This is a simple sponge, very similar to a Victoria sandwich cake with the addition of lemon zest – my grandmother's recipe for an afternoon tea.
255g self-raising flour
170g butter, softened
100g caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder
zest of 1 lemon
Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line the bottom of two 20cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper. My grandmother used one cake tin and then cut the cake into three - I decided two layers was enough!
Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and then the eggs, one at a time, alternating with the flour mixture. If you need to loosen the mix, add a little milk.
Beat well and then divide the mixture between the two tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
The recipe suggests spreading butter icing between the two cakes and adding a few drops of carmine – also known as cochineal - and strawberry flavouring to the mix.
I chose to use my home made strawberry jam for the middle and a butter icing for the top, flavoured with lemon juice as she suggests.
Butter Icing
200g icing sugar, sieved
75g butter, softened
lemon juice to taste (about half a lemon)
Simply cream the butter, icing sugar and lemon juice together and spread across the top of the cake. Alternatively, you could just dust the top with icing sugar.
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