Treat of the Week: A Victoria Sponge for Fathers’ Day

Our Fathers’ Day feast was another exceptional meal. Baked, breaded chicken strips with a lovely herbed buttermilk gravy, herbed mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh broccoli, and homemade angel biscuits were a welcome and much-appreciated lunch. 

This was followed by a dessert which would have very much amused Queen Victoria—a gorgeous Victoria Sponge and its six little friends. This classic sponge cake, a recipe that’s been in use for centuries, is baked in a “tiara pan.” It’s then spread with a layer of lemon curd. This keeps the next layer from making the cake soggy. The lemon curd is topped with a thick spread of luscious, rich, home-made French pastry cream. Fresh cherries, glazed with warmed jam, adorn the top—glistening like jewels. The finishing touch is piped, freshly-whipped cream.

My mother has made this cake for us for many years and it’s always a favorite. The combination of the fresh sponge cake with the luxurious pastry cream and the bite of the fruit is incomparable. Furthermore, the layer of lemon curd adds an unexpected citrus note which goes very well with the flavor of the cherries.

For Fathers’ Day, my mother also made six little companions to the large Victoria Sponge. These featured blueberries and strawberries—looking equally regal. Each small cake has been layered with lemon curd and pastry cream as well as jewel-like fruit and masterfully-piped whipped cream. 

It was a lovely day. After all, nothing says “Happy Fathers’ Day” better than cake. In fact, cake is the universal language for a happy day every day.