As someone who loves to bake, I was curious to see how two popular celebrity chefs’ Victoria sponge cake recipes compared.
Victoria sponge cakes are a timeless British classic that rarely fails to please a crowd. Whenever I attempt a Victoria sandwich cake, I find myself drawn to Mary Berry’s all-in-one method – it consistently delivers a flawless sponge every single time.
Keen to see how other celebrity chef recipes stack up, I decided to try James Martin’s classic Victoria sponge recipe and was genuinely impressed by the results of both.
James Martin has an impressive collection of recipes, and one that stands out for me is his Swiss roll, which proved remarkably straightforward to recreate.
While I had great expectations for his Victoria sponge, I wasn’t entirely convinced it could rival or surpass Mary Berry’s version. After all, she has earned her title as the Queen of British Baking for good reason.
Mary Berry’s Victoria sponge cake
Mary Berry’s Victoria sponge recipe couldn’t be more straightforward. Simply combine all the required ingredients in a bowl and mix – either by hand or with an electric whisk – before dividing the batter between two small tins and popping them in the oven.
She suggests baking at 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 for 20 to 25 minutes; however, in my experience, the cakes benefit from a touch more time at this lower temperature. I’ve found that 30 minutes produces a perfectly baked sponge.
Once baked, cooled and put together, Mary Berry’s Victoria sponge delivered wonderfully light, fluffy and airy results. I was particularly impressed by how evenly both layers had risen, which made a tremendous difference to the overall texture.
James Martin’s Victoria sponge cake
While remaining straightforward, James Martin’s Victoria sponge cake recipe calls for a handful of additional stages and components.
Rather than the all-in-one approach, James suggests creaming the butter, sugar and vanilla essence initially before incorporating the eggs individually and gently folding in the sifted flour at the end.
He also advises baking the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes, though at a marginally elevated temperature of 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.
Beyond simply choosing jam and cream for the filling, James advocates including raspberries in the middle. I adored this enhancement to the filling, as it provided the cake with wonderful freshness and tanginess that balanced out the sweetness.
Regarding the sponge, it was delightful and remarkably moist, though it proved quite dense, especially the upper layer.
All in all, both Victoria sandwich cakes tasted fantastic, but I must declare Mary Berry the victor, as her sponge turned out considerably superior.
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