I found a very pretty recipe for Victoria Sponge Cake on a site called "Diana's Desserts" Besides looking nice, it didn't look tricky at all...plus I had all the ingredients except for the out of season strawberries. Since it was the week before Valentine's Day, most of the grocery stores around here were carrying strawberries. Needless to say, they are not local. Not in February.I followed her recipe for the cake pretty closely. The only substitution I made was for the cake flour. I didn't have any so I used a substitution that I found on 3 different websites (1 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 1/4 cup cornstarch = 2 cups cake flour). The cake turned out okay...but not fabulous. I usually like cake made from scratch (which I do fairly often), but this one was a little hard and dry. I couldn't see any reason a butter recipe boxed cake mix couldn't be substituted. If I make it again, I may do that. Except for being on the dry side, it was a nice cake - and fun to assemble. It has the flavor profile of strawberry shortcake, which is not surprising seeing as it is cake, strawberries, whipped cream and a little strawberry jam.
Dr. van der Stevejinck liked it in spite of the dryness (his sweet tooth is semi-legendary), Alex van der Stevejinck was less impressed (he didn't like the dryish cake).
You can find a reference to Victoria Sponge Cake in An Unlikely Romance.
I did make a nice dessert, I mean, breakfast on Valentines Day. It consisted of waffles, cherries and Cool Whip (I didn't have any whipping cream to hand). The cherries were picked from our own trees last summer, pitted and frozen (I know, I know, very Martha Stewart of me)...I just heated them up with a little lemon juice and sugar. Bam. I think it's a very Betty-esque dessert (except hers would have lashing of hand whipped cream, not dollops of Cool Whip from a plastic tub). Dr. van der Stevejinck was very impressed. An hey, the cherries are an oblique nod to George Washington's birthday (Feb. 22nd).
Very pretty steam curls you have there. I'm impressed with any nod to Washington's Birthday--oblique or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThose were steam curls? I thought they were cacti. ♥
ReplyDeleteYou can douse a dry cake with a simple syrup flavored with liqueur. Yum.
Dousing a cake with liqueur...How very Betty Neels of you. Unfortunately that won't fly at my house.
ReplyDeleteRight. Sorry. Tactless of me to suggest it. *bows head in political correctness shame*
ReplyDeleteWell, then, try apricot nectar or juice from pineapple chunks. It's the simple syrup part that's key.
(Just a point of clarification -- can you use alcohol if all the actual alcohol boils off? Not that it matters, I'm just curious.)
Cooking alcohol is a doctrinal grey area. It boils down (pun intended) to personal choice. I just don't go there...at least on purpose. (I could tell you stories of our dad having us kids taste test the home canned grape juice to make sure it was okay...like kids would know if it had "turned"! He is hilarious.)
ReplyDeleteOn another note. Several years ago I made the best syrup...we were living in a house that had blackberries growing all along the back fence...enough that I made a few quarts of blackberry syrup. That would be fabulous on a dry cake. I wish I like picking blackberries more than I do.
If Betty Debbie used cooking alcohol, then I would be at the top of the "More Orthodox than Thou" medals podium. As it is, my lack of adequate canning food storage is keeping me back. Blarg!
ReplyDeleteI have seen recipes for a Victoria Sandwich which I think is the same that have jam and whipped cream for the filling
ReplyDeleteOkay, so you make a simple syrup (equal amounts sugar & water boiled until all the sugar is dissolved) then add the wooly winter strawberries and let them macerate. In the end, you'll have lovely moist & sweet strawberries and pink syrup for the cake. How's that sound?
ReplyDelete