• Welcome!
  • Made in America
  • Lean Luxury
  • Go Fish!
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Lucy Lean

Luxurious and Healthy Meals - Memories in the Making

  • COOK
  • LIVE
  • LAUGH
  • TRAVEL
  • HELLO

in Baking· Birthday· birthday cake· cake· Chef· Must read· People Who Inspire Me· RECIPES· Teatime· Valentines Day

Victoria Sponge Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi SWEETIt doesn’t get more British than a Victoria Sponge Cake – and then you add strawberries and cream – and then you throw in Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh’s new book SWEET – all you need is a nice cup of tea and an afternoon of Summer showers watching cricket on the village green.  Or given that tomorrow is Guy Fawkes perhaps a fireworks display, apple bobbing and a sparkler or two.Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi SWEETWith the launch of SWEET in early October, Yotam and Helen came to Los Angeles for a flying visit during their promotional tour. It was good to get a hug and a catch up between Yotam signing books and having his photo taken like the rockstar that he is. I first met Yotam when he came to LA to promote Plenty and I arranged for him to turn Animal vegetarian for a night – we have since been great friends and I adore him – for his cookbooks, his humility and his genius.  I also love the fact that he persuaded Didier to hire more people. He told the story of how he couldn’t delegate – even the washing up and how it was holding him back being such a control freak.

Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Amy Scattergood, SWEET

During the interview portion of the evening with Amy Scattergood the anti sugar zeitgeist was discussed.  Yotam made the point that something like cake is a treat and not to be eaten all the time but that when you do what better way than a homemade cake shared with family or friends.

Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi SWEETWith Minty away at boarding school I hadn’t really been very inspired to do much of anything in the first few weeks – I missed her so much.  SWEET helped ease me back into the kitchen when I was out in Malibu. I got out the Kitchenaid stand mixer and made the Victoria Sponge Cake.Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi SWEET

“The secret of the sponge cake – which is light as air, but also rich and buttery – is the reliance on the air that’s whipped into the eggs, which act as the raising agent, rather than chemical leaveners.”  This is a Genoise sponge recipe that requires a little extra technique that’s not difficult but important to follow the instructions carefully.Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi SWEET

Yotam and Helen made it as little cakes filled with white chocolate cream, strawberry jam and fresh strawberries.  I have adapted their recipe using larger pans and I have used light and airy whipped Chantilly cream as I feel it pairs so well with this cake and the berries.

Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi SWEETVictoria Sponge Cake with Strawberries and Cream
Adapted from SWEET by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh

Makes 1 large 9 inch cake

Whipped Cream (- similar to Chantilly Cream)

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla paste

Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi SWEETStrawberries – for jam and fresh in cake

260 g hulled strawberries, roughly chopped
160g hulled strawberries sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup/70g baker’s sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons lemon juice

Sponge Cake

4 large eggs
1/2 cup/100g baker’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
finely grated zest of 1 lemon (1 teaspoon)
2/3 cup/100g all-purpose flour
1/8 teapsoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Whipped Cream

Place the cream in the bowl of the Kitchenaid electric stand mixer with the whisk attachment mix on medium speed until the cream begins to thicken. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla paste and continue to whisk until the cream is thick and forms peaks – be careful not to over whip – you will get sweetened butter! Set aside in the refrigerator.

Strawberrry Jam

Place the chopped strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and mix well. Bring to the boil over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes stirring regularly until the sugar has melted and the mixture has thickened.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

To make the Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper – I have used a heart shaped spring form pan and I’ve also used two 9inch cake pans with straight sides.

Pour enough water into a medium saucepan so that it rises about 2 inches – you want the bowl of the electric stand mixer to fit in the pan over the water without actually touching it. Bring the water to a boil and then lower to a simmer.

Place the eggs, sugar, vanilla paste and lemon zest in the metal bowl of the Kitchenaid and with the whisk attachment mix ingredients together for 30 secs on medium speed.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and place over the simmering water making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl.  Whisk continuously by hand for about 5 minutes- yes this is a workout – until the mixture is frothy, creamy and warm. Remove the bowl and place it on the Kitchenaid stand mixer and whisk on high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume and is no longer warm.

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl and sift twice. Sift half the flour directly over the cake batter and fold in gently with a large spatula. Sift the other half of the flour into the cake batter and fold in gently.  Drizzle the cooled melted butter down the side of the bowl and fold in gently and swiftly until incorporated.

Spoon into the prepared cake pan/s and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes ( if baking one large cake it may need a little more time) until the cake is golden brown and springs back in the center when pressed. Remove from the oven and set aside in the pans to cool for 20 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cake and transfer out of the pan to a cooling rack.

If using one large pan cut the cooled cake horizontally. Place the bottom cake on a cake stand and spread with the cooled strawberry jam. Spread a little more than half of the whipped cream on the cake, then the fresh sliced strawberries and then the remaining whipped cream. Place the top half of the cake on top and dust with the confectioner’s sugar. Decorate with a single strawberry or a sparkler or candles and enjoy.

Left over slices are delicious the next day for breakfast.

Victoria Sponge Cake - Yotam Ottolenghi SWEET

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Filed Under: Baking, Birthday, birthday cake, cake, Chef, Must read, People Who Inspire Me, RECIPES, Teatime, Valentines Day Tagged With: British Teatime, Cake, cookbook, Cookbooks, Genoise Sponge, Guy Fawkes, Helen Goh, Let them eat cake, Plenty, Sponge cake, Sweet, Victoria Sponge Cake, Yotam Ottolenghi

« Day 4 – 40 Day Delicious Diet – The Benefits of Berries
Day 5 – 40 Day Delicious Diet – Butter Coffee ‘Egg Nog’ »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I have a present for you

a little lean luxury
My 5 ways to get lean, easy tips to a healthier you.

Subscribe Today!

VIP treatment, in the know and occasional newsletter - plus my gift to you
My 5 ways to get lean, easy tips to a healthier you.

Come on an Adventure

  • COOK
  • LIVE
  • LAUGH
  • TRAVEL
  • HELLO

looking for something?

lucylean

Blue skies and happy #breadheads the day that star Blue skies and happy #breadheads the day that starts with a cup of tea in bed is always a good one but especially when you see blue sky and hear birds singing - the garden is in full spring flower bloom and there are dates out of lockdown to look forward to I can’t wait to travel again and I can’t wait to see friends and entertain again - does anyone else feel a shift in spirits #primroses #snowdrops #helebores #EnglishCountryHouse #EnglishCountryGarden #EnglishCountryside
Always chasing rainbows 🌈 as if by magic a few Always chasing rainbows 🌈 as if by magic a few raindrops started to fall and I looked up and there it was! After two for joy #magpies it seems like it was my lucky day x sunshine helps lift the spirits and spring is most definitely on the way #snowdrops #primroses #EnglishCountryHouse #englishcountrygarden #architecture #palladian #Regency #Georgian #parkland #lockdown #stayhome #staysafe
Another row completed @farrowandball paint chip #m Another row completed @farrowandball paint chip #miniatures #flowers inspired by @studiospelling #fromthegarden #paperwhites #narcissus #hardwickwhite #rosehips #bone #primrose #dropcloth  #clothofgold #crocus #shadedwhite #hellebores in #porphyry 💜(@philiphewatjaboor) #shadowwhite and pink #blossom #schoolhousewhite #signsofspring #lockdown #staysafe #stayhome
♥️L O V E ♥️ ♥️L O V E ♥️
♥️He loves me! ♥️ #valentine #bemine #redr ♥️He loves me! ♥️ #valentine #bemine #redroses #romantic been practicing my tablescapes a la @ritakonig x #interiordesign perhaps it needs an edit but then what goes? #silver #candles #crystal #eggs #objets Love it all x pheasant from GT Lady Lean that matched mine in LA and we didn’t know! Missed and never forgotten ♥️
Third row ✅ @farrowandball paint chip card #lock Third row ✅ @farrowandball paint chip card #lockdown project #springflowers #snowdrops #hellebore #hydrangea (dried flower from garden before they were pruned) #redberries inspired by @aimeesapothecary post, yesterday’s #Hellebores from the garden in a vase and today I finally got up the courage to paint a #daffodil from the gorgeous bunch sitting on my desk - that are the scent of #spring - not long until they are out in the garden - lots of shoots #hostofgoldendaffodils 
#miniatures #miniaturepainting #inspired by @studiospelling so frigid this week it’s been nice to be cozy inside painting - #funfact Snowdrops have antifreeze in their stems so they can survive the #beastfromtheeast  and fun thinking of collective noun @nicholas.coleridge for the snowdrops that are in abundance in the garden - a drift, a dusting, a hope... you decide - sadly no proper #snow #stayhome #staysafe
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 Lucy Lean