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Victoria Sandwich

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The Victoria Sandwich is a classic British cake sandwiched with homemade strawberry jam and clotted cream.  Also known as a  Victoria Sponge Cake, it’s perfect for afternoon tea!

Victoria Sponge Sandwich, Cake, British, Traditional afternoon tea

Every now and again a surprise package will turn up and the other week a lovely parcel arrived from Rodda’s to celebrate World Baking Day. Shamefully I hadn’t been aware of this day and had not planned any baking (goes to the back of the class)!

So armed with a supply of clotted cream and butter (and a new apron) I knew I simply had to make a Victoria Sandwich.

I hadn’t made a Victoria Sponge since I was at school! As I wanted this cake to be extra special I decided I also had to make a portion of strawberry jam to go in it! Hence my Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam post came about.

I’m over the moon with the number of people who have been encouraged to make jam for the first time because of it!

Victoria Sandwich on a pedestal with a slice cut out.

I read the other day in The Kitchen Magpie by James Steen that Mary Berry’s favourite cake is Victoria Sponge. Well, now it’s my husband’s too.

He was absolutely over the moon with it (it’s lovely hearing your husband singing your praises to someone over the phone)!

I have to agree that the 3 elements, the jam, the cream and the sponge all come together to form the most wonderful, simple but delicious cake!

Victoria Sponge slice on a plate.

What is a Victoria Sandwich Cake?

A Victoria Sandwich Cake is a plain cake often flavoured with a hint of vanilla and sandwiched with a layer of jam

This British classic was first inspired by and named after Queen Victoria, who would enjoy a simple jam-filled Victoria Sandwich Cake for afternoon tea. Later on, cream or buttercream became popular additions. 

The Victoria Sandwich Cake is erroneously called a Victoria Sponge, according to Alysa Leven of  Oxford Brookes University.

It has its roots in the pound cake, which became popular in the eighteenth century when the fashion moved away from heavy fruit cakes to lighter, more golden cakes. 

Never formally decorated, the Victoria Sandwich can either be finished off with a dusting of caster sugar or icing sugar (powdered sugar), like I’ve done here.

Victoria Sandwich on a glass pedestal.

Victoria Sandwich Ingredients

  • Lightly salted butter for depth of flavour (softened for ease of mixing).
  • Caster sugar – any type is fine (white or golden).
  • Vanilla sugar – I use a quality organic one for a hint of vanilla.
  • Self-raising flour – if you don’t have any, just add 1 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda per 300 g of plain flour. You can make up a big batch and store it in a jar.
  • 3 large eggs, beaten.
  • Strawberry jam, homemade preferably, or you can use raspberry jam, etc.
  • Clotted cream, which is better than whipped cream as it holds its shape better and tastes just divine.
Victoria Sandwich with heart shaped dusting of icing.

How do you make a Victoria Sandwich Cake?

  • Start by preheating your oven to 190⁰C.
  • Grease and line 2 x 20 cm (8″) baking tins with baking paper (you can use butter or oil).
  • Cream the softened butter and sugar with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Be patient as it could take between 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Very gradually whisk in the beaten egg (don’t worry if the mixture splits, but if you whisked it enough, it shouldn’t).
  • Fold in the self-raising flour with a metal spoon in a figure of 8.
  • Spoon the mixture equally into the 2 cake tins.
  • Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden and springs back to the touch.
  • Allow to cool completely – no one wants melted clotted cream!
  • Use a spatula to spread the clotted cream on one cake and the strawberry jam on the other, then sandwich together.
  • Finish off with a dusting of icing sugar (you can use a paper doily template for an extra touch of glamour).
Victoria Sandwich doily template with heart cut out.
Use a doily template and cut a heart shape out of the middle before dusting with icing sugar.

More Classic Cake Recipes

Once you’ve made my Victoria Sandwich Cake, here are some more fabulous cake recipes for you to try:

Victoria Sponge Sandwich, Cake, British, Traditional afternoon tea

Other Jams and spreads you could use to fill a Victoria Sandwich 

The most common jam fillings for Victoria Sandwiches are strawberry jam or raspberry jam, but there’s no reason not to be adventurous and choose something else! Fruit curds go well too!

Check out the following recipes for inspiration:

Pin for later!

Victoria Sandwich on a glass pedestal.

Leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe; I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.

Victoria Sandwich on a pedestal.
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Victoria Sandwich

This Victoria Sandwich is filled with homemade strawberry jam and clotted cream for the ultimate teatime treat!
Course Snack, teatime
Cuisine British
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 8
Author Camilla Hawkins

Equipment

  • 2 x 20 cm (8 inch) sandwich tins
  • baking paper
  • large mixing bowl
  • Electric whisk
  • Large metal spoon
  • wire rack
  • spatula

Ingredients

  • 175 g Butter, lightly salted softened
  • 175 g Caster sugar minus 1tsp
  • 1 tsp Vanilla sugar
  • 175 g Self Raising Flour
  • 3 Eggs large, beaten
  • Filling:
  • 4 tbsp Home-made strawberry jam (see notes for link)
  • 150 g Clotted cream I used Roddas
  • Icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 190⁰C.
  • Grease and line 2 x 20cm (8 inch) baking tins with baking paper.
  • Cream the butter and sugars together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy (be patient)!
  • Whisk in the beaten eggs a little at a time.
  • Fold in the flour gradually with a metal spoon (turning in a figure of eight).
  • Divide the mixture equally between the 2 cake tins (I use scales to be accurate).
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and springs back to the touch.
  • Turn onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
  • Once cool, use a spatula to spread the clotted cream over the base of one cake and strawberry jam over the other, then sandwich together.
  • Dust the top surface with icing sugar and if you want extra Brownie points use a paper doily to make a pretty lace pattern on top!

Notes

For the filling use my Quick One Punnet Strawberry Jam.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nickki

    Camilla this looks gorgeous! I love the idea of adding clotted cream instead of cream or buttercream. I’m definitely going to try this!

    Reply

  2. Chloe Edges

    Oooh decadent! I tend to add buttercream but I’ve never thought of putting clotted cream in the middle – I will def be trying that in my next attempt. I love that you use the creaming method too. I’ve never been a fan of the all in one method. It’s simply not as satisfying to make it nothing else!

    Reply

    • Camilla

      Thanks Chloe. Yes I wouldn’t dream of making a classic Victoria Sponge by any other method, it just wouldn’t be the same:-) The clotted cream and strawberry jam is a winning combo:-)

      Reply

  4. Kirsty

    Hey I love baking this looks ace, is there any reason you use clotted cream not whipped cream? Thanks

    Reply

  7. Darrell

    This looks mouth wateringly good. Will give this recipe a try tomorrow morning. Thanks for posting it

    Reply

  12. kayleigh watkins

    ooooh you cant beat a homemade victria sponge I made one recently didn’t look as good as yours though but myself and children enjoyed it xxx

    Reply

    • Camilla

      I had to make this again for hubby’s birthday the other day and it didn’t fluff up as much as I used the Kenwood to do the mixing instead of electric whisk which works much better with small amounts of cake batter! It still tasted great though as you say:-)

      Reply

  16. Anne Dalzell

    In work again tonight, hungry, tired and eyeing up this beauty. Why is Victoria sponge just so delicious?!

    Reply

  20. Tracy Nixon

    This looks great! I am going to a macMillan Coffee morning so will attempt to make one of these to take along! Thank you!

    Reply

  23. Alison Johnson

    I just love Victoria Sandwich cakes & this one looks perfect. I don’t think you can beat Victoria Sandwich cakes for taste nad moreishness!

    Reply

  27. glenn hutton

    I have always liked these cakes but to me the ones I have had have been quite dry, i would be interested if this is what they are meant to be like or I have I just had bad experiences of them…

    Reply

    • Camilla

      I think it is easy to over bake these cakes so it’s probably a matter of taking them out of the oven sooner if you’re finding them dry.

      Reply

  28. Deena Kakaya

    There is clearly a lot of skill and experience in this beauty because it looks absolutely perfect! great job Camilla x

    Reply

  38. Stephanie Coals

    Victoria sponges always seem so easy to make but are in realiy quite difficult to get right! Fanastic receipe – will have to give it a try 🙂

    Reply

  40. Carolyn Clapham

    Lovely. You can’t beat the old favourites – though I often make a fat-free sponge instead so that I feel less guilty when I stuff it full of jam and cream. A good excuse for an extra slice!!! 🙂

    Reply

  41. Elizabeth

    Nothing beats a Victoria sponge. I’d never even heard of (or tried) such a thing until I moved to the UK. Love your glass cake stand too! Very posh! 😀

    Reply

  44. Javelin Warrior

    See, now I want to be a dad so someone will surprise ME with a slice of this cake 😉 Really awesome work, Camilla, and this sounds and looks so good. And with homemade jam to boot!

    Reply

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