Happy birthday Alison – Victoria Sandwich Cake

Happy Birthday Alison – Victoria Sandwich Cake

Today would have been my beautiful wife’s birthday. In her memory, I am posting one of her favorite cakes, Victoria sandwich cake with strawberry jam and whipped cream. This is delightful, to say the least. I don’t make many cakes these days as we try to stay away from processed sugar and dairy, but this is a special day. So let’s have a slice of cake in memory of a wonderful wife, daughter, mother, aunt, sister and best friend to so many−Alison Davies.

Alison had a sweet tooth when it came to cakes. She loved bara birth, spotted Welsh bread filled with dried fruit, sliced with salted Welsh butter spread over it. She also loved Welsh cakes. Her indulgence would be a slice of this cake, oozing with sweet cream and sticky jam. There is a wonderful cake shop in Swansea market. At least there was 14 years ago before we left the shores of Wales for our new life in Charlotte, North Carolina. We would go there every Saturday to buy fish, shellfish, freshly butchered meat, and freshly baked bread. The boys would have an ice cream from Joes, and Alison and I would have a slice of Victoria sandwich cake and a “cuppa” tea before heading home. It’s amazing how time flies. The boys, who were eight, six, and two at the time, would be running around the market causing mayhem. Their mam, in good health then, enjoyed watching our three, healthy boys play. Time is something you can’t get back. I try to instill in my boys the fact that you must enjoy every minute of every day as “time stops for no man,” as they say.

The cake is easy to make and delicious. Go on and give it a try. Enjoy a slice and think of all the good times with your family. Happy baking!

Happy Birthday Alison

Victoria sandwich cake

Makes 12 slices

Ingredients:

For the cake

8oz unsalted butter

8oz fine sugar

4 medium eggs

8oz self-rising flour, sieved

1 level teaspoon baking powder, sieved

For the filling

6 tablespoons strawberry jam

½ pint heavy whipping cream, whipped with ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the vanilla icing

8oz confectioners’ sugar, sieved

3oz unsalted butter

1-2 tablespoon milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line two 8 inch cake tins

How to make:

Pre-heat your oven to 360’F.

Put all the cake ingredients into a mixing bowl and whip until smooth 2 – 3 minutes until smooth and well combined.

Divide your mixture between two lined cake tins.

Place both tins in the middle of your pre-heated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until firm and golden brown in color.

Allow them to cool for five minutes then turn them out, remove the paper and cool on a cake rack.

When cold spread the jam over the top of one of the cakes then spread over the whipped cream. Then sandwich the two pieces together and dust the top with confectioners’ sugar.

Or for something even more delicious mix your vanilla icing ingredients in a bowl until smooth and spread over the top of the cake, slice and serve.