Victoria Sponge with Meringue and Yogurt

For whatever reason, I had never made a Victoria Sponge Cake, or any type of sponge cake, before this lock down. I'd had it many times before in cake shops and restaurants, and have always enjoyed it, but had never made it before. I have a "white cake" recipe from my grandma that I always use when I want to make a vanilla cake. That recipe is a slightly heavier cake, but not a pound cake, and I especially love it sandwiched with a layer of lemon curd in the middle and topped with cream cheese icing. That said, I had the urge to try a sponge cake a few weeks ago, and I'm glad I did, because it was quite simple to make, delicious, and rather healthy as far as cakes go. 

When I made this cake, it was still quite early in the lock down, and I was having a lot of difficulty finding some basic ingredients, so I had to amend the recipe a little, but made some additions of my own as well to make up for tastes that were missing. Things I didn't have in my fridge included butter (I only had about a 1/4 cup), whipping cream, and all-purpose flour. That said, I had plenty of eggs, some atta (finely ground whole wheat flour), and plain yogurt. So I decided to change up the recipe a little and see if I could make something like a Victoria Sponge cake with the ingredients I had on hand. So rather than sandwiching the layers with whipping cream, I made a layer of meringue to place between the layers, and added a layer of unsweetened yogurt to the very top just moments before serving to give a tangy sort of creaminess to the cake. 

I actually loved the taste of the yogurt on top of the cake, but the only consideration with using yogurt, in my opinion, is that it separates as it sits, and the liquid will seep into the cake. So I wouldn't recommend using it and leaving it on the cake if you anticipate having any leftovers. I would just add it immediately before serving, and you could even just add it to pieces of cake as you serve them to ensure you don't have yogurt on any leftover cake you wish to save, because it will spoil the cake if left more than 10-20 minutes. Anyway, here's the  recipe, hope you enjoy it.

Victoria Sponge with Meringue and Yogurt

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp vanilla
• 4 tbsp milk
• 6 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose or finely ground whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
  
  For the Meringue
• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cups sugar (I used 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup jaggery (brown sugar)
  
  To Assemble
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• Pomegranate to sprinkle over the top (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F or 170 degrees C. Butter two round cake tins, and line the bottom with buttered parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside (flour, baking powder and salt).
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the eggs are a very pale yellow, fluffy, and ribbons of batter fall from the whisk as you raise it.  Add the vanilla and milk and stir to combine. Carefully stir in the dry ingredients until just combined--do not over mix.
4. In another clean large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, but do not over whip or they will become grainy and separate
5. Stir 1/4 of your egg whites into the cake batter, and then carefully fold the rest in in two separate additions. 
6. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake tins.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until the cakes spring back up to the touch, about 30 minutes.
   
   For the Meringue: 
8. Once the cake is in the oven, you can make the meringue. Separate 3 eggs, and reserve the yolks for something else, or discard them.
9. In a clean, large bowl, whip the egg whites until frothy, and then begin to add the sugar, 1/8 cup at a time, as you continue to whisk. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form. 
10. Draw the outline of the cake pan used for the sponge cakes on a piece of parchment paper,
11. Grease a baking sheet, line with the parchment paper and grease the parchment paper as well
12. Dollop the meringue onto the parchment paper, keeping it within the circle you have drawn, so it will be the same shape as the cake layers
13. Bake in a preheated oven at 110 degrees C for 1 1/2 to 1/3/4 hours, until golden brown and fully set. Don't open the oven when the meringue is finished: leave it in the oven until it is completely cool, at least 15 minutes.
    
    To Assemble:
14. Once both the cake layers and meringue are fully cooled, you can partially assemble the cake
15. Set one cake layer on your chosen serving plate
16. Spread a thick layer of raspberry jam over this cake layer
17. Carefully remove the meringue from the parchment paper (don't worry if it cracks a little, that's pretty normal, and no one will notice anyway)
18. Place the meringue carefully over the raspberry jam-coated cake layer
19. Place the remaining cake layer atop the meringue
    
    Final touches before serving:
20. Once you are ready to serve, take the plain yogurt and whisk or stir it a little to smooth out any lumps
21. Spread a layer of yogurt over the cake, and top with some fresh fruit, chopped nuts, or chocolate shavings.

For additional information, please see the original recipes:

Sponge Cake adapted from: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/hyssop-rose-sponge-layer-cake-recipe.html

Meringue adapted from: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ultimate-meringue