A Simple Sponge

After the runaway success of the first baking attempt yesterday I wanted to try something which would yield tastier results but also retain that all important level of difficulty... Not very!

Victoria Sponge Cake - once a favourite of Queen Victoria don't you know - is probably the most simple cake in the book so surely I can manage it? After a day doing some amateur gardening (don't worry I won't be starting a blog on that!), sitting around and listening to the radio it seemed like the perfect time to top it off by doing something sugary and sweet to give me a kick up the backside.

This time I felt like I was really baking. Yesterday it was all mixed together straight away and then a whole load of waiting around nervously, today there were bowls everywhere I was beating this that and the other into submission (I bet proper bakers have killer triceps) and properly mixing things together at the right times... I think! Of course the major thing I noticed about today's recipe was that it had a lot of mixing separate ingredients, and a lot of that means a lot of bowls. Suffice to say that it didn't even cross my mind when starting this that I will be doing an enormous amount of washing up over the next few months, I best stock up on fairy liquid!

Anyway, onto the cake, it seems like a fairly simple recipe I should imagine any bozo (even me) can follow. Other than the potential to beat instead of fold the flour in - two things I scarcely knew the difference of until today - I think it will probably be the easiest recipe I will do. Still, that hasn't stopped me from making a funny looking creation, through no fault of my own I might add. Unfortunately our terrible oven, kindly given to the original tenants twenty years ago by our landlords (probably), is ever so slightly slanted and so I've ended up with two wonky half cakes. of course they taste just as good as they're meant to but it's frustrating considering how well I think I've done.

The Result:

Mmmm Wonky!

To be honest it certainly wasn't the best Victoria Sponge I've ever eaten and I really doubt that is down to my somewhat slapdash approach to baking, I just don't think it was a very good recipe. It came out a lot chewier than I'd hoped and though tasty, it just didn't have that lovely spongey texture you want in a cake!
If you want a better Recipe try this one.