Cakes and Ale...

I called this post Cakes and Ale after the novel by W.Somerset Maugham. Even though this cake was not served with ale, it still tasted pretty delicious! Nothing says summertime quite like the appearance of home grown strawberries on the shelves. These versatile fruits are used to make everything from cakes to salads and the best and sweetest ones are always those grown on our own shores. Whether they are taken along to a picnic in the park, added to a jug of Pimms or eaten smothered in cream to celebrate Wimbledon, strawberries are quintessentially British and it makes me so happy to buy a big crate of them to share with family and friends.
The other week I snapped up a big box of strawberries and I decided to make a traditional Victoria Sponge and top it with a few of them. I always find Victoria Sponge to be a fail-safe cake to bake which is not too much hassle. It  has been a while since I have found the time to do as much baking as I used to, but I really enjoy rolling my sleeves up and making a big cake or a pie occasionally. For me half the fun of baking is nurturing others and getting to enjoy seeing my family or friends tucking into something I have made (whilst eating it myself too of course!)  

Here is the recipe I used.

Ingredients:

200g caster sugar

200g softened butter

4 eggs, beaten

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp milk

For the filling

100g butter, softened

140g icing sugar

1 teaspoon Madagascan vanilla extract (optional)

340g jar good-quality strawberry jam

Method:

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.

Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar. Beat in vanilla extract if you’re using it. Spread the butter cream over the bottom of one of the sponges, top it with jam and sandwich the second sponge on top. 

I then topped the cake with classic vanilla frosting and the fresh strawberries and served it with cups of Earl Grey tea in the garden. It was so relaxing and I enjoyed one or two delicious slices of cake whilst catching up on reading a couple of my favourite glossy magazines. Bliss! 

What do you all think, is this cake your idea of a good way to use fresh summer strawberries, or do you have another recipe to recommend to me? As always I can't wait to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for reading this post!

Until next time,

Camille

xo