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    Home » Cakes and Desserts » Large Cakes and Traybakes

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    Victoria Sandwich

    A Victoria Sandwich cake is cake at its best: simple good flavours and easy to make. Use the recipe as the basis for chocolate, coffee or lemon cakes.

    Jump to Recipe
    Victoria Sandwich cake with strawberry jam filling and icing sugar sprinkled on top. The cake is on a plate patterned with pink flowers and leaves.

    A Victoria Sandwich isn't a particularly fashionable cake and it certainly isn't elaborate. In fact, it's quite a plain cake, jazzed up with jam and/or buttercream. There are many 'definitive' versions, so it's a case of 'you pays your money and takes your choice'. Since I joined the WI, I thought I'd take a look at what they say and see how my preferences differ. Suffice to say I probably won't be winning a prize for mine - but it tastes great anyway.

    Key Ingredients in a Victoria Sandwich cake

    • What size eggs? Well, that is a whole topic in its own right. I use large eggs for baking and the rule of thumb for a Victoria Sandwich is to weigh the eggs in their shells and use the same weight of butter, sugar and self-raising flour
    • Vanilla extract or not? I do because I like vanilla, but only a little in this cake. In this, I do depart from family tradition (and the WI recipe)
    • Butter or margarine. Put it like this, one is a natural, whole food that you can make yourself (although after the age of 6 you probably haven't), the other is a concoction of chemicals and fats that may or may not be good for you

    Fillings and toppings

    Caster sugar or icing sugar on top? My mother always used icing sugar, so that's what I do, but if you prefer some crunch, use caster sugar (the WI preferred option).

    What flavour jam? Some say raspberry (the WI), but growing up we always had strawberry, because that's what Mum made

    Buttercream filling or not? For me, this is totally dependent on time and occasion. For tea at home, it's mostly just jam. If anyone's coming - and I have a few extra minutes - buttercream makes this a bit more special

    Deep or shallow tins?

    Do you make it one deep one or two shallow ones? I prefer 2 shallow tins because the cakes cook more quickly and more evenly. To be honest with a small cake like this it doesn't make much difference but, once you're making a 20cm cake, the centre might be underdone or the edges overdone so I almost always use 2 tins for that.

    I suspect that, like most people, my choices are mostly made because of what I'm used to and, of course, what I like. So to anyone who thinks their version is better, you're probably right - for you it is, but I think mine is the tops. Having said that, I do vary my jam choices a bit. Currently, I'm loving lemon curd with cherry jam.

    Quantities for a bigger cake

    Use the same method for bigger tins:

    • 18cm (7-inch) tins - 3 large eggs
    • 20cm (8-inch) tins - 4 large eggs

    If you want a square cake, use this formula:

    • 18cm (7-inch) square cake = 20cm (8-inch) round cake
    • 15cm (6-inch) square cake = 18cm (7-inch) round cake

    What equipment do you need?

    You will need 2 15cm (6-inch) shallow cake tins. I like loose-bottomed non-stick tins and I always line them with a baking parchment circle.

    Partly to reduce cleaning time, but mostly to be completely sure that the cake doesn't stick. A multi-size pack lasts for years.

    If you like this...

    ...Why don't you try:

    Everyday Chocolate Cake

    An 18cm (7-inch) everyday chocolate cake - not too rich, still yummy.
    Coffee cake with coffee buttercream and pecans

    Coffee Cake

    A simple coffee cake with coffee buttercream and walnuts or pecans. Ideal for the tea tent or any afternoon tea.
    A large Lemon Drizzle Cake with a slice cut to show the moist centre

    Lemon Drizzle Cake

    This 18cm Lemon Drizzle Cake is based on a Victoria Sandwich, it is a moist cake with a slightly crunchy lemon topping.

    Stockists

    15cm shallow round cake tin

    15cm (6-inch) shallow round cake tins

    Buy Now →
    Pack of assorted baking parchment circles

    Baking parchment circles

    Buy Now →

    Recipe

    Victoria Sandwich cake with strawberry jam filling and icing sugar sprinkled on top. The cake is on a plate patterned with pink flowers and leaves.
    Print Recipe
    5 from 3 votes

    Victoria Sandwich

    A 15cm (6-inch) Victoria Sandwich cake - not too rich, just yummy.
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: Teatime
    Cuisine: British
    Servings: 8 slices
    Author: Susie@Everyday Cooks

    Ingredients

    For a 15cm (6 inch) cake:

    • 2 large eggs - weighed in their shells

    The same weight (approx. 150g) of:

    • Caster sugar
    • Butter
    • Self-raising flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder (5ml)
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (2.5ml)
    • large pinch of salt
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    Equipment

    2 x 15cm/6-inch shallow round cake tins
    Baking parchment circles
    Splatter lid

    Instructions

    Preparation:

    • Preheat the oven to 190°C/ 170°C fan/ gas mark 5/ 375°F
    • Line the tins with a paper liner. Grease the tins (if they need it) with butter paper (or a little butter on kitchen paper)

    For the cake:

    • Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly
      (Butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract)
    • Evenly divide the mixture between the tins. Smooth the top with a palette knife and make a slight dip in the centre
    • Cook for 20-25 minutes until the cake surface springs back when you touch it lightly with your fingertip
    • Remove from the tin and leave to cool on a cooling rack. Leave the paper in place if you don’t intend to fill the cake immediately
    • Once the cake is cool, fill with jam or buttercream and sprinkle icing sugar on top.

    Notes

    Everyday Cooks tips:
    • Use a splatter guard over your mixing bowl to keep mess to a minimum
    Storage:
    • The cakes keep well for up to a week in an airtight box – preferably in the fridge.
    • The un-iced cakes can be frozen for up to a month

    More Large Cake Traybake Recipes

    • Half a Coconut Loaf Cake with a slice cut on a grey plate
      Coconut Loaf Cake
    • Cakes and puddings using apples or pears
      Best Apple and Pear Recipes
    • Stack of apricot oat bars on a wire rack with dried apricots in the background
      Apricot Oat Bars
    • Easy Battenberg Cake on a white plate with 2 slices cut, with a cup of tea.
      Easy Battenberg Cake

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Susan Roach says

      June 30, 2024 at 9:17 pm

      Hi, what would be the measurements for a 6 inch round and 3 inch deep Victoria sponge please and time?

      Reply
      • Susie Collings says

        July 01, 2024 at 12:00 pm

        Hi Susan, Same quantity of ingredients. Reduce the temperature to 160°C, cook for about 30-40 mins. Check at 30 by pressing gently with your finger. If the cake bounces back it's done.

        Reply
    2. Jan Hodgson says

      February 19, 2024 at 12:25 pm

      What do I do if my eggs don’t weigh enough i.e. not 150g but maybe only weigh 130g. Do I add more beaten egg to make up the difference?

      Reply
      • Susie Collings says

        February 20, 2024 at 4:11 pm

        Hi Jan, First, I'm checking you're weighing the eggs in their shells? Second, it doesn't matter, you just use the weight of the eggs to determine how much of each ingredient to use. This is because egg sizes cover 10g, so whether your eggs are at the low end or high end, you will have the right weight of ingredients.

        Reply
        • Jan Hodgson says

          March 26, 2024 at 2:22 pm

          5 stars
          Thank you Susie.

          Reply
    3. Sunita Lakhman says

      January 02, 2022 at 8:24 pm

      Hi there, for 8 inch are you saying it should be 300g of each and 4 eggs
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Susie Collings says

        January 12, 2022 at 9:33 pm

        Hi Sunita, About that. It depends how large your eggs are. I usually weigh them so I know how much of the other ingredients to use. If you don't weigh them, I'd probably go for about 250g of everything.

        Reply
    4. Emily says

      June 18, 2021 at 9:33 pm

      5 stars
      How would you adapt this to make a chocolate cake the same size? Thanks

      Reply
      • Susie Collings says

        June 22, 2021 at 3:52 pm

        Hi Emily, I Use 20g cocoa instead of 20g of the flour.

        Reply
    5. Claire McFarlane says

      March 08, 2021 at 8:53 am

      Hi, how many eggs would you use for this recipe but an 8 inch tin?

      Reply
      • Susie Collings says

        March 08, 2021 at 12:39 pm

        Hi Claire, Double quantities for an 8-inch tin, i.e. 4 eggs. I've updated the text to show this 🙂

        Reply
    6. Emma says

      November 22, 2020 at 8:30 pm

      How long would you bake for if using a deep tin? Thanks

      Reply
      • Susie Collings says

        November 26, 2020 at 8:01 pm

        You can bake this in one deep tin, and I have done it, although two gives a slightly better result. Use a lower temperature on your oven – 180°C/ 160°C fan/ gas mark 4/ 350°F – and cook for 35-45 minutes. Wait until the cake is completely cool to cut it in half, ideally put it in the fridge for a few hours first. Cheers – Susie

        Reply
    5 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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    Hi, I'm Susie. Mostly I love cooking and baking, but combining work and home life often leaves me feeling that providing healthy, tasty food for my family is a chore. On those days I am decidedly an Everyday Cook...

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