4-Inch Cake Recipe – Victoria Sponge
A delicious mini Victoria sponge cakes recipe that’s made in a mini 4-inch cake pan! This lovely Victoria sponge cake recipe is made with two layers of plain sponge sandwiched with jam and whipped cream.
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I’m so excited to share this recipe for mini Victoria sponge cakes with you! This 4-inch cake recipe is such a lovely little treat, and it’s perfect for a two-person tea time treat.
I first learned to make Victoria sponges when I was about 4 years old. The recipe is an absolute classic and in most British households it’s a staple.
There are differing views on exactly what goes into a Victoria sponge, some people swear by raspberry jam, but most prefer strawberry. Some people add in a layer of whipped cream, while others insist the cake should be filled with just jam.
Whatever your preference, this cake is always lovely!
For this version I’ve paired down my Mum’s Victoria sponge cake recipe to make it into a 4-inch cake recipe which is perfect for two people!
Why make this Recipe?
Easy: I promise this will be one of the easiest cake recipes you’ve ever tried! The whole cake is made in one bowl and only uses a handful of ingredients.
4-inch cake recipe: I love a mini cake recipe, and this tiny 4-inch cake really delivers on all the cuteness factors!
Light: Okay it’s still a cake so it’s not exactly the lightest thing in the world. But, as cakes go, this is a lovely light little cake. Because there’s no icing or ganache involved it’s much lighter and less sweet than your average cake.
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?
4-inch cake pan* – You’ll need a little mini cake tin like this one. (Also linked below if you want a picture!)
Electric mixer* – I use a kitchen aid standing mixer for this recipe but you could also use a hand half mixer or even a food processor to make this cake!
Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, whipped cream and jam* – the ingredient list is really short for this recipe and if you prefer to skip the whipped cream you absolutely can!
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How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Make the batter
This cake is so simple that it’ll take you 5 minutes to make the batter! Just cream together the butter and sugar, add the egg and mix for a moment before adding in the dry ingredients.
Step 2: Bake
Spoon the mix into a buttered and floured pan and smooth out the top. Then bake the cake for 20 – 23 minutes at 350 F until golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 3: Sandwich with jam and cream
Once the cake is cool, slice in half and then spread a layer of jam followed by a couple spoons of freshly whipped cream into the center and sandwich the cake together. Serve dusted with icing sugar and with a cup of your favorite tea!
Expert Tips
Don’t over beat your mix
Once you add your flour, it’s important not to over mix the batter! Just mix until combined and then stop.
Other filling ideas
The classic Victoria sponge uses jam, but there’s no reason you can’t experiment a bit! Lemon curd and whipped cream also make for a fantastic filling if you have some on hand. Alternatively, fresh berries and cream can be delicious in the summer if you can get your hands on some good berries!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Absolutely! If you want to make this Victoria sponge cake recipe in an 8-inch cake pan you’ll need to quadruple the recipe (i.e. 4 eggs, 8 oz butter, 8 oz of sugar, 8 oz of flour and 3 tsp baking powder)
For other pan sizes, you’ll need to work out the area of your pan and scale it accordingly.
A Victoria Sponge is a classic British tea time treat. It’s made with a plain sponge cake, which is sometimes lightly flavored with vanilla (although that’s not classic). Two layers of the sponge cake are sandwiched together with strawberry jam and sometimes whipped cream. Again, the cream is a little controversial among sticklers for tradition, but it is delicious, so I’ve included it!
The top is then sprinkled with caster sugar or dusted with icing sugar, and that’s it!
It’s a super simple recipe that’s a staple in any British kitchen.
In the world of Victoria Sponge making, there are two schools of thought. (Actually there are way more but let’s stick to these two for now).
The Queen of British Baking (Mary Berry OFC) uses the all-in-one method to make her Victoria Sponge. This basically means she throws all the ingredients into the bowl of her mixer and just beat everything together at once.
You can absolutely do that with this recipe. I would never suggest Mary Berry was wrong, and she really isn’t in this case.
However, I learned to bake a Victoria Sponge before I was old enough to really know who Mary Berry was. I probably learned this recipe when I was about 4 years old. And my Mum taught me to use the creaming method, so that’s what I do here.
The creaming method involves creaming together the butter and sugar and then adding the other ingredients in stages.
Either will work, so take your pick and carry on!
Other recipe you might like:
- Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd (4-inch cake) – another lovely mini cake that’s a bit fancier!
- Chocolate Cake for Two – A decadent miniature chocolate cake which is perfect for 2!
- Lovely Lemon Souffles for Two
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4 inch Victoria sponge cake Recipe
Equipment
- 4 inch cake pan
- hand held or standing electric mixer
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 oz butter
- 2 oz sugar
- 2 oz flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
filling:
- 2 tbsp raspberry or strawberry jam
- 50 ml of whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract optional
- 5 g icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and butter and flour a 4-inch cake tin.
- Beat together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes until very light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat for another minutes before beating in the dry ingredients.
- Pour the mixture into your pan, smooth out, and bake for 20-23 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Oven temperatures vary and this is a small cake, so start checking it around 20 minutes.
- When your cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely before slicing it in half horizontally. This is easiest to do with a sharp bread knife!
- While the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla until it forms medium peaks. Spread or pipe a layer of cream onto the bottom half of the cake, top with a layer of jam and then the second half of the cake. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!
Notes
2) You can skip the icing sugar in the cream if you would like, however, the sugar does help to stabilize your cream so if you’re planning to let the cake sit for a bit before eating it’s worth including the icing sugar.
Oh my gosh! What a super cute cake! I’m going to make one for my mom for Mother’s Day, she will love it!
What a cute cake. It’s so fun to make and delicious, too!
This Victoria Sponge recipe is gorgeous! It impressed all of my guests!
My little ones love these mini cakes. They think they are so fun and of course excited that they each get their “own” cake. I like making them at birthday parties too!
I was looking forward to this recipe so much as I’ve just purchased 4 inch cake tins.
Personally, I found this too dense and sweet – I used the weight scale to measure things and followed the recipe to the tee.