Sunday Tea-time

I was born at the tail end of March, delivered by the district nurse who arrived on a bicycle. Snow was falling outside as the nurse safely delivered me. 'The cleanest baby I have ever seen' I am told she proclaimed. It was Mothering Sunday; I came just in time for afternoon tea.

Many of my childhood memories focus around Sunday tea-time. Dad was happy to eat a bowl of winkles doused in vinegar and white pepper with white buttered bread, cut into fingers to mop up the juice. Mum would eat peeled prawns. I preferred to forgo the savoury dish and have two helpings of cake or dessert instead.

As a special treat dad would cook us apple fritters coated in brown sugar and cinnamon but mostly mum would bake us a Victoria Sponge Cake.

Victoria Sponge Cake

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter, softened

250g caster sugar

250g plain flour

4 eggs, beaten

2tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla extract

Filling

125g unsalted butter, softened

125g icing sugar

6tbsp good quality jam of your choice

1tbsp caster sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and fold into the mixture.

Grease and line the bottom of 2, 20cm sandwich tins. Dust the sides with flour to prevent the mixture from sticking. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and bake for about 25-30 minutes.

When cooked, cool in tins for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Beat together the butter and icing sugar until pale. Spread filling over one of the cakes and top with jam. Place the other sponge on the top and sprinkle over caster sugar. This cake is just as nice without the buttercream, just make sure to use lashings of jam!