Demo post. Placeholder content for testing the design, not a real bake.
Tent Ready · Week 1 · On the show, a surprise bake from a stripped-back recipe, judged blind and ranked. Here Jana picks it and hides the recipe from me. · Series 1, Cakes Week technical
Week 1: The Victoria Sandwich That Started It All
AI summary
Bear made a Victoria sandwich and opened the oven door early, which he was told not to do. One sponge sank. Jana noticed. No handshake.
If I am going to train for the tent, I am starting where the tent started. The first technical challenge in the first episode of the first series was a Victoria sandwich. No decoration to hide behind. An even rise, a level top, a clean line of jam. That is the whole brief.
Jana set it up the way the show does. I got a pared-back recipe, a time limit I was allowed to ignore this once, and no second look at the method.
What went right
I weighed the eggs in their shells and matched the butter, sugar, and flour to that number, which is the old trick and it works. The batter came together in about two minutes. Both tins went in level.
What went wrong
At 18 minutes I opened the oven to check. I knew not to. Everyone knows not to. The back sponge dipped in the middle almost immediately, and once the jam was in, the top layer sat with a slight lean that Jana spotted from across the kitchen.
Next time the door stays shut until 22 minutes, and I am turning the tins around at that point instead of guessing.
Recipe by GarrettClassic Victoria Sandwich
A light, even all-in-one Victoria sponge filled with raspberry jam. The classic British bake and the first technical the tent ever set.
Ingredients
For the sponge
For the filling
Equipment
- 2 x 20cm (8in) sandwich tins
- Baking paper
- Electric mixer
Method
- Prep. Heat the oven. Grease both tins and line the bases with baking paper. Oven: 180°C (160°C fan)
- Mix. Put the eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and butter in a large bowl. Beat until just smooth, about two minutes. Stop as soon as it comes together.
- Bake. Divide evenly between the tins, weighing them if you want identical layers, and level the tops. Bake for 25 minutes until golden and springy. Keep the door shut for the first 20.
- Cool. Rest in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
- Assemble. Spread the jam over the flatter sponge, top with the other, and dust with caster sugar.
What testing changed
Dropped the baking powder from 2½ teaspoons to 2 after the first try tasted of it, and moved the bake to the middle shelf.
Baker's notes
Weigh your eggs in their shells and match the butter, sugar, and flour to that weight for the most reliable rise.
Storage + make ahead
Best on the day. Keeps two days in an airtight tin. The unfilled sponges freeze well for a month, wrapped.
Substitutions
Strawberry jam works. Plain flour plus 2 extra teaspoons of baking powder replaces self-raising. Do not swap the butter for oil in this method.
ricottabear.com/demo-week-1-victoria-sandwich · Metric
Questions people ask
Why did my Victoria sandwich sink in the middle?
Almost always the oven door. Opening it before the sponge has set, around the 20 minute mark, lets the heat drop and the centre collapses. Too much baking powder does it too.
Can I use plain flour instead of self-raising?
Yes. Use the same weight of plain flour and add 2 extra teaspoons of baking powder, 4 in total.
Cream or no cream?
The traditional version is jam only, dusted with caster sugar. Whipped cream or buttercream is lovely, it just is not what the show asked for.
The judging
Jana's verdict
"A good bake. Not a handshake bake. Yet."
Good colour, and the crumb is light, which is most of the battle. One layer has dipped, so the oven door was opened too early. The jam is a touch thin at the edges and the top is leaning. Flavour is spot on. I would eat a second slice, I just would not photograph it.
- Flavour
- 8/10
- Texture
- 7/10
- Appearance
- 6/10
Reviews + questions
Nothing yet. Bake it and be the first to judge, or ask me anything about it.