Mary Berry reveals ‘secret’ to make ‘perfect’ Victoria Sponge cake – ‘as simple as that’

Mary Berry shares her tips for a perfect Victoria Sponge

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Marry Berry said: “First of all, start off with the eggs. So four eggs, then 225g of custard sugar and the same of self-raising flour. It’s easy to remember!”

She continued: “Then exactly one level teaspoon of baking powder.

“But the secret to a perfect sponge is to use 225g of baking spread straight from the fridge.

“And mixing slowly on a low setting.

“As simple as that,” she revealed.

Mary Berry’s easy Victoria sandwich

Ingredients

Four free-range eggs

225g/eight oz caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting the finished cake

225g/eight oz self-raising flour

Two tsp baking powder

225g/eight oz butter at room temperature, plus a little extra to grease the tins

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas four.

Grease and line two 20cm/eight in sandwich tins.

Use a piece of baking paper to rub a little butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated, then line the bottom with a circle of baking paper.

Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar, flour, baking powder and butter.

Mix together until well combined with an electric hand mixer (you can also use a wooden spoon), but be careful not to over mix.

Put a damp cloth under your bowl when you’re mixing to stop it moving around. The finished mixture should fall off a spoon easily.

Divide the mixture evenly between the tins: this doesn’t need to be exact, but you can weigh the filled tins if you want to check.

Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes.

Bake the cakes on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes. Check them after 20 minutes.

The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check – they should be springy to the touch. Set aside to cool in their tins for five minutes.

Run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tins and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.

To assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with plenty of jam. If you want to, you can spread over whipped cream too. Top with the second cake, top-side up. Sprinkle over the caster sugar.

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