Victoria sponge is a classic British cake with a soft, sweet sponge and deliciously rich cream. It is also filled with fruit jam, typically strawberry or raspberry.
It can also be referred to as a Victoria sandwich. It is one of the most accessible cakes to make, and it takes no time at all. The sponge is light and airy, with a delicate vanilla flavor.
The cake is so simple and can be creatively altered. Within this article, we will give you 15 of the best Victoria sponge recipes that you can try yourself, along with recipes and tips!
Why is the cake called the Victoria sponge?
The classic sponge cake is named the Victoria sponge after Queen Victoria of England. Queen Victoria ruled England from 1837-1901; her reign was one of the longest in the history of the British empire.
She enjoyed a slice of the traditional cake, along with an afternoon cup of tea. The cake is made with flour, butter, eggs, and sugar, with the occasional addition of baking powder.
There are many ways to make a victoria sponge, for example, mixing them separately and creaming the softer ingredients or mixing them all at once. Arguably, the first method is more successful, and the cake has been around for hundreds of years; it is that delicious!
Classic Victoria Sponge
This classic Victoria sponge recipe will help you make a classical sponge that will please everyone! The cake serves eight and will take around 45 minutes to make, but over an hour if you are factoring in cooling.
It is straightforward and delicious. You need butter, caster sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract, and eggs to make this recipe. On the recipe, there is also the option to add milk.
This recipe requires the wet ingredients to be creamed together, added to the dry; simple as that! Spread cream or buttercream and a healthy serving of jam onto the sponges and sandwich together.
Berry Victoria Sponge
This Victoria sponge recipe is a summery alternative to a regular victoria sponge. The addition of the berries really brightens up the cake, and it is served well with an iced coffee or tea.
It is a beautiful cake and serves ten people. This will take around thirty minutes to prepare and bake, as well as an extra thirty minutes to cool and decorate.
It is important to let this cake completely cool before putting any cream on. The cream has a low melting point, so it will slide off the sides if it touches anything even remotely hot. You will need butter, caster sugar, eggs, and flour for the sponge for this recipe.
You will also need butter, confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla extract for the delicious icing. You need strawberry jam, berry compote, confectioners sugar, and fresh berries such as raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries for the decorations. This cake is delicious, as well as beautiful!
Mini Victoria Sponges
These Victoria sponges are delicate and cute and will be perfect for parties or buffets. These cakes are inexpensive to make, as well as quick. Because they are smaller, they take less time to cool.
They take around ten minutes to prepare and mix, as well as twenty-five minutes to bake. With this recipe, you can make around fourteen of these individual victoria sponges.
You will need butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, jam, whipping cream and confectioners sugar. These cakes should be made in muffin molds and decorated individually.
Chocolate Victoria Sponge
This Victoria sponge is in no way classic, but it is undoubtedly delicious. If you love chocolate cake as well as cream, this recipe is perfect for you. This cake serves ten people and will take over an hour to bake and decorate.
You will need eggs, butter, caster sugar, flour, and cocoa powder to make this cake. For the chocolate buttercream, you will need butter, confectioners sugar, and cooking chocolate. Alternatively, you can use dark or milk chocolate to cooking chocolate.
Strawberry and Mascarpone Cream Sponge
This fruit and cream cake is delicious and unique. It is inexpensive to make and will serve eight people. The cake will take over an hour to make, as you need the sponge to completely cool before you put mascarpone on it.
The fresh strawberries add an authentic fruitiness, and the mascarpone adds a thick creamy texture to the cake. You will need butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, and milk to make this cake.
You will need strawberry jam, lemon juice, strawberries, mascarpone, and confectioners sugar for the filling and top.
Gluten-Free Victoria Sponge
When you are gluten-free, it can be difficult to find delicious alternatives. Not to worry, we have found an excellent gluten-free recipe for you to try. This cake serves eight and takes around 45 minutes to prepare and bake.
You will need gluten-free self-raising flour, gluten-free baking powder, xanthan gum, butter, caster sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract for the sponge. If you desire, you can use a gluten-free alternative flour such as almond.
The texture will be grainier and significantly different, but if you prefer it, it is possible. For the buttercream, you will need confectioners sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. You will also need raspberries or strawberries, as well as jam and more confectioners sugar.
Vegan Victoria Sponge
You will barely be able to tell that this cake is vegan, as it is so delicious and rich. There is vegan buttercream frosting sandwiched between the vegan cakes.
You will need flour, light brown sugar, caster sugar, baking powder, baking soda, dairy-free milk, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar, and vanilla extract to make this cake. The ingredients sound strange, but all of the components are necessary.
You will need dairy-free/vegan butter, confectioners sugar, jam, vanilla extract, and strawberries for the decoration and filling. You can also add freeze-dried fruit such as raspberries. The cake is delicious and sweet. The vinegar helps make the cake with the acidity in place of the dairy.
Clotted-Cream Victoria Sponge
This cake is indulgent and delicious and serves ten people. The cake only takes twenty minutes to bake and prepare, but you need to leave it a bit longer to cool before filling.
The rich cream pairs perfectly with the airy and light sponge cake. You will need butter, caster sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla to make this cake. You will also need clotted cream, strawberry/raspberry jam, and fresh berries for decoration. This cake is simple to make and is a great summery option.
Almond and Raspberry Victoria Sponge
This cake is probably one of the most delicious and decadent on the list. This towering cake serves twelve, and takes an hour to prepare, bake, and decorate. If you can, it is best to let it cooler for longer.
The cream pairs perfectly with the juicy and tart raspberries, and creates a decadent dessert cake. You need eggs, caster sugar, flour, cornflour, ground almonds, butter, and some almond extract for the sponge.
After making the sponge, you will need to make a syrup to brush over the cakes to make them extra moist and fluffy. For the syrup, you will need caster sugar and kirsch. After the syrup has nicely soaked in, it’s time to ice.
You will need whipping cream, confectioners sugar, flaked almonds, and fresh raspberries. This cake is truly delicious and decadent.
Cherry and Vanilla Sponge
This cherry and vanilla victoria sponge is unique and perfect for afternoon cake and coffee. This cake takes around 45 minutes to prepare and make. You will need butter, golden caster sugar, self-raising flour, baking powder, eggs, and vanilla. The sponge is simply a classic victoria sponge.
The filling consists of butter, vanilla extract, confectioners sugar, cherry compote, and more confectioners sugar to dust. This cake is simple but delicious.
Gourmet Victoria Sponge
This cake is a real treat. It is a classic Victoria sponge cake, but with a bit more elegance to it. The cake serves eight and takes an hour to prepare and bake.
The cake is truly beautiful, with lashings of whipped cream and jam flowing from the sides, along with fresh and bright strawberries on top. You will need flour, butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla bean paste, fresh strawberries, pure confectioners sugar, and pouring cream for the sponge.
For this cake, you can make your own jam or use what the recipe suggests. The strawberries should be fresh and juicy. This cake is so simple yet completely delectable.
Lemon Victoria Sandwich
This cake is sweet, citrusy and delicious, and will please everyone in the family. You will need butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, and lemon zest for this cake. The cake serves eight and is really tasty.
You even have the option to make your own lemon curd. You need lemon curd, confectioners sugar, unsalted butter, milk, and more lemon zest for the filling. Although this cake is not a classic victoria sponge, the flavors work perfectly with the soft and fluffy sponge texture.
Rose and Pistachio Victoria Sandwich
Now, this cake sounds heavenly! Rose and pistachio are two flavors that were meant for each other. It has a middle eastern feel to it, and it is truly delicious and unique.
You will need eggs, caster sugar, flour, baking powder, butter, fresh cardamon, raspberry, and rose jam/rose jam, and shelled pistachio to make this cake. If you cannot buy raspberry rose or rose jam, you can have a go at making it yourself!
For the buttercream, you will need butter, confectioners sugar, rosewater, food coloring, and dried rose petals; for effect, of course! This cake is a unique delight.
Orange and Almond Victoria Sponge
This Victoria sponge has all the components of a classic Victoria sponge but has added orange and almond essence. The cake is incredibly simple to make and serves ten. It takes around twenty minutes to bake and time to prepare and cool.
It is perfect for an Easter treat. You will need unsalted butter, golden caster sugar, eggs, self-raising flour, and ground almonds to make this cake. Once the cakes have been baked and cooled, it is time to turn your attention to the icing.
You need unsalted butter, confectioners sugar, orange zest, lemon juice, and milk for the icing. We do not forget jam! You will need raspberry jam for this cake, and the raspberry pairs perfectly with the citrus flavor of the icing.
Victoria Sponge Cake with Blackberry Compote
Last but not least is the blackberry compote victoria sponge. This sponge is amazing, and fruity, and sweet. Blackberries are richer and deeper than other berries, and they pair perfectly with the mellowness of the cream.
The best thing about this cake is that you can pick the blackberries yourself. What’s better than wild blackberries with rich cream and a fluffy sponge? You will need butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla bean paste, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and a lemon to make the cake.
You will also need blackberries, sugar, and water, to make the jam! You will need a cup of chilled mascarpone, confectioners sugar, double/heavy cream, and vanilla bean paste for the cream filling. This cake is truly indulgent, and the flavors and complex and impressive for such a simple recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze Victoria Sponge?
You can definitely freeze Victoria sponge. It is best to freeze the sponges on their own, and fill them once they are defrosted.
Saying this, you can decorate and fill them and freeze them, but they will not last as long in the freezer due to the dairy and eggs. In the freezer, Victoria sponge on its own will last up to nine months, with it being six months with the cream and eggs.
Why isn’t my Victoria sponge light and fluffy?
Your victoria sponge may not be light and fluffy due to an issue with the mixing of the ingredients. It is best to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately and then combine them.
For example, you need to cream butter, sugar, and eventually eggs together and beat the air out of this. Adding the flour too early will overwork the gluten from too much mixing, meaning your cake will not rise.
However, if you have under-mixed the cake, it will be dense. So, you need to mix your wet ingredients first and mix the whole mixture pretty well.
What’s the difference between a sponge cake and Victoria sponge?
Victoria sponge is a classic British cake and was first named by Queen Victoria. It is different from a sponge cake because the ingredients are more rigid, and they typically only contain jam and cream, whereas a sponge cake can be any flavor.
Final Thoughts
A Victoria sponge is a real delicacy, and there is an opportunity to be more creative with flavors than you may think. A light sponge, sweet jam, and rich cream!
I mean, could it get any more indulgent? We hope you have enjoyed this list, and you have found your next new bake!
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