Victoria Sponge Cupcakes Recipe | My Baking Addiction (2025)

FAQs

What is the secret of sponge cake? ›

Give it some air. The magic of a light, fluffy sponge with tender crumb is to incorporate as much air in as possible. After all, it is the entrapped air that expands in the oven, creating the magic of the cake rising.

If your batter is too thick, you can add a bit more liquid to achieve a smoother consistency. Also, you can add a tablespoon of milk, water, or another appropriate liquid at a time until the batter reaches the desired consistency. 2.) Double-check your recipe and ensure you have measured your ingredients correctly.

With our naturally lower gluten plain flour, made from “softer” British wheat, it gives the cake an airy quality. Queen of cakes Mary Berry insists that margarine makes for a lighter texture than butter.

Cream the butter and the sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little extra milk if necessary, to create a batter with a soft dropping consistency.

While oil has a more neutral taste, which means that other flavours in the cake can stand out more. Our preference is still butter for a lot of recipes where possible, especially when you are aiming for a classic tasting cake such as Victoria Sponge.

Too flat/didn't rise

If your cake failed to rise, check you put the raising agents in it. Also, check your raising agents are in date as out-of-date ones won't have the same oomph. It could also be a symptom of it not being cooked enough, in which case, pop it back in the oven for a few more minutes.

But when you're baking, butter triumphs over margarine every time. For cakes, cookies, and pastries, butter (unsalted, that is) provides richer flavor. (It begins as cream, after all, and margarine is made from vegetable oil.) Butter's high fat content is also what gives baked goods their texture.

'Everyone should know how to make a basic sponge cake. I use margarine instead of butter because it is less likely to curdle and produces a fluffier cake. '

You can also decrease the baking temperature by 10 or so degrees and increase the baking time. Just like when you bake a pumpkin pie and go low and slow for an uncracked surface, baking cakes at a lower temperature gives a more even rise.

If your cake is hard, the problem probably lies in the beating. The butter must be beaten well in the early stages to give the mixture enough air for a light and fluffy texture. To achieve this the butter must be lukewarm and therefore not too hard.

What is unique about a sponge cake? ›

Sponge cakes contain a small amount of fat, which comes from the use of whole eggs (egg yolk). These cakes are richer and more flavorful than angel food cakes. In general, sponge cakes are prepared using a combination of a batter and foam. The batter is prepared by beating the flour, egg yolks, and half of the sugar.

What creaming does is it introduces air into the mixture, creating small air pockets. During baking, these air pockets expand due to the leavening agents (like baking powder or baking soda), leading to a light and fluffy texture.

Make sure that all of the ingredients are at room temperature. If the ingredients are at different temperatures then they may not combine properly and the cake will be dense. If the eggs are stored in the fridge then remove them several hours before using, so they are properly at room temperature.