Light-as-air no butter Victoria sponge cake

Method
Prep:15min  ›  Cook:20min  ›  Ready in:35min 

1. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease and line two 20cm (8 in) round sandwich tins with baking parchment.
2. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then add the caster sugar. Whisk this up for 5 to 6 minutes on full speed until it triples in volume, turns almost white and is very light and fluffy. I find an electric hand whisk does the best job.
3. Sift the flour into a separate bowl, then sift again a little at a time into your egg mixture. Fold in each addition of flour into the mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon, being very careful not to knock air out of your egg mix. Once all the flour is incorporated, divide the mix between the tins.
4. Bake for 20 minutes until golden on the surface. Leave in the tins to cool, then use a knife to go round the edge of the tin and separate the cake from it. I tend to slide my palette knife underneath a little too, to help release it from the tin.
5. Whip up the cream then spread the bottom layer of cake with the jam, top with the cream, then the top half of the cake. Dust with icing sugar, and enjoy!

Tip

It is crucial to fold the flour into the egg mixture gently, so as not to knock all the air out of them. Also, I use a silicon spatula to fold in the flour, plus its great for getting every last drop of mix out of the bowl.