Gluten Free Victoria Sponge

I LOVE Victoria Sponge. For real. Its simple, easy, and if you want something sweet, but not too sweet, it just hits the spot.

But then I have that whole gluten intolerance thing. Which is a major problem when the recipe only has six ingredients. But I decided to give adapting my recipe a try, and I was SO pleased with the results!

Now, I made mine into large cupcakes and froze the extras, because if you’ve been doing any GF baking at all, you’ll know that baked goods dry out FAST. And while I *can* eat them all in a couple days, I probably shouldn’t.

The other key thing about this recipe, whether in GF or regular, is that this is one recipe which I weigh my ingredients. And that’s because you are going to weigh your butter, and then your other ingredients will be the same amount. It makes a difference for this one.

Last, I found it easier to cut circles out of parchment paper to line the bottom of the cupcake tins (or cake tins) and it makes it so much easier to get these out of the pan in one piece. You can use cupcake liners, but I was using an oversize cupcake tin and had no liners that fit. It is a couple extra minutes of work, but its worth it. Just trace the bottom of your cupcake pan onto parchment, and then fold it over several times so that you have several layers under your drawn circle. Cut it out all at once, and you’ll have 6 or 8 circles for your pan. You could cut each one individually, but they don’t need to be perfect.

You’re going to weigh your butter. It should be around 200 g of butter (not margarine – real butter!), which is usually 2 sticks. If its over or under, that’s fine. Just remember your measurement.

Then put a bowl on your scale and measure out the same amount of granulated sugar and gluten free flour blend – in separate bowls!

Then you will cream your butter and sugar until its light and fluffy. Add your 4 eggs, plus one egg white, and beat those in. Last, add your flour, baking powder, xantham gum (I add this even though my GF flour mix already has it), and vanilla. Beat for around 4 minutes.

For cupcakes or cake, you will spray each opening with cooking spray and dust with flour. To attach the parchment circles, you just spray a little cooking spray in the bottom, then put the circle in. Then spray and dust with flour.

Fill them 3/4 full, if using cupcake tins, or split the batter between two 8 inch cake pans if you’re baking a whole cake.

Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes for a cake, and 10-15 for regular cupcakes (mine were slightly longer for the larger size cupcakes)

When a cake tester comes out clean, they are done. Let them cool a few minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack. Peel off your parchment paper liner, and let the cakes cool completely.

For a cake, I use whipped cream and strawberry jam to fill it. Simply spread strawberry jam on top of one cake, then whipped cream (I always use far too much and it oozes out, but it tastes so good!), and then place the other cake on top. You can add more whipped cream, or dust the top with powdered sugar. Either way, I do recommend storing the cake in the fridge.

You can split the cupcakes in half and fill the same way, or just spoon strawberry jam and whipped cream over the top.

It is so, so yummy and a light, perfect dessert for summer!