EASY RECIPE: My Best Ever Gluten Free Victoria Sponge (2024)

Line your tin with baking paper.

_{>See my pic for how I do it :}

_{a. Cut a piece of baking paper in circle, slightly larger than the tin.}

_{b. Put a piece of paper into the base of the tin and push it around the edges so the excess forms a little lip around the sides of the tin. This makes it easier to remove the cake when its cooked.}

_{c. Remove the paper from the tin, cut small lines around the edge (zoom in on the pic below to see), to help it sit in the tin nicely and then place the paper back into the tin.}

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter & sugar until fully combined.

_{>You’re looking for the mix to be paler, smooth & creamy! I use an electric whisk for 1 min.}

Crack all the eggs into a separate bowl & beat together until just starting to froth up, like the picture.

_{>Takes 10 seconds. You can use the electric whisk for this too.}

Add 1/3 of the beaten eggs and 1/3 of the flour to the butter/sugar and whisk together until JUST combined (10 seconds).

_{>Don’t over whisk, otherwise you’ll lose the air bubbles & your cake won’t be quite so fluffy!}

Repeat for the next 1/3 eggs and flour and whisk in. Then repeat for the remaining 1/3.

_{>Again, only whisk until JUST combined. 10 seconds again.}

Scrape right around the sides of the bowl to pick up any excess flour. Give the mixture one final whisk, making sure you reach right to the bottom of the bowl and everything is fully combined.

_{>Still try not to over whisk! 5 seconds at most.}

Place the cakes into the centre of the oven. Bake for approx 30 mins.

_{>If you cant fit two cakes onto one shelf in the oven, put one in the middle ish and one near the bottom. Avoid the top as it gets hot!}

_{>Do not open the oven door in the first 25-30 mins otherwise you'll end up with a flat-as-a-pancake cake.}

_{>You’re looking for them to be firm on top but springy to touch and a knife/skewer poked into the middle of the cake should come out relatively clean! Second pic shows what a "clean knife" looks like. If its not, pop the cake back into the oven for 3 mins and repeat.}

Leave it to cool for 5 mins in the tin, then carefully remove it and place onto a cooling rack until COMPLETELY COOL.

_{>I use a springform baking tin. I open the spring to remove the sides of the tin, then place a cooling rack upside down on the cake. Flip the cooling rack so the cake is upside down and then remove the base of the cake tin and the baking paper.}

Add the butter and icing sugar to a bowl. Whisk until smooth. This will take at least 2 mins.

_{>It should look like the second pic – thoroughly mixed together, pale and fluffy! The first one hasn't been whisked enough because you can still see bits of icing sugar. Its also still quite yellow.}

How to fix a common compliant: "my icing went too runny and the top layer of cake was sliding around on it!"

_{My tip: Scrap right around the outside of the bowl and gather the butter icing together in the middle. Leave the butter icing to sit at room temperature for at least 30 mins. At that point, give it another little mix with a spoon. If it feels REALLY soft and like it couldn't hold a the weight of a cake, add some more icing sugar and whisk again until it feels thick.}

Before actually constructing your victoria sponge, very carefully put the two layers together to see which way they sit the best.

Sometimes one side is slightly higher than the other or they might sit more evenly together if they're turned upside down.

Spoon it ontop of one layer of cake.

_{Don't put the jam right to the edges. Leave about £1 spare around the edges. When you put the top layer of cake on, it'll squish everything out!}