawberry jam and a rich buttercream filling.  Sounds great right!  So to make sure I had the real Victoria Sandwich recipe and not a colonialist version I did a little searching and came across this one by King Arthur Flour in the UK.  And I must say it turned out delicious, you will have to give this one a try and most of the ingredients are pretty common to most households.

Recipe

Cake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)

3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar

3 Extra Large eggs (at room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract *

1/4 teaspoon almond extract * (I chose to omit this one)

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (or a good Gluten Free alternative)

*Not used in the Classic Recipe but King Arthur Flour noted it improved the flavour so I went with Vanilla.

Filling:

3/4 cup good quality (I used homemade) strawberry jam

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons granulated sugar 

2 tablespoons simple syrup or flavoured syrup of your choice (I omitted this because it already tasted delicious and didn't need anything more)

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare (2) 8" round cake pans.  A good trick is I cut circles of parchment out to fit in the bottom and then spray the pans with non stick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, use an electric beater to beat together the butter and the sugar until it is well combined and smooth and creamy.

3.  Next beat in the eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl down after each one is added.

4.  Add the vanilla extract and beat into the mixture.

5.  Add the flour, a beat gently on low until the mixture is well combined.  The consistency is fairly thick and dense, not runny.  I made this recipe Gluten Free so I used a good reliable gluten free flour mix from Metro's Selection Brand that has Xanthum gum already added.

6.  Next is divide the batter up between the two prepared cake pans.  This can be a trick because of how sticky the batter is and I also tried to distribute it evenly around the pans.

7.  Bake the cakes for 20 minutes or until you notice the cake starts to pull away from the edges of the pan.  Remove them from the oven when done and let cool for a couple minutes before tipping them out onto a cooling rack.

8.  Once the cakes are cool place the first one on a plate and spread a good layer of strawberry jam over the top of the cake.  A good trick I learned was to put this layer in the fridge while you make the buttercream as it makes it easier to spread the buttercream over it.

9.  Now to make the buttercream filling.  Pour your 3/4 cup heavy cream into a mixing bowl and sprinkle it with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and then begin beating it with the electric mixer.  It takes a couple minutes of beating on high before you will see it thicken where the cream will stand on it's own.  Keep going I learned to take it on my second time making this recipe to take it until the buttercream resembles more of an icing consistency.

10.  Spread the buttercream in a generous layer over the jam and then place the top layer on the cake.

11.  If desired decorate with a strawberry or other fruit and sprinkle with confectioners sugar before serving.

12.  I then refrigerated the cake for a couple hours before cutting and placing on a tiered serving tray (see tomorrows article for our Victorian Tea)

A helpful hint when cutting the cake, use a serrated bread knife and use a sawing motion rather than just pushing down to cut it to avoid squishing the filling out.

And I wish to thank King Arthur Flour for the great recipe find:

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/victoria-sandwich-cake-recipe

Enjoy!! I know I will this Victoria Day and I will post pictures tomorrow of our Victorian tea.