Victoria sponge cake

This simplest of sponge cake recipes has a fresh berry and whipped cream filling that takes the classic Victoria sponge to new heights.

Ingredients

·         225g/8oz butter or margarine, softened at room temperature

·         225g/8oz caster sugar

·         4 medium eggs

·         2 tsp vanilla extract

·         225g/8oz self raising flour

·         milk, to loosen

How to prepare

1.      Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2.      Grease and line 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper.

3.      Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.

4.      Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract.

5.      Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little extra milk if necessary, to create a batter with a soft dropping consistency.

6.      Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula.

7.      Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8.      Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place onto a wire rack.

9.      Sandwich the cakes together with jam, lemon curd or whipped cream and berries or just enjoy on its own.

Angel Food Cake

  

I’m the one who purchase cake from the store very rare. I like angel food cake. Because it’s dry and if I make it at home it’s still going to be dry. Plus I don’t have to go out and buy a pan that only makes one type of dessert, that’s boring. Although, if I made it at home it may just be a day fresher. I didn’t used to like angel food cake in the slightest because the texture was just that, dry and spongy. It reminded me of cotton swabs. Somewhere along the way I realized a good angel food cake just needs a good amount of moisture and fats added to the top and then it’s fantastic. So, with this recipe I made it to have a generous amount of the Nutella drizzle (so you can continue to spoon more over your cake as your eating it) and a fair mound of Mascarpone Cream to dollop over the top. Again, to me a good Angel food cake is in the toppings and lots of them. I guess low fat just isn’t my thing. The vibrant topping for this cake will quickly remind you of chocolate covered strawberries and strawberries with cream. How could it not be good, right? I hope you enjoy this simple, yet elegant dessert as much as I do! Simplicity at it’s finest.

You will need only 15 minutes

Yield: 10 Servings

Ingredients

1 angel food cake, homemade or store bought

1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced

4 - 6 tbsp milk, to thin as desired

3/4 cup chocolate hazelnut spread, such as Nutella

8 oz Mascarpone cheese

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp corn syrup, optional

Directions

• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together Nutella and milk until well combined and smooth, set aside. In a separate small mixing bowl, fold together Mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar. In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on high speed, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add in optional corn syrup and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the whipped cream mixture into Mascarpone cheese mixture, then add remaining whipped cream mixture and fold until combined. Whip mixture with blender to fluff if necessary (you could probably just whip all 4 ingredients together until stiff peaks form and get the same result - the above was just the method I used).
• To assemble: Slice angel food cake into individual servings. Drizzle each serving with Nutella drizzle. Top with sliced strawberries and Mascarpone Cream. Garnish with mint leaves if desired. Serve immediately.