Victoria Sandwich

This is an all-time stand-by and the basis for many recipes I use.

1. 1

   Sift the flour and baking powder
   
   Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl
   
   Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and creamy, scraping the bowl at regular intervals. Do not beat for too long because this will destroy the gluten properties of the flour and prevent the cake from rising sufficiently.
   
   Grease and line two 9" sandwich tins
   
   Divide the mixture between the two.
   
   Tap the tins a few times on the work surface to bring air bubble to the surface and prevent them leaving holes in the baked cakes
   
   Bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 25 - 30 mins or until the cakes spring back when pressed in the centre.
   
   Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes
   
   Turn out on to a cooling rack
   
   To serve:
   
   These cakes are quite deep and can be served singly with a light coating of icing on top
   
   Alternatively, they can be sandwiched together with butter cream and jam and a sprinkling of caster sugar on top.
   
   Other uses for this mixture:
   
   For a tasty dessert, make up half the amount of ingredients to make a fruit sponge. Simply place some fruit such as stewed apple, rhubarb or tinned peach slices in the bottom of a dish and spread the Victoria Sandwich mixture over the top. Bake as before. For some reason, the sponge seems to be extra light when used in this way.
   
   Of course, you can use this mixture to make cup cakes, using standard cake cases or petit fours cases when baking for a child's party. Ice with butter cream or icing sugar mixed to a paste with a little milk and use your imagination to decorate them with sprinkles etc.
   
   These cupcakes are baked at the same temperature but need a shorter baking time.