sponge cake

Small cakes are an essential part of British afternoon teatime, and a Victorian sponge is a historic, easy-to-make cake to serve guests. The cake is named after Queen Victoria, who loved this light, fluffy cake, made from equal parts butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Traditionally, two layer cakes were sandwiched together with raspberry jam and whipped cream. To make it more manageable for serving guests, divide the batter into mini muffin tins. Once they are baked, top the cakes with a dollop of whipped cream and a fresh raspberry. This cake is deceptively airy and seemingly sinless, yet it has a distinct, rich flavor of butter. Whipped cream seeps in the cake for added moisture. Acting as a bright, attractive garnish, the tart raspberry also gives the cake a fresh, astringent accent. Here's how to make Victorian sponge cake.

Amongst my group of friends, I am the birthday cake maker. Thus, when a friend told me she was hosting a "Swedish" dinner party to celebrate her 25th year, she asked if my contribution would be the cake. "Yes" was my immediate answer, and I suggested a princess cake.

A princess cake is no easy dessert; it involves six components: sponge cake, whipped cream, pastry cream, raspberry jam, simple syrup, and marzipan. But after extensively researching it and clearing away part of my weekend, I decided to give it a try. Luckily, the cake was a huge success! It was moist, delicious, and absolutely perfect.

Although I spent a lot of time worrying about it, each element of the cake was not that difficult. Since I've never worked with marzipan, rolling it out was the hardest part of the process. If you are an experienced baker looking for a scrumptious cake that will definitely impress, I suggest you make it. Here's the recipe and my photos.