Victorian Sponge Cake with Fresh Raspberries

Today 19th May 2013 is World Baking Day.  Get your aprons on, and try an old fashioned Victorian Sponge Cake The Victorian Sponge Cake was named after Queen Victoria who loved a slice of sponge cake with her afternoon tea. Traditionally strawberry jam and cream are sandwiched between two sponge cakes, and the top of the cake is not iced but dusted with icing sugar or castor sugar.  But we are no longer in the Victorian Age, so my version is sandwiched together with a mascarpone/icing sugar combination and fresh raspberries.  I know that mascarpone cheese is sometimes hard to find, or too expensive, so if you google it, you will find lots of recipes for mascarpone substitutes This cake freezes so well, and its great to be able to whip it out the deep freeze, and its ready to use in 30 minutes.  If you dont want to do anything fancy, go with the  strawberry jam option, and dust with icing sugar.  But I’m warning you, once you’ve tasted it with the mascarpone and raspberries, you wont want it any other way. Victorian Sponge Cake with fresh Raspberries   Author: Shades of Cinnamon.com Recipe type: Baking, Fruit Serves: 8 Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 50 mins Print   Ingredients

• 225g unsalted butter, chopped
• 225g golden caster sugar ( use soft brown sugar and grind to make caster sugar if golden caster sugar is not available)
• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 medium eggs
• 100ml whole milk
• For the filling:
• 400g icing sugar
• 10 Tbls mascarpone
• Fresh raspberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC.
2. Butter 2 x 20cm cake tins and line with paper.
3. With electric beater on high, whisk the butter for 1-2 minutes until soft.
4. Add caster sugar and whisk for a further 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
6. Whisk in the sifted flour and baking powder in two stages. Do not overbeat at this stage.
7. Quickly whisk in the milk.
8. Transfer the mixture into the 2 pans and bake for 30-25 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
9. Turn out onto cake rack and allow to cool.
10. When cool fold the sifted icing sugar into the mascarpone and spread ½ over the bottom cake.
11. Mash ½ the berries with a fork and spread over the mascarpone layer .
12. Cover with the other cake and repeat the mascarpone layer. Add whole berries to decorate.
13. This cake freezes well for 1 month, and keeps for 4 days in an airtight container, but once the mascarpone is added it should be refrigerated and eaten within 24hours.

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