Victoria sponge

[Borlotti]

Why is my Victoria sponge like a biscuit, burnt round the edges, didn't rise and got stuck to the tins, even though I buttered them thoroughly.  Had the oven at mark 6, perhaps too high.  The rescued bit in the middle tastes OK, think I will try again.  Should I add baking powder to the self raising flour??  Don't think it would win any prizes and looks nothing like the picture in the cookery book.  :( :(

[Borlotti]

[Obelixx]

I think your oven was too hot and should have been mark 4 or 180C.  It'll have cooked so fast it din't have time to rise.

The rising comes from the air in the batter expanding and then the proteins from the egg and flour sealing the lightness in so make sure your butter and sugar are very well creamed and also beat the eggs for extra lightness before adding them.  No need for extra baking powder but do sift the flour and then fold it in gently so you don't knock out all the bubbles.

[qahtan]

 Did you use UNsalted butter to butter the tins, salt makes it stick.
My UK recipe was
6 ozs soft salted butter
creamed very well with 6 ozs sugar
add 3 eggs 1 at a time along with
6 ozs SR flour fold in by hand  this is to make sure your mixture does not curdle.
Make sure every thing is at room temperature. I never add salt to my recipe.

                 You can multiply this if you wish keeping in the same proportions.
8 oz flour etc and 4 eggs or  for a large sandwich 12 ozs and 6 eggs. I have done all these at one time or another.  qahtan  

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

also make sure the oven is heated before you start

also as soon as you add the eggs the bicarb will start to react so you need to be quick after that point or you'll lose the gas and it won't rise

unfortunately at the end of the day it's down to your oven - i used to have a cafe in Bournemouth with an old enormous gas oven. I could make 12 at a time, and it didn't matter what gas setting I used they were always perfect. Just had to keep an eye on them

[Tulipa]

Hi Borlotti,

I agree with both the above, I think you had the oven temperature too high, for a victoria sandwich I cook on the equivalent of a mark 3 gas so I would try Obbelix's mark 4 first and see how it comes out.

I use the same recipe as Qahtan, and would only add baking powder if you are doing an all in one recipe in a food processor for quickness, then I add one teaspoon per 4oz SR flour.

Hope you have better luck next time.  You can always soak this one with sherry and make a trifle... I am always loking for excuses to make trifle it is my favourite. :-[

T.

Sorry RT cross posted with you! :-[

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

sorry, I meant to say - as soon as you add the flour to the wet mixture, you.ve got to be quick etc

The Two Hairy Bikers were taught how to make the perfect Victoria sponge by some fearsome women (WI ?, Good Housekeeping?) and they started out by Weighing The Eggs, and adjusting the other ingredients to suit. Clever or what?

[flowerofshona2007]

My top tip is make sure you really beat the sugar and butter until its very light in colour walk away and leave it in the mixer !!!
I win many prizes with this  3 eggs, weigh them same weight in sugar, butter,s r flour (add cold stong coffee if you want a coffee cake just add a tiny bit more flour).
Bake at 170c

[tomatoada]

Weighing the eggs.
My Grandmother gave me this tip  50 years ago.  I always wonder why it is not mentioned more ofton.  Eggs vary in size so it make sense.

[Sparkly]

sorry, I meant to say - as soon as you add the flour to the wet mixture, you.ve got to be quick etc

The Two Hairy Bikers were taught how to make the perfect Victoria sponge by some fearsome women (WI ?, Good Housekeeping?) and they started out by Weighing The Eggs, and adjusting the other ingredients to suit. Clever or what?

My gran told me to weigh the eggs and then add the same weight of the other ingredients. Seems pretty foolproof from my experience. All cream the butter and sugar till it is near white in colour, sieve the flour and whisk the eggs.

[flowerlady]

This one does not fail ... Flo x  :-*

Large Victoria Sponge

Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book

Ingredients:

8 oz (225 g) soft margarine
8 oz (225 g) caster sugar
4 eggs
8 oz (225 g) self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

For the filling:

4 tbsp strawberry jam

For the topping:

Caster sugar to sprinkle

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C / 350 deg F / Gas 4

Grease 2 x 8 in (20 cm) sandwich tins and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.

Measure ingredients into large bowl and blend thoroughly till smooth

*** at this stage I like to add 2 tbsps of milk ... mix turns beautifully smooth and creamy ***

Bake in oven 25 mins.  Do not open the door!   ... until well risen and the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.

Leave to cool in the tins for a few moments, the cake will shrink away from the edges, then turn out, peel off the paper and finish cooling on rack.

When completely cool sandwich together with jam and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Enjoy!!


N.B.

For 7 inch tins = use 6oz of ingredients each, 1 ½ tsp B.P. and 3 eggs

[tomatoada]

Tin size is important too.  I once used tins an inch too big and they did not rise.
Do let us know how you get on B.

[Borlotti]

Thanks for all that advice, I will try again, but not today.  Will measure the tins and weigh the eggs and try gas mark 4.  Also used soft healthy magarine so perhaps that was wrong, just go and look what it was, Flora orginal.  Also just weighed the eggs and used 3 as they looked small, they weigh 6 oz, should have only used 2 as I was only using 4 oz of flour and marg. The tins are 8" diameter so perhaps I will do the 3 eggs and 6 oz of flour, marg/butter instead of 4.  Good idea for trifle would make a good base. I will get it right soon.

[GRACELAND]

Wife says Use Stork Tub Marg  ;D

healthy margarine has more water in them

[Obelixx]

Personally, I think butter is best in a sponge, for flavour and texture.

However in my usual cake repertoire - assorted carrot cakes, chocolate cakes, fruit cakes, nutty cakes and so on - which can be done in a food processor I now use grapeseed oil instead of butter and find it works exceptionally well and makes for a moister cake.   

[qahtan]

 I always use butter in all my baking/cooking, but the one thing I have against it is
  As you know butter hardens as it gets cold, well this this apply even if  the cake???
has butter in it, and it goes in the fridge because of fresh cream or butter cream, there fore giving the cake /sponge what ever a slightly  firmer texture.
I do make a lot of Genoise sponge cakes with of course butter, same thing applies.

                            Again my 2 cents worth... qahtan

[Borlotti]

Think I will try Flowerlady recipe, sounds good as I have 8" tins and I think a bit of baking powder may make it rise, not sink.  Let u know after the weekend. 

[Toadspawn]

I use the Delia Smith recipe, 3 eggs and 6 oz of other ingredients. It is important to mix the sugar and fat very well until it is pale and fluffy. I use an electric whisk for 5-10 mins. The beaten egg is then gradually whisked in and finally the flour folded in gently. I line the bottom of the tin with buttered greaseproof paper and it never sticks. This has worked very well because for about 10 years running I have won first prize in local shows and the ladies were 'spitting blood'.

[Squash64]

My way of making sponge might seem a bit strange - but it works.
First of all, you need scales which weigh accurately in grams.

Weigh the eggs IN THEIR SHELLS in grams.

Whatever they weigh, use exactly the same amount of flour, sugar and soft margarine.

Put everything together in a mixing bowl (removing eggshells first  :) )

Mix well together. I use an electric mixer and mix all the ingredients in one go, for about three or four minutes.

Line the bottom of your tin with greaseproof paper.

The only tricky part is working out how many eggs your size of tin will need.  I am not at home at the moment so I can't measure my tin but to give you an idea, yesterday I made some fairy cakes for my granddaughter and 2 eggs made 13 cakes

I always use McDougalls Supreme Sponge flour.  A bit more expensive than other kinds but well worth it.

I never use baking powder.

I cook the mixture at about 160, how long for depends on the size of tin you use.

This method works well for me and is SO EASY.

[Borlotti]

Well I tried again and am certainly getting better.  It did rise but not as much as I had hoped. Tastes OK though. I didn't add baking powder. The greasepaper, well buttered, worked a treat and it didn't stick to the tins.  Weighed the eggs and used Stork and got the expensive flour.  It did seem to take longer than I thought to cook, used gas mark 4 and heated oven.  Put the two tins in the middle of the oven.  One more question should I have put them at the top if not think I will try at gas mark 5 next time.  I will succeed.  Gave the first one to the birds and have given OH some to take to work today.  Might try again later with adding the cold coffee.  You are right it is very easy to make but once I have got it right it will be right everytime.  Long time since I made cakes, used to make a chocolate sponge with choc buttons when the children were young and they licked the bowl but as they are 48 and 46 now so that was a long time ago.  :( :(

[Ishard]

Fan assisted ovens do not make a good sponge, as its equivilant to drafts from the door making the sponge flop.

Im lucky in that I have both fan and 'norma'l ovens and always cook sponges in the 'normal' oven and they rise well.

BTW I was always taught not to bang anything about when the sponge is in the oven either, no door slamming etc as this makes the sponges flop too and certainly never try to peek in the oven during cooking.  ;)

PS I do equal amounts of imgredieant and weigh my eggs :)