Carrot Cake and Victoria Sponge - Traditional Cake Baking

Video HERE

I regularly receive requests to bake for charity cake sales... this time I decided to go back to basics and do a couple of really traditional bakes that everyone should have in their repertoire.

Carrot Cake

I have already done a video on pumpkin cake, which is fairly similar,  but rather more complicated. This one goes back to basics, and allows for almost in infinite variations. This is an oil-based cake, which means that it is more stable when refrigerated and holds up to being iced and chilled without becoming hard. Traditionally iced with cream cheese frosting - I like it topped with toasted coconut as well, but I like most things with coconut...

Ingredients:
225g Self Raising Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1tbsp Mixed Spice*
1tsp Ground Ginger
175g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
200ml Oil
1tsp Vanilla Extract
100g Walnut Halves**
100g Sultanas
225g Carrots, grated***

*Not a typo! Any combination of spice works here, but having them pre-blended certainly helps.
**They cost a little more than pieces, obviously, but you're guaranteed at least 12 nice ones for decoration. Otherwise you can still scatter over some chopped nuts - put no more than about 80g in the actual batter or excess oils can cause problems with the bake.
***Carrots, parsnips, or any other root veg will work - most of the time I don't bother to peel them, just give a good scrub and grate coarsely.

Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Line 2x20-25cm round tins.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, spices and sugar.
4. In a separate bowl beat together the egg, oil and vanilla, then tip into the dry ingredients.
5. Mix until just combined, then add in the nuts, sultanas and carrot.
6. Divide between the tins and spread to level before baking for 35-40 minutes.
7. Cool in the tins for 10-15 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Filling and Decoration:
3-4tbsp Orange Marmalade (Optional*)
500g Full Fat Cream Cheese (DO NOT GO DIET!)
100g Icing Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract
12 Walnut Halves, or about 30g chopped nuts

1. Beat together the cheese, sugar and vanilla (and zest) until light and fluffy - be careful not to over-beat or it will turn watery.
2. Spread the bottom of one cake with marmalade (if using), then about 1/3 of the frosting, pushing it out to about 1/2" (1cm) from the edge in an even layer. Top with the other cake.
3. Spread another 1/3 of the frosting over the top of the cake and decorate with a fork.
4. Spoon the remaining frosting into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe 12 swirls around the outside, then another in the middle.
5. Top each swirl with a walnut half, or scatter over the chopped nuts. Chill for at least 1 hour to help solidify the sandwich.

*If intending to sandwich with marmalade add 1tsp orange zest to the cake mix and 1tsp zest to the frosting to bring it all together.

Victoria Sponge

[No, I didn't burn it! This photo is just rather dark] This is probably the most traditional cake recipe, and it comes with centuries of history and opinion. This recipe and technique is what I consider the classic version (although it uses self-raising flour, which is a relatively new product) - it also works as a basis for microwaved puddings and cupcakes, among other things. If you can make this basic sponge then the sky's the limit... well... I wouldn't reccomend trying it with ostrich eggs.

Ingredients:
Eggs*
Caster Sugar
Butter, softened**
Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Milk

*The sized of your cake depends on the number of eggs you use. 2 eggs will make 1x20cm layer of a sandwich cake or 8-9 cupcakes. In the video I'm using 6 because I'm using up some older eggs - I could have made 3 layers, but I only have 2 tins and leaving this kind of cake to stand before cooking can reduce the rise it gets, which isn't as much of a problem in cupcakes.
**If you're taking it direct from the fridge DO NOT try to soften it in the microwave. Chop the butter into cubes and cover with cold tap water, after 15-20 minutes it should be soft enough to beat with a hand or stand mixer, another 10 minutes should make it easier to work by hand.

Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Line 2x20-25cm cake tins.
3. Weigh your eggs IN THEIR SHELLS and measure that amount of butter, sugar and flour.
4. Beat together the butter, vanilla  and sugar until light and fluffy - do not skimp on this, you cannot overbeat at this stage.
5. Add the eggs 1 at a time, with a spoonful of flour if you're concerned about it separating.*
6. Sift in the flour, then fold until combined and no lumps of flour remain.
7. Add a little milk to help the mixture to a dropping coinsistency (about 2-3tbsp, stirring after each addition.)
8. Divide between the tins and level the surface then bake for 20-25 minutes.
9. Cool in the tins for 10-15 minutes before turning out.

*A curdled mix isn't the end of the world. It will affect the rise slightly. You can attempt to bring it back by brisquly beating the mixture for a few minutes but I don't think it makes much of a difference in the end.

Fillings and Decoration:
Traditionally a Victoria sponge is filled with jam and buttercream and topped with icing sugar - this is a stable filling which does not need refrigerating unless room temperature is excessive - but I prefer something more luxurious, and the order was for strawberries and cream so I was happy to go with that, although cream needs to be chilled, which can cause a butter-based cake to become hard so it's a balancing act.*

200ml Double Cream
2-3tbsp Icing Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract
3-4tbsp Strawberry Jam
About 15 small-ish Strawberries

1. Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff - don't leave the mixer running whilst you do something else unless you want to make butter. Icing sugar stabilizes the cream and it will set firmer than cream alone once chilled - I prefer to whip the cream then chill for half an hour or so to give the filling more stability during the process of construction.**
2. Spread the bottom of one cake with jam, keeping 1/2" (1cm) from the edge, then top with about 2/3 of the cream.***
3. Press the other cake on top. Spoon the remaining cream into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe 12 smallish swirls around the edge, then a bigger one in the middle.
4. Slice the strawberries 3-4 times from just below the stalk then press to gently fan out the fruit and arrange on top of the swirls.
5. Chill for at least 1 hour for the cream to solidify. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

*This cake was chilled overnight, then taken to school in the morning so I used a long piece of baking paper to create a supportive collar to keep things together throughout the day whilst the cake comes to room temperature. This is a handy thing to do when transporting stacked cakes - although if they're covered in fondant there is less of a need for scaffolding.
**I have very warm hands, which makes piping cream difficult, so a little extra chilling helps to keep things cool during the construction.
***Alternately you could pipe a border on top of the jam and scatter over some sliced strawberries, then spread a little more cream on the bottom of the other cake before sandwiching.