About 10 slices / Difficulty – Medium / Prep time 20 minutes / Cooking time 20 minutes
The great British classic! A gorgeous sponge with a delicious butter cream filling, just add your favourite brand of Strawberry jam to finish off.
Ingredients
For the sponge
Four eggs
225g caster sugar
225g unsalted butter
225g sieved self-raising flour
2 teaspoon of vanilla essence
For the buttercream
150g of unsalted butter (softened)
150g of sieved icing sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
To assemble the cake
Strawberry or raspberry jam (about 100g)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
The sponge
Grease and line 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper.
Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract.
Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, to create a batter. When finished the mixture should fall off a spoon easily.
Divide into two cake tins and bake for about 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. Or insert a skewer and ensure it comes out clean.
Let them cool for 5 minutes then tip out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely. While they are cooling make the filling.
The butter cream
Cream together the softened unsalted butter, sieved icing sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla essence.
Assemble the cake
To assemble the cake, place one cake upside down onto a plate and spread it with the butter cream and plenty of jam.
Top with the second cake, top-side up. For a finishing touch you can dust with icing sugar.
