In light of the upcoming Royal Wedding I have decided to share with you a delicious version of England’s much loved Tea-Time snack, The Victoria Sandwich.
In the 1860’s one of Queen Victoria’s Ladies in Waiting couldn’t quite wait till 5 O’clock tea and had small breaded snacks and tea brought to her room in secret. This soon spiralled off when she invited servants to join her. The new craze spread quickly and soon the Queen Victoria herself was joining in. Thus having her own favoured finger sandwiches named after her.
To make my Victoria Sandwiches it is so very simple. I say ‘If you can remember one number, you can bake it’ and it really is that simple.
You will need:
For the Cake:
175g Butter
175g Sugar
175g Flour
3 eggs (beaten)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder (plain flour users only)
For the Icing:
75g Butter
175g Icing sugar
Vanilla Extract
Extras:
Jam (any type)
To begin pre heat your oven to 190 degrees and grease with butter and line your tin with grease proof paper. You can use circular tins but for this recipe I have kept it true to the original way and I am using a loaf tin.
Cream the butter and the sugar with a wooden spoon in a large mixing bowl till pale and soft. Once at the right consistency, add in the beaten eggs a little at a time. If you are unfamiliar with baking we do this so that we don’t get a curdled mixture and so that it mixes evenly throughout.
Once the butter, sugar and eggs are nicely mixed together, begin adding the flour a tablespoon at a time and mix well to add air to the mixture. If you are using plain flour at this point it would be suitable to add a teaspoon of baking powder to help it rise.
Now, add the mixture to your greased and lined tin, spreading it out evenly to get a flat top. Bake in the over for around half an hour, till the cake is golden and springy to the touch. Once the cake is ready, leave it on the side for around 5 minutes and then turn out onto a plate.
For the filling, place the butter and the icing sugar in a mixing bowl and mix until pale. Add a few drops of vanilla to it if you wish.
To finish, when the cake is cool, cut it horizontally down the centre and spread you jam evenly with a palette knife or spoon onto one half of the cake. Then, add your icing onto the jammy half and spread to cover and put the lid on.
Serve with a cup of freshly made tea.
I hope that you enjoyed making this as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you. Please feel free to leave comments if you have tried to make it.
