Eton Mess Sponge Cake
This Eton Mess spelt sponge cake is a combo of two British classics: Eton Mess and a Victoria Sandwich layer cake. The light sponge combined with rich cream, fresh berries and meringue is beyond heavenly.
Servings: 8 slices
Ingredients
Sponge cakes:
- 225g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) sugar
- 225g (1 cup) butter (softened)
- 4 eggs (medium - room temperature)
- 225g (1 cups + ¼ cup + 2 tbsp) spelt flour (see note 1)
- 2 tsp baking powder
Filling / topping:
- 500ml (2 cups) whipping cream (see note 2)
- jam (see note 3)
- assorted fresh berries
- mini meringues (or pieces of meringue)
Instructions
Sponge cakes:
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Grease and line two 24cm (8 inch) round cake tins.
- Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (I used my stand mixer, but you can do it by hand).
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating each one in before adding the next.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together and then gradually add to the wet ingredients (I just kept my stand mixer running on the lowest speed).
- Stop mixing when the flour is just incorporated (you may see a little flour that hasn't been mixed in, and that's okay).
- Split the batter evenly between the two pans.
- Bake for around 20-25 minutes (in the lower part of the oven), until the tops feel "bouncy" to the touch and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Leave the cakes to cool in their pans for around ten minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Let them cool completely before decorating.
Filling:
- Whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
Assembly
- Turn one of the cakes over so that the top is underneath.
- Spread jam over the bottom of one cake.
- Then, spread half of the whipped cream over the top.
- Place the other cake on top (bottom side down) and spread over the remaining cream.
- Decorate with fresh berries and mini meringues. You can crush up one or two of the meringues and sprinkle the bits all over. Add any other decorations you like (I put a couple of flowers on for the prettiness factor).
- Finish off with a sprinkling of icing (powdered) sugar if you fancy it. Enjoy!
Notes
I have converted grams to cups/ounces/tablespoons using online converters. Although I have no reason to believe they are inaccurate, please be aware that I have not made this recipe with imperial measurements.
- You can use spelt or regular flour for this recipe (just use the same amount).
- The cream I used has a fat content of 36%. In Sweden, it is referred to as whipping cream, but called heavy whipping cream, or heavy cream, in North America.
- I haven't included any measurements for jam. Just use as much or as little as you like (and it doesn't matter what kind you use).
