Victoria Sponge Cake

Aside from the few lecture hours, late starts and lack of a definite answer to most questions, one of the perks of being an arts student is Reading Week.  This sees a week-long hiatus from the lectures that we do have, in order that we may pursue scholarly activities such as musing on the nature of life, going clubbing and, unsurprisingly, reading.  As such, we all stayed in bed, caught up on television and went home.  A trip home also meant a trip to see Grandma and the opportunity to bake for my family again.  Having exhausted my reserves of television shows, I was introduced to Junior Bake-Off by my mum.  In the quarter finals, four mini contestants battle it out in the kitchen to produce various baked goods, which are presented to fastidious judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood for careful inspection.  The first episode saw the bakers take on Mary Berry’s own recipe for Victoria sponge.  A light bulb moment and trip to Tesco later, I was tackling it myself.

I have never had much luck with Victoria sponges; despite pleas, threats and folding flour in a manner so gentle it made the mixture purr, they never seem to rise properly.  This time I followed Mary Berry’s all-in-one method, and it worked a treat; the only real problem was convincing it to come out of the heart-shaped tin intact (it refused, and the golden brown edges stubbornly stayed put).

Besides being even lighter and fluffier than a first year essay, it left a considerably sweeter aftertaste and was eagerly received.  There was also more jam involved, which is always a bonus.  Who knows if it would have made the grade on Mary and Paul’s bake off; it rose properly, and for me that’s a first.