This is my favourite recipe for Victoria sponge. The orange zest really transforms it and if you make sure you use lovely, best-quality local eggs, you’ll get the most golden sponge you’ve ever seen. Try to get yourself some rose water if you can, as a few drops with the raspberries is an absolute joy.
Victoria sponge cake with raspberries and rose water
Ingredients
- 225g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
- 225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
- 225g castor sugar
- 4 large free-range or organic eggs
- zest of 1 orange
- a few drops of rose water
- good-quality raspberry jam
- 250g fresh raspberries
- icing sugar
- FOR THE CRYSTALLISED ROSE PETALS
- a handful of rose petals
- 2 large free-range or organic egg whites
- castor sugar
- FOR THE VANILLA CREAM
- 250ml double cream
- ½ vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped out
- 30ml castor sugar
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 190°C. Grease 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with butter and dust lightly with flour.
Beat the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, making sure you beat each one in well before you add the next, then fold in the orange zest and the flour. Divide the cake mix between the prepared tins. Spread it out well with a spatula and bake until golden brown and risen and a skewer comes out, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then carefully turn out onto a baking rack to cool completely.
Mix a few drops of rose water into your jam – but don’t go crazy with it, it’s very strong!
For the crystallised petals, turn the oven right down to 110°C and whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Dip the rose petals in the egg white and then in some castor sugar. Shake off the excess sugar and lay on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for a few minutes in the oven until the petals are firm to the touch.
Whip the cream with the vanilla seeds and the 30ml of sugar. Spread the jam and then the vanilla cream over one of the cakes, then scatter the raspberries on top. Top with the second cake, dust with icing sugar and decorate with the crystallised rose petals.
