In praise of cake. And Mrs Beeton.

So, following my incoherent ramblings in my last post, I might as well write something in praise of something constructive that I managed to do. And it is all with thanks to Mrs Beeton, Victorian superwoman.

I came across a newspaper article about her recipe for Victorian spongecake (in honour of Regina Victoria herself). The really brilliant bit was how to determine the quantities of the ingredients. I will share this with you now...whoever you might be.

Take four eggs. Weigh them in their shells. When you have determined the weight, take the same weight of self-raising flour, sugar and butter.

That's it. The clever bit. The other three ingredients must weigh the same as the eggs. For this, I feel Mrs Beeton deserves a round of applause.

Anyway, cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs. Then fold in the flour. It should flop off the spoon. If it doesn't it is too thick so add a little milk to thin. Only a little.

Grease two 20cm baking tims and then line them with greaseproof paper. Divide the batter between the two, pop into an oven (180 degress centigrade) for 25 minutes.

Take them out, let them cool a little before turning out on to a wire rack. Then gently peel off the greaseproof.

When cooled, add a layer of strawberry jam, then a layer of whipped cream. Yesterday I also quartered a handful of strawberries and threw them on the cream. Then put the other sponge on top.

Voila. Cake. Mrs Beeton style.

My efforts pictured.