Victoria sponge cake with cardamon, rosecream & rhubarb
By:
Amy
Prep:
40 mins
Cook:
25 mins
This is a cake tested by The Pink Whisk for author Vanessa Kimbell new cookbook "Prepped!". It's a classic with a little twist. Photos are by Ruth Clemens.
Cake
250g butter
250g caster sugar
10 cardamon pods
250g self-raising flour (use gluten free flour if coeliac)
4 large eggs
For the filling
400ml double cream
3 drops of rose essence
80g icing sugar (sifted)
200g of rhubarb jam
To decorate
100g icing sugar (sifted)
50g white chocolate curls
Preheat the oven to 160˚c Fan/180˚c/Gas Mark 4.
Add the cardamon pods to a pestle and mortar and give them a bash to split the green husks. Shake out the seeds and discard the husks. Grind the pods using the pestle and mortar (or alternatively the end of a rolling pin in a mug!)
Using a hand mixer or food mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and cardamon. Beat well until light and fluffy.
Add 3–4 tablespoons of flour to the mixture, then add the eggs. Adding the flour like this prevents the mixture from curdling. If it does, just keep adding flour a little at a time, beating the mixture to ensure it is evenly distributed.
Divide the mixture between 23cm (8") round cake tins.
Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, until firm to the touch.
Cool on a wire rack.
Once fully cooled whip the cream, rose essence and icing sugar until thick. You can get rose essence from Waitrose and Lakeland. Using the essence as opposed to rose water means you will only need a few drops which gives the full flavour without affecting the consistency.
Spread the jam on the base of one cake and the cream on the other and sandwich together.
There is a bit of trick to getting the lovely cream bulge when sandwiching cakes - when spreading the filling don't take it right to the edges. Leave one centimetre of cake showing. The weight of the top layer will push out the filling putting it in just the right spot for you.
Mix the icing sugar and make into a viscous mix about the consistency of custard. Pour this over the top of the cake and allow to spread.
Sprinkle the top with the white chocolate curls - see now I remember what the peeler was for. I made the chocolate curls myself just peeling them off the bar of white chocolate.
Serves
8
Preparation Time
40 minutes
Cooking Time
25 minutes
Main ingredients
Dairy, Flour
Recipe Type
Party Food, Cakes & Baking, Dessert, Entertaining
Special Info
Gluten free, Nut free, Pregnant Mums
Level of Difficulty
Easy
For speed, if you would prefer not to make your own chocolate curls, just buy some in your local store. Apricot jam also works well with the cardamon in this recipe.
