How To Make A Delicious Spring Cake

Treat yourself to a Victoria cream sponge decorated with edible wild spring flowers.

To welcome spring, take it back to nature and add a bohemian vibe to your cake decorating with this simple recipe for nostalgic Victoria cream sponge cake, decorated with edible wild flowers for an extra touch of spring energy.

Ingredients:

For the cake
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 200g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
- 4 eggs, whisked
- 2 tbsp milk
- 200g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder

For the filling
- 250ml double cream
- 50g golden caster sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 100g strawberry conserve
- Icing sugar, for dusting
- Fresh raspberries, berries or strawberries (or all three)
- Wild flowers for decorating

Method:

1. Heat oven to 150c. Grease and base-line 2 x 20cm non-stick round sandwich tins with baking parchment, then lightly grease the parchment.
2. Combine the butter, sugar and eggs and whisk together.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder over the ingredients. Using an electric whisk, beat everything together until smooth.
4. Divide the mix between the cake tins, then bake for 15 minutes at 150c and a further 15-20 minutes at 190c until cooked and golden.

Note: Ovens will vary, so to ensure that your cake is cooked all the way through, test your sponge before removing it from the oven. A cooked sponge will have shrunk away from the sides of the tin and the centre will feel springy. Once this has happened, do the skewer test. Insert a skewer in the centre of the sponge – if the cake is cooked, it will come out clean. If there is any cake mix on the skewer, give the cake a few minutes more, then test again.

5. When cool enough to handle, remove the cakes from the tins, then leave to cool completely on a rack.
6. To make the filling, whip the cream with the caster sugar and vanilla until it holds its shape. Build the cake by spreading one sponge with jam, followed by cream, fresh berries, and sandwich the other cake on top. Cover the top layer in more cream and decorate with fresh wild flowers.