Every time I make an almond cardamom Victoria sandwich I now think of my favorite holiday. Picture a perfectly laid tea table: lace linens, floral patterned china, Victoria sandwiches, scones, fresh jam, fabulous tea, and some savory tea sandwiches. All while watching lions and hippos lazily lounging by the watering hole at the end of the dock at the “camp” we were staying at.
For a the perfect almond cardamom Victoria sandwich you need to make sure your almond cardamom sponge is light, airy, and springy, the butter cream is light, and the jam isn’t too thin. Lastly, do not get overzealous with the jam and cream. Thin layers of both on cooled cake, to ensure that you don’t end up with a soggy mess. You can tell from my picture that it had already started oozing out a bit as it warmed, so be careful.
This also means stray away from traditional American sponge cake recipes. They tend to rise in the center and have thinner sloped edges, which you don’t want. Also, and I stress again, wait till your cakes and jam are completely cooled, otherwise your butter cream will melt on the cake and your jam will just absorb into it. Another side note, when working with butter cream don’t over chill it, given that it is nearly pure butter, it will harden again. If you do need to stick it in the fridge, remove it at least 10 minutes before use.
Normally, I like to make my own jam for this, but that said, sometimes I can’t be bothered. So when that happens just pick up your favorite imported jam instead, and don’t just settle for strawberry. You can try any jam you please.
How about a couple more dessert options? Try these:
Almond Cardamom Victoria Sandwich
8
servings45
minutes45
minutes1
hour30
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- Cake:
- Jam (you can use your favorite strawberry jam if you prefer):
7 oz strawberries, sliced
7 oz jam sugar
- Buttercream:
3.5 oz unsalted butter, softened
7 oz icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp milk
Equipment/Specialty Items
Nordic Ware 8″ Cake PanNordic Ware 8″ Round Non-stick Cake Pan
Directions
- Bake:
- Follow the recipe for the almond cardamom sponge cake but instead of baking it in 1 spring-form bake it in 2 tins.
- Cool:
- Cover a cooling rack with a clean tea/kitchen towel.
- Run a palette or rounded butter knife round the inside edge of the tins and carefully remove the cakes and place on the cooling rack.
- Allow them to cool completely.
- Trim:
- Pick the less attractive sponge and trim the top of it so it is flat.
- Jam:
- Put the strawberries in a small deep-sided saucepan.
- Add sugar and bring to the boil over a low heat until the sugar has melted.
- Increase the heat and boil for 4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and carefully pour into a shallow container.
- Leave to cool and set.
- Buttercream:
- Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft.
- Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
- Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of milk and beat mixture until smooth.
- You can either spoon the buttercream into a piping bag or just use a icing knife and spread it on.
- Assemble:
- Put cake with the trimmed side down on to a serving plate.
- Spread jam on top of the cake on your serving plate.
- If you’re piping the butter cream pipe it over the jam.
If you’re using an icing the buttercream, spread it on the bottom of the other sponge cake. - Place the sponge with icing over the one with strawberry. CAREFULLY!
- Sprinkle with caster sugar to serve.
- Serve:
- Serve with tea, coffee, or as the perfect dessert for any meal.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 8g
- Calories: 705kcal
- Carbohydrates: 102.6g
- Protein: 6.3g
- Fat: 31.7g
- Saturated Fat: 18.7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 160mg
- Sodium: 250mg
- Potassium: 217mg
- Fiber: 1.4g
- Sugar: 77.1g
- Calcium: 90mg
- Iron: 2mg
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