Victoria Sponge Cake

Makes one 2-layer cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract, optional
1 cup buttermilk

For the jam

2 cups trimmed and sliced strawberries
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

For the cream

2 cups whipping cream
1–2 tablespoons icing sugar, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. For the cake, heat your oven to 350ºF and lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl paired with a hand mixer or using your stand mixer fitting with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, followed by the extract(s).
4. Add in a third of the flour mixture and stir just until almost combined then follow with half of the buttermilk. Mix until almost combined. Continue with another third of the flour, the remaining buttermilk, and the final addition of flour, stirring after each addition.
5. Divide the batter into the two prepared pans and bake for 24 to 26 minutes or until springy and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake rounds comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes in the pans then turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the jam. Add the strawberries into a small pot along with the sugar. Using a potato masher or a fork, lightly mash some of the berries into the sugar. Place over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the berries have broken down and the mixture is jammy. Set aside to cool to room temperature. The jam can be made up to a week in advance if stored in the fridge or up to 3 months in advance if stored in the freezer.
7. When the cake and jam are cool, whip the cream, sugar, and extract on medium speed until it holds stiff peaks.
8. To assemble the cake, place one cake round onto a plate or pedestal. Top with the cream then spoon over as much jam as you’d like. Top with the remaining cake round then dust the top with icing sugar.