Victorian Tea Cake

I like to think of Victorian tea and cake as being an early act of feminism.

Because this was primarily a feminine affair, afternoon

tea allowed women to gain freedom from their stifling bone corsets. A new style was born for these gatherings that used less boning to hold their shape and were made of light, flowing fabrics. Free from some of the Victorian era's performative and stifling fashion, afternoon tea was a place where women took center stage and could exchange ideas, opinions, and a healthy dose of gossip. The Victorian era was a golden age for tea and cakes. 

Also, during this era, test kitchens and inventions revolutionized baking as we know it today. Baking powder was invented during this time.. In fact, because of the invention of baking powder, the Victorian sponge tea cake was the first cake to be made without yeast. These innovations revolutionized baking as we know it. The flour and sugar sifter used in our recipe today also came from this era.

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob Mills 1:1) or all-purpose flour **** Make sure your gluten-free flour has Xanthum gum

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt 

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened

• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

• 4 large eggs at room temperature

• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• ¼ cup milk at room temperature

• 2 floured 9-inch round cake pans (I butter, flour them, and /i add wax paper at the bottom... just in case!

  Filling

• ¾ cup strawberry jam 

• homemade whipped cream

Sugared Flowers

• Mix one large egg white and one teaspoon of water. Beat well.

• Paint flowers one by one. While they are still wet, dust with granulated sugar.

• Let dry for 4- 12 hours, or overnight
  

Directions (See video below)

• Get all ingredients out and organized.

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees, Fahrenheit

1. Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed to make sure there isn’t any butter stuck to the bottom. Then add the vanilla extract and milk and mix until completely incorporated.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until combined.

4. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pans, divide the batter evenly between the two, and smooth the batter into an even layer.

5. Bake for 22-26 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake and dry out the cakes.

6. Cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes. Then remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

7. When the cake is completely cooled, make the whipped cream by adding the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to beat until soft peaks form.

8. To assemble, place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Spread the strawberry jam in an even layer over the cake, leaving about half an inch from the edge. Then top with the whipped cream.

9. Gently place the next cake layer on top of the cake, dust the top with some powdered sugar and add your sugared flowers. Serve immediately.