Flat Victoria Sponges

[Bluebell]

Why are my Victoria sponges such failures? I buy ones that have risen beautifully at Church sales. Mine are flatter than frisbes. I tried making one today with all butter, three very fresh, straight out of the chicken eggs and the result was even worse. Please can anyone help me become a Victoria Sponge Goddess? Many thanks.

[barb1314]

What method are you using.Mine are rubbish in a magimix but great with a hand mixer...more air gets in to the mix.Do you cream butter and sugar and sieve in alternate flour then egg etc.Use sr flour.All these things may be obvious but something really small might be to blame.

[strobe70]

The mix needs lots of air so don't thump it to death. Sieve the flour. Is your oven hot enough and cooking efficiently?

[Bluebell]

I whisk up the eggs first, the butter is at room temperature, as are the eggs,and I sieve the flour before letting the magimix do all the hard work for me. I use SR flour, but is there a difference in the brands. Is one better than another? I have to admit, I haven't done what you suggest barbi, but will give that a go. Also does butter give a better result than marg..although not in my case today!

[shaneystar2]

Foolproof way of making perfect Victoria Sponge . Never fails.I often make one when my aged Aunt comes to tea...from my school cookery book ...1963
4 oz Margarine or butter
4oz Caster sugar
Level teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl
In another bowl beat the fat and sugar together until creamed
Add the eggs one at a time beating them and adding two tablespoons of the flour to prevent the mixture curdling .
Gentlyf fold in the rest of the flour.Put into two greased and lined 7 inch tins and bake in a moderate oven.
Cool on a wire try and sandwich together with jam ..or buttercream and jam ..Dust the top with icing sugar.

I put fresh whipped cream in for my dear old Aunt though !

[janetsflower]

they can go flat when you take them out the oven if you get them in a draught apparently.

My recipes is using two eggs in their shells as weight weigh out equal quantiites of butter, caster sugar and self raising flour, then do the usual as described by everyone, cream butter and sugar til white and fluffy, add one egg at a time with little bit of flour then fold in rest of flour not overbeating all air back out blah blah blah......has never failed for me ....YET

[shaneystar2]

Ha ha I have just read what I have written ! Wouldn't be much of a sponge without the 4 ozs of SR flour would it !

[Bluebell]

Thank you for all your helpful suggestions.I've just recovered my old hand whisk from the back of the cupboard, and am now off into town to buy more ingredients. Later today, I hope to make my first successful Victoria Sponge. Three went in the bin yesterday. How embarrassing is that!

[dyson]

My daughter always had the same problem, she watched me making one and discovered she wasn't beating the margarine (works just as well as butter) and sugar for long enough,it has to be really pale in colour before you add eggs and flour...good luck..

[Bluebell]

Thank you dyson. I'm just about to start on Victoria Sponge Mark 4..yesterday's 3 efforts were such failures. You don't say whether you beat by hand or by mixer. The magimix beats the butter and sugar xceedingly well, but after that, everything had been going wrong for me...hence the query on this site.

[bookermel]

All of the above and sometimes if you use tins that are a little too large for the amount of mixture it just won't rise!!

[Bluebell]

In an earlier suggestion, a 7" tin was suggested. Another reason perhaps why my cakes won't rise as I use 8" tins. It's no wonder I don't succeed! Thank you for your advice.

[minti]

Having just read all of the above, I need to know how the cake turned out.! I can smell it from here. Yum.

[Bluebell]

Hey minti, it was fabulous! What's even better, it rose so beautifully, obviously with all the beating and all the air, that I'm assuming it's now much less fattening, so I've taken Shaneystar's advice and dolloped fresh cream on it! I
Thank you so much to everyone for their suggestions. I've now to convince my husband that I didn't buy it at the WI market this morning.

[shaneystar2]

Jolly good bluebell ! I hope you enjoy it ..lovely with fresh cream and jam .

[barb1314]

Hi Bluebell....so glad you succeeded...I've not been on AB for a couple of days and had a look to see how you got on.Well done.xx

[Bluebell]

Hi barb. Thank you for coming back. Yes, in the words of Tom Hanks, 'We have lift off.' I took evefone's advice and the cake rose beautifully. No more magimix for me ffor sponges in future. Hope you're enjoying the September sun.Byee!