Is this what victoria sponge is supposed to be like??

[mrsmc]

Hello all! I'm not a master baker by any means, but I have a good deal of experience, particularly with cupcakes. I was recently inspired to try making a victoria sandwich and I'm not loving the results. I've made two now, and while the flavor is great, the texture/mouth feel is more akin to cornbread than cake, if that makes any sense. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if this is just how the cake is supposed to be, since I've never had one before.

All my ingredients are high quality and room temperature. I'm using the creaming method (with my stand mixer) and adding the eggs one at a time. I gently add the flour just until mixed and quickly fill the pans and pop them in the oven on the center rack. I'm baking in 6in (15cm) pans. The first time I baked it at 350F (177C) for 20 minutes. It came out not quite dry, but with the texture I described above. I tried again, thinking maybe I'd over-baked it. The second time I lowered the temperature to 340F (171C) and baked it for 15 minutes, checked, thought it wasn't quite done and added 2 more minutes. The result was marginally better than the first. Is it me? Or is it supposed to be like this?

P.S. I used 100g caster sugar, 100g butter, 100g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 2 eggs (weight 109g in their shells).

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hello,

Your ratios are correct in that the sugar, butter, should all equal the eggs by weight.

But I see two issues.
1. You’re using self rising flour so you don’t need to use any extra baking powder. Omit the baking powder.

2. The number one error in creaming butter and sugar is using room temperature butter and under beating. I know every recipe out there says to use room temperature butter but that’s wrong.

Creaming butter is mechanical leavening. For the Mechanical leavening to work you need to be a lot of air into the better. If the butter is room temperature, The friction heat from the beating will break down the butter. Bakers end up
under beating to prevent the butter from breaking down.

And this is why you must start with cold butter. Below is the link that demonstrates the proper way to cream butter. And you can trust me on this I’ve been beating butter like this for 20 years and I make near perfect cake every time.


https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/12/cookie-science-creaming-butter-sugar.html


You didn’t mention sifting the flour. The flour absolutely positively must be sifted into butter and egg mixture.

Also the type of pan you use Will have a significant effect on the quality of your cake.

Pans made of a dark metal, a treated metal, or anodized aluminum conduct heat much more intensely than a natural untreated metal pan. If you are using one of these dark/treated metal/anodized aluminum pans you must reduce your baking temperature Two 165°C (325°F).


Cake baked in these types of pans will always be drier with a darker thicker crust then a cake baked in a natural untreated metal pan. It’s the nature of the beast.

A Victoria sponge cake is not really a sponge cake; it is a pound cake ( equal parts by weight of flour, sugar, butter, eggs). A real sponge cake is made with whipped egg whites so it is a very light airy cake. As a pound cake a Victoria sponge is dense and heavier cake.