A lot of the basic sponges that I adapt are based on the Victoria sponge - moist, light and flavoured with vanilla, you can't really go wrong. It's a bit of a 'cheat's sponge' and so easy to make - all you need to do is weigh the eggs in their shells and use that weight to combine equal amounts of butter, sugar and flour.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - vanilla quality is important! It's one of those ingredients that really makes a difference, so if you can get extract rather than essence I promise you'll thank me! It's a more intense flavour and doesn't have the slight artificial flavour that some of the cheaper options have.
For this Victoria sponge I've added a little coconut twist. Now if you're thinking that you shouldn't really mess with a Victoria sponge, I totally get where you're coming from and I'd normally be inclined to agree. BUT if you're a fan of coconut then this is definitely worth it. The coconut twist is in the buttercream icing with a gorgeous coconut rum liqueur giving it a little kick! I also added desiccated coconut on top of the buttercream.
Ingredients
For the cake:
3 large eggs - weighed in their shells to give you weight Xg
Xg unsalted butter
Xg white caster sugar
Xg self-raising flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the filling:
Raspberry jam
Desiccated coconut
For the buttercream:
80g butter
200g icing sugar
2 tbsp coconut cream, or coconut liqueur
Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Line two round 20cm tins with baking paper.
2. Weigh your eggs in their shells and remember this weight - now weigh out the same amount of butter, sugar and flour. So if your eggs weigh 200g, use 200g each of butter, sugar and flour.
2. Beat the butter until soft, then add the sugar and beat until fluffy and creamy.
3. Slowly add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla and mix.
4. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold to combine.
5. Pour evenly into the cake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes. They should be golden brown, springy to touch and a knife inserted should come out clean. If it's not baked through, put back in for another 2-5 minutes before checking again. Once baked, turn onto a wire rack to cool.
7. While the cake is baking, prepare the icing. Beat the butter until soft and pale, add the icing sugar and gently beat until combined, then increase the speed to high and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the coconut cream or liqueur and beat until combined.
8. Once the cake is completely cool it's time to assemble - spoon a generous amount of raspberry jam over one of the sponges and spread evenly. Pipe the buttercream icing on top of the jam, sprinkle with a generous amount of desiccated coconut and sandwich the other sponge on top, pressing gently. Dust with icing sugar.
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