When I heard that we’ll be making Victoria sandwich at school I assumed we’ll be recreating Queen Victoria’s favourite sandwich! It turned out to be a sponge cake! I had to make mine with dairy-free margarine, and actually it came out the best in the class!  Unfortunately my dairy-free Victoria sandwich looks a bit flat on the photo  –  I was carrying it around all day at school before I could photograph it. Anyway, here is the recipe which is really simple.

You’ll need:

• 200g soft dairy-free spread or margarine
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
• 4 medium eggs, beaten
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

For the filling:

• 100g Dairy-free spread
• 100g icing sugar
• Strawberry jam
• Icing sugar

How to make Victoria Sandwich:

1. Heat the oven to 180C degrees. Grease 2x 20cm round sandwich tins then line the base with baking paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream the margarine and sugar, using an electric whisk, until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs gradually, while beating, then add the vanilla.
4. Finally fold in the sieved flour (mixed with the baking powder) and gently combine until you get a smooth batter.
5. Divide the mixture equally between the tins, spreading it out with a spatula.
6. Bake the cakes for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed.
7. Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack.
8. Whilst the cakes are cooling, make your  cream filling. ( I don’t like butter-cream, so I left the buttercream out).
9. When the cakes are completely cool, spread the cream on top of one sponge and  jam on top of the other.
10. Sandwich the cakes together.
11. Dust with sieved icing sugar just before serving.

Tips:

• You can top the cake with fresh fruits, such as strawberries, or raspberries.
• Pipe the buttercream as decoration inside for a nicer presentation.
• For a lighter filling you can use whipped cream mixed with icing sugar (you can now buy dairy-free or or soy cream)