Traditional Victoria Sponge Cake (2024)

May 29, 2019 — last updated May 1, 2023

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Traditional Victoria Sponge Cake consists of 2 layers of light-as-air sponge cake that sandwich whipped cream and jam. Perfect for a British afternoon tea treat or anytime dessert.

The Victoria Sponge (aka Victoria sandwich) has been around since Queen Victoria (the current Queens great-great grandmother) was the reigning British monarch. Named after her because she enjoyed a slice with her afternoon tea. And why not? I’d eat a slice every day myself if I could.

There are a few tips to getting the lightest, fluffiest cake possible. step to a light cake is beating the eggs as well at butter and sugar until you can actually see it increasing in volume and becomes much lighter in color.

Sifting the flour is also important and a step often overlooked, but it is a great way to get extra air into dry ingredients.

The third tip is an easy one and that is adding the leavening agent, baking powder and finally, adding the dry ingredients a little while mixing. Only mix enough to incorporate all the ingredients or over-mixing can develop the gluten in the flour and result in a tough cake.

The filling issimple, unsweetened whipped cream and jam. Strawberry or raspberry is traditional but the jam choices are endless and the bakers choice.

Note: This recipe was updated 21st January 2021.

If you’ve tried this Traditional Victoria Sponge Cake or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!

Yield: 10 slices

2 layers of light-as-air sponge cake that sandwiched whipped cream and jam.

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time40 minutes

Total Time55 minutes

Ingredients

For the cakes:
1 cup/2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 teaspoons good vanilla extract
1 cup (236 ml) milk, room temperature
2 3/4 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
1/2 cup (118ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
1 cup (285 grams) strawberry jam
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
Grease 2 round, 8-inch (20 cm) cake pans with butter and line the bottom parchment/baking paper.
Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl or stand mixer. Beat on high until the butter is lighter in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time until mixed. Mix in the vanilla.
To a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add 1/3 of dry mix to the wet and mix on slow until incorporated. Add 1/3 milk and mix. Repeat until all the dry and wet mixes are used and the batter is smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans and smooth the top.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until they are evenly golden brown and pulled away slightly from the side of the pan. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center.. Baking time will depend on our oven and the color of the pans. I used light colored pans, baking time may be shorter with dark pans.
After removing from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
Turn out onto cooling racks and carefully peel away the paper if it is stuck to the cakes. Cool completely.
Whip the heavy cream until it stands in stiff peaks.
With the flat side of one of the cakes facing up, spread the jam/jelly evenly over the top.
Spread 3/4 of the cream over the jam, leaving a little border. Add the rest of the cream to a tiptop bag and snip off a corner. Pipe around the edge to give a pretty edge. This step can be skipped if you want to just spread the cream up to the edges.
Carefully place the other cake on top with the flat side up. Dust with a light sprinkling of powdered/confectioners sugar.

Notes

This recipes was updated 1/21/21

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per ServingCalories 192Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 82mgSodium 341mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 6g

This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.

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24 Comments on “Traditional Victoria Sponge Cake”

Anton — @ Reply

A tip not mentioned here that my English Nanna taught me, is when pouring the mix into the pan, start around the outer edge finishing in the centre. It results in an almost perfectly flat cake which is useful if you plan to make a triple layer cake.
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  Thank you so much for sharing. I’ll try this next time.
Kristen — @ Reply

Would you recommend folding in the flour and milk until just incorporated instead of using a hand mixer to ensure the batter isn’t over beaten?
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  Folding the flour and milk by hand is also a good option, but since the mixer is on slow I don’t usually have an issue.
Samara — @ Reply

I need help!!! I am making this cake for a school project. The recipe calls for 1 cup milk, but it is never added in the instructions. I looked at several other recipes, and none of them add milk. Do I put the milk in or not, or is this a mistake in the ingredients?
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  I see it added in step 3, ‘Add 1/3 milk and mix’, right after adding 1/3 of the dry mix. Let me know if you have anymore questions and enjoy 😁
  - Samara — @
    
    Thank you! I figured it out after I read a comment with the same problem. I tried to message back, but it wouldn’t allow it. The cake turned out so beautiful 😍
    Samara
    See Also
    Best Caramel Brownies - Celebrating Sweets
  - Janette — @
    
    I’m so glad, thank you so much
Andrei — @ Reply

A good and reliable recipe with a great impact.
Minimim efort with maximum output 🙂
Thanks Janette!
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  Thank you so much!
Caroline — @ Reply

Turned out great I added lemon zest it gave it a bright taste.
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  I love that idea, thank you for sharing.
ELETH — @ Reply

Give me a job .I love your things
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  Haha, thank you.
Arwa — @ Reply

There is no instruction on when or if at all to add the milk.
- Arwa — @ Reply
  
  So sorry…was reading “milk” as “mix”.
  - Janette — @
    
    I’m happy that there was not a mistake in the recipe 😊 Let me know if you have any more questions and please let me know how it turned out. Enjoy.
Amanda — @ Reply

Tried this for first time. The cake tasted like hot milk cake that my mother used to make (here in the Eastern US). Assembly is super easy as I make homemade whipped cream often. I may have over eat the cake batter as the finished product was dense, which in turn made slicing a challenge and the filling squeezed out a bit, oh well! Tastes great!!
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  I’m sorry the cake turned out dense for you. Yes, overbeating the flour will developmore gluten resulting in a dense texture. I’m happy that it was tasty though 🙂
Livvy — @ Reply

The perfect vanilla cake. This is my new favorite. I froze a few slices because I can’t finish it.
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  This is a great idea, thank you for the feedback.
Eugene — @ Reply

I’ve made this cake a few times now and always turns out great. I use a different jam each time. I’ve tried blueberry, strawberry and cherry and love them all.
Rachel — @ Reply

I have made many Victoria sponge cakes in the past, but it had been a long time so I thought I would use this recipe. My batter was running and not thick like yours in the video.
The cake was dense, rubbery and eggy not nice.
- Janette — @ Reply
  
  I’m sorry the recipe did not work out as expected. The batter should not be thin at all (you can see this in my video) and is in line with many cake batters I have made. If the cake was not light and spongy, it could be you overbeat the batter activating the gluten in flour. A simple fix for this would be to allow the batter to rest before baking. As far as it being eggy? Did you use a good flavored vanilla extract? You should have been able to taste this. I do stand by my recipe as it is consistently one of my most popular. You can see 29 different people have posted pictures on Pinterest of cake they have made. Link > https://www.pinterest.com/pin/294774738109008705/

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