With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee fast approaching I was asked by Bart’s Ingredients to have a go making their Jubilee Sponge. Bart’s have teamed up with Edd Kimber who won the Great British Bake Off to come up with a modern twist on the classic Victoria Sponge.
I have to say that when I first saw the picture of the Jubilee Sponge I thought what a fantastic looking cake but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to recreate it. However Edd’s recipe and method were so easy to follow I needn’t have worried. Here’s what you need:
Ingredients:
½ tsp Bart Bristol Blend Five Peppercorns
½ tsp Bart Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Bart Ground Ginger
¼ tsp Bart Ground Nutmeg
2 tsp Bart Mint (Freeze Dried)
250g self-raising flour
¼ tsp salt
250g margarine or butter
250g Bart Vanilla Sugar
4 eggs, beaten
For the filling and topping
250g cream cheese
150ml double cream
100g icing sugar
250g strawberries, quartered
200g blueberries
Method:
1.Grease and line 2 20 cm round sandwich tins. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.
2.Cream together the margarine and vanilla sugar until light and creamy.
3.Mix all the dry ingredients together and slowly add to the mixture, along with the eggs.
4.Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins and smooth the tops. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until well-risen and golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
5.Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
6.When completely cool, cut each cake in half horizontally so you have four thin cakes.
7.To make the filling, beat together the cream cheese, cream and icing sugar until thick and smooth. Spread the cream on top of one cake layer and scatter over one quarter of the strawberries and blueberries. Top with another cake and repeat.
I have to say I was very impressed by how my cake turned out. I wasn’t sure about some of the unusual ingredients, I’ve never made a cake with pepper or mint in before. The older boys loved helping me decorate the cake too as I assembled it. Unfortunately we ran out of strawberries and blueberries when we got to the top layer so our flag on the top isn’t quite right but we tried to replicate it as best as possible. I big thank you to Barts ingredients who very kindly provided us with the dried ingredients we needed to make the cake. We couldn’t wait to dig in and have a taste and I have to say it was delicious. It will make the perfect finishing touch to any Jubilee celebration.
