Royal Bakes: the bouncy sponge cake recipe served at Queen Elizabeth’s garden parties

Every year, Queen Elizabeth II hosts her famous garden parties — a way to mark the beginning of warmer weather in the UK. This year, however, things were a bit different due to all the precautions implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic, and in an effort to keep everyone safe, Her Majesty postponed her garden parties. Luckily for us, the Royal Pastry Chefs shared the recipe for the Victoria Sponge. This bouncy and fluffy cake was aptly named after Her Majesty’s late great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. The Royal Family Instagram account even states that Queen Victoria would enjoy a slice of this with her tea every afternoon. Check out the royally approved recipe below!

The Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe by the Royal Pastry Chefs

Ingredients:

Sponge Cake

• 3 eggs
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g unsalted butter
• 150g sieved self-raising flour
• ½ tsp of vanilla essence
• 100g jam (strawberry or raspberry)

Buttercream

• 150g softened unsalted butter
• 220g sieved icing sugar
• ⅓ vanilla pod or vanilla essence

Preparations:

Sponge Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (375F, gas mark 4)
2. Grease and line two 8 inch cake tins (if you only own one tin, you can bake the sponge and slice in half)
3. Cream the caster sugar, vanilla essence and softened unsalted butter until light and fluffy
4. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs
5. Gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, to avoid the mixture curdling
6. Sieve the flour and fold into the mixture
7. Divide the cake mix between the two cake tins and smooth
8. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the cake appears golden brown
9. Insert a skewer and ensure it comes out clean
10. Remove the sponges from their tins and leave to cool

Buttercream

1. Cream the softened butter with the sieved icing sugar and seeds from the vanilla pod (or vanilla essence)

Building Cake

1. Ensure that both sponges are completely cold before spreading a layer of jam onto the surface of one sponge
2. Spread a thick layer of buttercream on top of the jam ( if you prefer this can be done first)
3. Gently place the second sponge on top and gently press down
4. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with a pot of fresh English tea!