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Dessert

Victoria Sandwiches

A cake sandwich made from a Victoria sponge cake filled with jam or marmalade.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Victoria Sandwiches

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Beat the butter until creamy.

  3. Gradually add the flour and pounded sugar, stirring well.

  4. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, then add to the mixture.

  5. Beat the mixture for about 10 minutes.

Bake

  1. Butter a Yorkshire pudding tin and pour in the batter.

  2. Bake for 20 minutes, then let it cool.

Fill and serve

  1. Spread jam or marmalade on one half of the cake.

  2. Place the other half on top, press together, and cut into finger pieces.

  3. Arrange the pieces in cross-bars on a glass dish and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  3. Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set the structure of the sponge and add richness and moisture to the crumb.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavour.
Pounded sugar
Sweetens the cake and helps give a soft, tender crumb and light browning.
Flour
Forms the cake's main structure once it sets in the oven.
Jam or marmalade
Adds sweetness, moisture and fruity flavour to the filling.

The step that matters

Beat the mixture for about 10 minutes. Beating incorporates air and dissolves the sugar, which helps the sponge rise light. Once the flour is in, overworking the batter can develop too much structure and make the cake tough, so mix until just combined and then stop.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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