Lemon Victoria Sponge Sandwich

A zesty, moist lemon Victoria sponge, with a thick, natural lemon curd and lemon flavoured double cream filling. Totally delicious.
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One of my main reasons for starting Ella's Better Bakes was to create a reliable recipe index for myself and visitors to my website.

This saves me wading my way through a sea of recipes on the internet each time I want to bake something, trying to decide which one to hop on board with.

The blog is still, at this point, a baby blogling and (keeping my analogy going here folks) a little paper boat on the internet oceans, but I just wanted to take a few minutes to say thank you to everyone that follows and supports me, both on the blog and on social media, I truly do appreciate it and I really hope you are enjoying the recipes I post 😁.

So, to my next recipe. I made this lemon victoria sponge cake at the same time that I made my Mojito Cheesecake (No Bake),as an alternative for those attending our family gathering that might not be cheesecake fans (crazy I know, but yes such people do exist).

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Lemon Victoria Sponge Web Story

But, as ever, the perfectionist in me wasn't satisfied. It just needed to be way more moist and lemony. So having made this cake a few more times I am finally 100% pleased with the results for reasons I set out below.

I do hope you give it a go and enjoy this lemon Victoria sandwich cake as much as I do.

Love a Vicky Sponge? How about trying my
y Victoria Sponge, Raspberry Jam and Vanilla Buttercream

Why make this Lemon Victoria Sponge?

A light but moist sponge, subtly flavoured with lemon throughout ✔️

Enhanced by a lemon syrup soaked into both cake tiers ✔️

A double filling of:

• a thick layer of lemon curd ✔️
• a pillowy layer of lemon flavoured double cream (heavy/whipping cream) ✔️

Ideal simple cake for afternoon tea ✔️

Ingredients

Caster sugar: we use caster sugar both in our cake and our lemon syrup. If you only have granulated sugar you can grind it down in a food processor or coffee bean grinder.

Lemon juice and lemon zest: in total we use 2 lemons, they provide enough zest and fresh lemon juice for the cake and filling. Try to use fresh lemon juice, not bought, it tastes far better.

Unsalted butter: fat is important because it gives the cake moisture and richness and works with the flour and eggs to ensure a soft, spongey sponge.

Self-raising flour: if you only have plain (all purpose) flour just add an extra 2 teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of fine salt.

Baking powder: as we are using self raising flour and this already contains baking powder we only need 1 teaspoon to give our lemon Victoria sponge a nice rise.

Salt: a pinch of fine salt is added, salt really brings out the flavours of all of the ingredients in our lemon curd Victoria sponge cake.

Eggs: so crucial to a successful Victoria sponge that we stick 4 big ones in! They give our cake structure, flavour, aeration, colour, moisture and texture.

Lemon curd: I used Cottage Delight Classic Lemon Curd for this lemon curd Victoria sponge cake. It is a truly AWESOME lemon curd, being thick, creamy, and additive free. I just love how natural it is, and the flavour and texture are sublime.

Double cream (heavy/whipping cream): what is different about this recipe is that we flavour our cream with a lemon, so that the lemon flavour carries right through the cake and filling.

Icing sugar: we add icing sugar to our cream for a bit of sweetness to offset the lemon.

Equipment

2 x 20cm sandwich tins
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Fine mesh sieve
Spatula
Pastry brush
Piping bag and size 3R piping nozzle (both optional)
Small saucepan

Instructions

1. Heat your oven and line your tins.
2. Rub your lemon zest into your caster sugar, this releases the lemony oils.
3. Beat your softened butter and zesty caster sugar until soft and pale.
4. Sift together your flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Add one egg at a time to your butter and sugar mixture, beating after each addition on a medium-low setting until mixed in. With the last egg add in a heaped desert spoonful of your flour mixture.
6. Add the rest of your flour mixture and beat on a low setting until combined.
7. Add your lemon juice and mix on a low setting until combined.
8. Then beat on a high setting for about 10 seconds to ensure all of the ingredients are fully combined and aerated.
9. Add equal amounts to your sandwich tins.
10. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer placed into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.
11. Whilst your cakes cool in their tins for a few minutes make your lemon syrup. Add your lemon juice and sugar to your small saucepan and heat on a low setting until the sugar granules have dissolved.
12. Remove your cakes from their tins and place on a cooling rack.
13. Remove 1 tablespoon of your lemon syrup and set aside to cool.
14. Then, paint the rest of your syrup onto the base of your sandwiches cakes.
15. Allow the cakes to fully cool.
16. To make your filling, beat your cream until it just starts to form gentle peaks, then mix in your icing sugar on a low setting. Next, gradually fold in your tablespoon of lemon syrup.
17. Cover one of your lemon Victoria sponge base sandwich tiers with your lemon curd, leaving a gap of 1cm from the edge as the top tier will squeeze the filling out to the edges when added.
18. Cover your lemon curd layer with your double cream, again leaving 1cm from the edge. You can spread the cream on or pipe it.
19. Place your remaining sandwich tier on top.
20. Sprinkle over some caster sugar or sift over some icing sugar.

Top tips

• The key element to this lemon curd Victoria sponge is the 🍋lemon syrup🍋 We paint this onto the sponge bases as they are cooling so they absorb the syrup and ensure a moist, lemon flavouring throughout. Then we add the rest gradually to our cream, to give it a lovely lemony tang against the sweetness of the lemon curd and cake.
• Giving the cake batter a 10 second, high speed whizz in your mixer to ensure it is mixed fully and to add a little more air is key to ensuring your successful lemon Victoria sponge.

Variations

If you prefer a lime flavoured Victoria sponge, just go ahead and simply swap lemons for limes. Or try my Easy Lime Drizzle Cake with Lime Frosting.

Or, if you don't want to use fresh cream, make up some lemon butter cream instead. I will be posting a recipe shortly, however just use 500g icing sugar, 250g softened butter, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice a little milk and whizz it all together.

Storage

This cake has a fresh cream filling so it needs to stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. It will keep for 1-2 days.

FAQs

Linked recipes

These are similar recipes on my website which you might like to try:

Victoria Sponge, Raspberry Jam and Vanilla Buttercream

Easy Lime Drizzle Cake with Lime Frosting

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5 from 1 vote

Lemon Victoria Sponge

A zesty lemon Victoria sponge, with a thick, natural lemon curd and lemon whipped double cream filling.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time55 mins

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: English

Keyword: lemon cake, lemon curd, sandwich cake, victoria sponge

Servings: 12 slices

Author: Ella

Equipment

• 2 x 20cm sandwich tins
• Stand or hand mixer
• Spatula
• Fine mesh sieve
• Small saucepan
• Pastry brush
• Piping bag and size 3R piping nozzle (optional)

Ingredients

Lemon Victoria Sponge Cakes

• 225 g caster (superfine) sugar (US = 1 cup)
• zest of 2 lemons
• 225 g unsalted butter softened (plus extra for greasing your tins) (US = 1 cup)
• 225 g self raising flour (US = 1½ cups)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch salt
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 3 teaspoon lemon juice

Lemon Victoria Sponge Filling

• 2 tablespoon caster sugar
• 2½ tablespoon lemon juice
• 180 g lemon curd (US = ¾ cup)
• 250 ml double cream (heavy/whipping cream) (US = 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar or caster sugar

Instructions

Victoria Sponge Cakes

• Heat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/355°F/Gas mark 4.
• Cut out circles of greaseproof paper to fit the base of your sandwich tins. Grease the tins with softened butter and place the greaseproof paper circle onto the bases.
• Rub your lemon zest into your caster sugar, to release the lemon flavours and oils.
• Beat your softened butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. This will take up to a minute if your butter is very soft.
• Sift together your flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
• Add 1 whole egg at a time to your butter and sugar mixture, beating in on a low setting each time. When you add your last egg also add a heaped desert spoonful of your flour mixture and give everything a fast beating on medium-high setting until the batter looks creamy again and the egg is fully incorporated.
• Scrape your bowl down with your spatula to ensure all the mixture is pulled in from the sides and base.
• Add the rest of your flour mixture and beat in gently on a low setting until mostly combined.
• Add your lemon juice and mix on low until combined.
• Turn the speed up to medium-high and give the Victoria sponge batter a short, fast beating so that the whole lot is totally beaten together and smooth. This may only take about 10 seconds.
• Divide between your two sandwich tins. If you want to be sure they are totally equal then weigh your tins and then weigh in equal amounts of batter into each tin.
• Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Leave your cakes to cool in their tins for 10 minutes, then remove from the tins onto a cooling rack.

Victoria Sponge Lemon Syrup

• Add your lemon juice and caster sugar to your small saucepan and heat on a low setting until the sugar has dissolved.
• Set aside 1 tablespoon of the syrup to cool.
• Using a pastry brush, brush over the remaining syrup onto the underside of the cakes equally (ie not the crust sides).
• Leave your sandwich cakes to cool completely.

Victoria Sponge Filling

• Decide which will be your base sandwich tier and then spread your lemon curd evenly over.
• Beat your double cream and icing sugar until it is creamy, but not overbeaten and grainy. In my KitchenAid I beat on setting 2 for 30 seconds, setting 4 for 30 seconds, setting 6 for 30 seconds and setting 8 for 40-50 seconds. But that is only a guide.
• Adding a few drops at a time, fold in your tablespoon of saved lemon syrup.
• Pipe the cream onto the lemon curd layer of your Victoria sandwich cake, or just spread it over. When you pipe use a 3R nozzle and start by piping blobs around the edge of the cake and then just fill in the centre.
• Place your other sandwich tier on top.
• Sprinkle some caster sugar onto the top or sift over some icing sugar.

Notes

This cake has a fresh cream filling so it needs to stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. It will keep for 1-2 days