A summer classic: the Victoria Sandwich. For this I used a recipe in the Great British Book of Baking. This is the second time I have used this recipe and both times it has made a beautiful cake; the recipe is easy to follow and produces a lovely sponge.
I have to say a word about the cake stand. It was given to me by my Grandma after my Grandpa very sadly passed away. The stand originally belonged to Grandpa's mother, and as Grandma isn't using it she very kindly gave it to me. It gives me great pleasure to be giving it a new lease of life: I like to imagine that my Great-Grandmother at one time used it to present her own Victoria Sandwiches at gatherings of family and friends, and I am simply one person in a line of home bakers. There is something about the permeance of objects handed down: it was here before you and it will in all likelihood be here after you. Whatever seems so terrible today is really nothing more than a fleeting moment; more than a cake stand, it's a sense of perspective.
There's an interesting summary of the history of the Victoria Sandwich here (along with some good tips for making your own) - even including Mrs Beeton's recipe from 1861. The Victoria Sandwich cake is named, as one would expect, after Queen Victoria.
For a cake whose joy is in its elegant simplicity, there is nevertheless plenty of competition to create the "perfect" Victoria Sandwich, and you can find yourself being judged on the choices you make. Caster sugar or icing sugar? Cream and jam, or just jam? What kind of jam? Cream or jam first?
I was reminded of this when handed a programme for my local Royal Show. This includes strict instructions for making a Victoria Sandwich (and note these are still given in imperial!):
Divide between two 8" sandwich tins
3 large eggs
6oz butter (or margerine)
6 oz castor sugar
6 self-raising flour
raspberry jam
castor sugar on top
As you see, this recipe requires castor sugar on top. This is also the approach taken by the WI and Mary Berry. I used icing sugar, which I prefer for being light and soft on top of the cake - and is what the Great British Book of Baking recipe goes with.
On the cream and jam issue, I say one must have both (this is a treat after all), although the more traditional approach is jam no cream - but let's not treat that as sacrosanct (and Mary Berry says it's fine to add whipeed cream, so that's ok!). And there's something rather therapeutic about whipping cream - that with a bit of patience and a spoon you can create white peaks of airy fluffiness.
As for flavour of jam, I say go with what you like. I went with raspberry, but blackberry jam would be a great autumnal twist I think.
The advice I would give is to make sure you properly grease/line your cake tins - make the process of releasing the sponges as easy as you can for yourself. The sponges can be made the night before, and you can whip the cream up the next morning and leave in the fridge until you use it, but I would recommend leaving it until the last possible moment before assembling your layers.
My Victoria Sandwich may not match the expectations of the traditionalists, and its not going to win me any prizes, but it was fun to make and even more enjoyable was sharing it with friends over a long overdue catch-up. A perfect Saturday afternoon.
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