A simple but beautiful Victoria sponge cake with all the beautiful elements. The sponge, the cream, the strawberries. This time however, we’re roasting the strawberries, making a strawberry coulis and, we’re going to add a touch of balsamic glaze to level up this amazing Victoria sponge.
And as you can see, we haven’t transformed the cake into something it isn’t. We have simply added an element and changed an element. And that’s all we need to do because Victoria sponge cake is already a beautiful dessert.
Now let’s have a look at how to make this amazing cake.
How to make the Sponge
So for this sponge cake, just make sure that you have all of your ingredients ready and that you take care during the process, and you’ll do a great job.
First, pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees F). Then, line your cake tin (approximately 20-22cm diameter cake tin) by greasing the inside with butter, then neatly add baking paper to the bottom and the sides. You can also spray the baking paper with coking spray if you want to ensure that the cake won’t stick once baked.
Now, to start the cake, add some water to a small-medium sized pot, then bring to a gentle simmer. I like to leave the pot over the lowest flame, so that the water is barely even simmering but remaining hot.
Get a bowl that is preferably made of thick glass or tile. I avoid the metal bowls in this case because they get very hot very quickly, and we’re whisking eggs over the simmering water. Although, if a metal bowl happens to be your only option, that’s fine, just be extra careful.
Now, put your eggs, egg yolk, sugar, salt, lemon juice and vanilla in your mixing bowl. Then beat the ingredients together with an electric beater.
Place the mixing bowl over the simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water) then beat with the electric beater for about a minute until the mixture is warm, but not too hot.
Once the mixture is warm, take the bowl off the water bath, and continue beating until the mixture has tripled in size. The colour will be light and foamy.
From here, just sift in the self raising flour and use a wooden spoon or preferably, a spatula to gently fold it through until it’s fully combined through the batter.
And finally, add the melted butter and once again, gently fold through until fully incorporated.
And that is how you make the batter! Now you just transfer the better to the lined cake tin, and bake the cake for 30-35 minutes.
The Layers to this Cake
Now, the reason I love the layers of this cake so much, is because every layer compliments each other so beautifully. However, before we can make those layers, we need to halve the cake. And we do that with a bread knife.
First, I like to put the cake on a board or a plate, and then just use the knife to make an incision all around the cake, but we want this incision to be as straight as possible. So that when we halve the cake, both layers look as even as possible.
Now when we start cutting, we can use the incision as a guide. Just make sure you’re using a steady back and forth motion with the knife, and don’t push, making sure that the knife is doing the work.
Once the cake is cut, gently separate the layers and then place the bottom half of the cake on whatever you want to serve the cake on.
The first layer is the sponge, I guess you can say this is the body of the cake. This layer has a lovely sweetness with the soft texture.
The next layer is the cream (only add half), you want to whip the cream to where it’s thick yet still smooth. And mix the cream with a bit of icing sugar, for a very light sweetness, but not too much. The cream does a fantastic job at balancing out the sweetness of the other layers, making sure the sweetness isn’t too overpowering.
Next, we add the strawberries, which are roasted in sugar and cinnamon. Half of the strawberries are blended into a coulis, and then mixed through the other half of the roasted strawberries. And the strawberries aren’t roasted to the point where they are too soft, they are tender and still hold their shape.
So half of that strawberry mixture will go on top of the cream (make sure they have cooled down before adding them). The strawberries give a lovely fruitiness to the cake, and they add moisture.
Finally, we add a drizzle of the balsamic glaze, the same balsamic glaze I made in this Roasted Tomato and Garlic Bread Bruschetta, and this Mini Caprese Skewers Appetiser recipe.
You reduce the balsamic vinegar by half in a pot, wait for it to cool and you should end up with a thick, still sour but also sweet balsamic glaze. And you just want to drizzle it on top of the strawberries.
Now after that, we simple put the next layer of cake on top.
And finally, finish the cake by topping it with the rest of your cream, then add rest of your strawberries.
Why add balsamic glaze?
The glaze is something you would not normally see in a Victoria sponge cake. However, it adds a small but powerful element, that sourness just brings out the flavour of the other layers even more.
Also, strawberries and balsamic vinegar/glaze is a classic combo and go so well together. Especially the roasted strawberries in this recipe.
Remember, you just want a hint of that sourness, too much of the glaze will ruin the flavour of the cake.
Freezing the sponge
I tested to see if this sponge ca ke can be frozen and yes, it absolutely can. Just make sure you wrap it in cling film before storing in the freezer.
Preparing the cake in advance
If you’re struggling with time to make a nice looking layer cake, remember that you can make the sponge in advance and freeze it.
On the day yo want to serve the cake, you just have to halve the cake, make the other components for the cake and then start layering!
Thank you for checking out my post lovely people, I guarantee you this cake will blow peoples socks off. Don’t forget to subscribe to stay updated for new recipe posts.
And feel free to check out the other recipes on my blog. Thanks again and have an amazing day!
Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Victoria Sponge
A beautiful 2 layer cake with layers of cream, strawberries and blasamic glaze. One gorgeous cake that you don't want to miss out on.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 225 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 225 g self raising flour
- 225 g of butter melted but cool
Roasted Strawberries:
- 500 g of strawberries (extra strawberries if you want to garnish with fresh strawberries)
- 3 tablespoons of caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Balsamic glaze:
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
Whipped cream:
- 350 ml of cream
- 1½ tablespoons of icing sugar
Instructions
Sponge Cake:
-
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees F).
-
Line a cake tin with butter, then baking paper.
-
Fill a medium sized pot a quarter of the way up with water, and bring it to a very light simmer.
-
Put your eggs, egg yolk, sugar, salt, lemon juice and vanilla in a large heat proof mixing bowl.
-
Place the bowl over the lightly simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the simmering water, and start beating with an electric beater until the mixture is warm (usually takes 2-3 minutes).
-
Take the warm egg mixture off of the pot of water and continue beating until the mixture has tripled in volume.
-
Sift in the self raising flour, then gently fold.
-
Add the melted butter and once again, gently fold through.
-
Pour mixture in lined cake tin, bake for 35 minutes. Test with skewer.
Roasted Strawberries:
-
Mix the strawberries, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl, add to a lined, deep baking tray and bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees F).
-
Once the Strawberries are roasted, put half of them in a blender and blitz until smooth.
-
Put the roasted strawberry coulis in a bowl, add the other half of your roasted strawberries and mix though the coulis.
Balsamic Glaze:
-
Place the balsamic vinegar in a small pot, then bring to a boil. Reduce the vinegar by half (until nice and thick and can easily coat the back of a spoon). Set aside and let the balsamic glaze cool.
Cream:
-
Put the cream and the icing sugar in a bowl, then beat together until the cream is thick and smooth (be careful not to over beat).
Garnish:
-
Extra fresh strawberries (optional)
Assembly:
-
Once the cake has cooled, carefully use a bread knife to cut the cake in half to create 2 layers.
-
Place half of the whipped cream on top of the first half of your cake, place half your roasted strawberries on top evenly, drizzle over the balsamic glaze.
-
Neatly place the second layer of cake on top, put the next layer of cream on top and finally, finish the cake with a layer of the rest of your roasted strawberries.
Recipe Notes
- When you put the mixing bowl with the whipped egg mixture over the water bath. Make sure the bowl isn't touching the water.
- When it comes to choosing the bowl you're going to use to put over the water bath to beat the egg mixture, try to go for a thick glass bowl or a tile bowl rather than a metal bowl. Metal heats up quite quickly, but if a metal bowl is all you have, just be extra careful and the egg mixture will be fine.
- I recommend using an electric beater to beat the egg mixture.
- Before halving the cake, make a straight incision along the cake to help guide you where you want to cut.
- Use a bread knife to cut the cake in half and don't push as you're cutting. Let the knife do the work.
- Whip the cream so that it's thick but still smooth. Don't over whip the cream.
- Roast the strawberries to where they are tender but not too soft. So that they still have some texture.
- Let the strawberries cool before putting them on the cake.
- Reduce the balsamic vinegar by half and then let it cool before drizzling on the cake.
- Work on the garnish as much as you like, dust some icing sugar, garnish with extra fresh berries or edible flowers etc.
- Feel free to freeze the sponge if you want to make this cake in advance. Wrap the cake in cling film before storing in the fridge.
This sounds amazing and I may have to try it. Thank you.