A Victoria Sponge cake is a traditional, easy-to-make British dessert– and a favorite in my family. It generally consists of two sponge cakes sandwiched together with cream and jam, but the contents are up to you! Traditionally, the jam is raspberry, but I prefer to make it with a jar of the store-bought strawberry stuff. If you have an hour free, this cake is an easy people pleaser for any event.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• ½ cup milliliters raspberry jam, more to taste
• 1 cup milliliters heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, more for dusting
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center. Grease and line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then beat in milk, scraping down sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour mixture until combined, then scrape into prepared cake pans, smoothing the top.
4. Bake cakes until golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then unmold them onto a wire rack to cool completely, flat side down.
5. Transfer one cake (the less attractive one) to a serving platter, and spread jam evenly on top. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla just until it holds stiff peaks. Dollop about half the cream on top of jam, then top with remaining cake. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately, with the extra whipped cream on the side.