Battle Axe

My friend has asked for help locating a recipe for sponge cake that someone would have made in England in the 1950's. Her Dad had been there and eaten some that was wonderful. My friend got a recipe off the internet and made a hard, heavy, tasteless cake she ended up throwing out. The recipe called for self-rising flour. Is that something different in England? Who has experience making this? TIA Marcia in Indiana

tranum

Maybe the flour was not wheat flour ? I recall Scandinavian relatives talking about potato flour in a delicious cake. Sometimes those memories can’t be recreated.

LavenderBlue

https://mummyinahurry.wordpress.com/...ctoria-sponge/

QuiltnNan

thanks... looks yummy and easy

Battle Axe

Thanks, now I'm getting hungry. The oven temp mentioned is ???? quite low. Is it C or F?

Up North

I think that is Celsius as it would be 350 Fahrenheit.

bakermom

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/reci...ch-cake-recipe

Haven't made it myself but have always had good luck with their recipes

ekuw

This is so true. I have this dilemma. It's not with food but with a smell. The smell is really fresh, might be some type of laundry soap or fabric softener. When ever I smell it, and I do periodically, it reminds me of my Grandmother. I always ask the person if they are wearing perfume, etc and I always get a different answer. For the life of me I can't put a name to the scent.

charley26

This sponge cake probably was a Victoria Sponge cake. It is a 'sandwiched' cake with jam, buttercream, or whipped cream +/- strawberries in the middle. It is truly delicious. The WI would say that jam in the middle is the 'correct' version. Self raising flour is flour with a raising agent added by the manufacturer. Flour for baking, in the UK, is either plain (probably your all-purpose flour), and self raising. There is also bread making, pasta, gram, spelt, buckwheat and other types of flour available here. I am attaching a link for the WI Victoria sponge, but of course, it may have been a different type of cake your friend was thinking about.

https://www.thewi.org.uk/what-we-do/...toria-sandwich

Battle Axe

That was what he remembered. The jam in the middle with the whipped cream. Thanks so much for this info.