Adorable light and airy Victoria Sponge Cupcakes filled with raspberry jam and topped with buttercream frosting.
I’m so excited to share today’s recipe because it was actually part of a birthday gift for my youngest sister, Tammy.
Over the summer, we did a family girls trip to the UK. We started in Edinburgh, did a side trip to Oxford, and ended the vacation with a few days in London. The whole thing was a great adventure. We took a boat out on Loch Ness, rode bicycles around Oxford, and survived the August tube strike in London.
Every night after dinner, we’d walk around whatever city we were in, find a bakery and buy something to take back to the hotel and share. This ended up with some real winners, like the chocolate-filled doughnut I had in Edinburgh, and the shockingly delicious banoffee pie we bought in Greenwich (I don’t like bananas in baked goods, why do I love this????) and some not so winners. No one liked treacle tarts and we all forgot that black forest gateau contained cherries until we bit into it–ick. But Tammy’s favorite dessert by far was Victoria sponge cake.
She’s mentioned it dreamily a few times since we got back, so I went to look up a recipe to send to her. But alas, since Victoria Sponge is a quintessentially British treat, all of the recipes were in British English, which my sister, who is not even a baker, does not speak.
So as a gift to her, I adapted the recipe for American cooks and sensibilities. I started with the great Mary Berry’s Victoria sponge recipe, translated it from metric (though we should probably all be using metric to bake as it’s so much easier), turned it into a cupcake, and added a buttercream on top. Now, any time she wants, she can make a little bit of England here in the US.
If you’ve never had Victoria sponge, it’s so good. Light and delicious sponge with a raspberry jam filling and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I’m not usually one for jam-filled desserts, but there’s something about the blend of flavors and textures here, the mild and the sweet, smooth and spongy that is really lovely. They are perfect for a light dessert, or serving to guests with tea.
Victoria Sponge Cupcakes
Ingredients
Sponge Cupcakes
- 1 cup (8oz) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup (210g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup (250g) superfine sugar*
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs room temperature
Filling
- Raspberry Jam
Buttercream
- 8 tablespoons (4oz) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup (180g) powdered sugar sifted + extra for dusting
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Sponge Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line cupcake pans.
- Place butter, sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, and eggs in your mixer and beat on low for 2 minutes until combined.
- Divide into 20 cupcake cups. Your cups should be filled about halfway full, as these cupcakes grow a lot! You should not have fewer than 20 filled cups or there will be overflow!
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until tops are golden.
- Allow to cool completely.
Add the Jam
- Using a serrated knife, cut a cone-shaped piece out of the center of each cupcake so that there is space in the center for filling (save the cone). Spoon about a teaspoon of jam into the space.
- Cut the tip off the cone you cut and replace top back on the cupcake. Repeat with all of the cupcakes.
Buttercream
- Whisk together butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Spread on cupcakes or use a small closed star tip to pipe frosting.
- Dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutritional Information
Sponge Cake Recipe Adapted From: Mary Berry
Small-batch Instructions: This recipe is easy to cut down. For each egg, you’ll need 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and a pinch of salt. No preparation changes are needed.
Ginny says
Just made these and the cupcakes are sunken in the middle. Lightly browned on top in the right amount of time but the center didn’t rise. If the butter was too cool/hard would this cause this?
I tasted one cupcake and the flavor is amazing. Hoping it was my mistake and can be altered for another try.
Thanks!
Tracy says
Hi Ginny, these cupcakes are pretty finicky, and butter that’s too cold will absolutely affect the finished product. The room-temperature butter should be soft enough that you can easily press an indentation into it with your finger, but it should not be greasy or melty. Hope that helps!!
M. says
These are divine. Despite the few tweaks I made (added coconut egg jam, strawberry preserves, etc.), the cupcakes turned out beautifully. In the words of my sister, who is completely wild about them: “Buttery, feathery, so soft…”
This recipe is a 10-star, if I could. Addictive, fluffy, melts-in-your-mouth, and a taste of Heaven on earth.
Thank YOU.
Tracy says
Thanks for reporting back, M!! SO thrilled that you and your sister enjoyed these!!!
Diane says
I’m going to make these the next time my granddaughter and I have tea. It’s one of her favorite things to do. I am going to try cherry and plum jam. Thank you!
Jem says
I stumbled across this recipe when my 7 year old daughter asked if we could bake a Victoria sponge. I really fancied cupcakes and here I am!
They are currently in the oven. I made 17 in muffin cases.
So glad you enjoyed your stay in our country!
Victoria sponges make regular appearances in our house!
My home city is is Oxford, so I’m so glad you cycled around. Hope you looked up, the architecture is incredible here!
Tracy says
Hope you enjoy them, Jem!
And, yes, we definitely looked up (sometimes at our own peril since we were biking though traffic). 😉 We had such a good time there, and I can’t wait to visit again.
Whitney says
What size tins did you use? These look like the smaller cupcakes, which is what I am looking for, but I just want to be sure because the baking time seems long enough for a larger cupcake. Other than that, I am pleased to have found your recipe, as I had been looking at Mary Berry’s and wondering exactly that: how do I convert it to small cakes…?
Tracy says
Hi, Whitney. These are normal-size cupcakes. You should be able to make them into minis, but I’ve never done it so I can’t give you an exact baking time. I’d start with 8 minutes and go from there. Hope that helps!
Whitney says
Ok, thank you. I will let you know how it goes. It’s for a dinner party next weekend. Lovely cooking blog, btw.
Tracy says
Thanks, Whitney! Hope your guests love them!
Maria says
I tried only the sponge cupcakes(without the buttercream) and it turned out WONDERFUL. I used it with whipped cream icing and it was a HIT!
Tracy says
Oh, Maria, I’m so happy to hear that! Love the idea of using whipped cream instead of the buttercream. It sounds delish!
Assunta says
Its not always raspberry jam.. more commonly its strawberry jam in between the 2 sponges 🙂 (im english and make victoria sponges a lot -maybe a bit too much haha)
Tracy says
Good to know! All I’ve ever seen was raspberry–that, or I just had my raspberry jam preference blinders on. 😉
Natasha @ Salt & Lavender says
OH these are so pretty!!! I love the photos and the gif. I bet these taste as good as they look. You’re a good sister 😉 My husband is English and we visit the UK every year or two. I quite enjoyed Oxford, and I just loooove London!!
Tracy says
Aw, thanks, Natasha! I’m so jealous. I wish I had an excuse to visit London more often! My sister and I have been the last two summers, but I think it will be couple years before I have a chance to go back.
~ carmen ~ says
These look so, so incredible. I like the varying design. The jam surprise center looks tasty. :]
// ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
Tracy says
Thank you!
Irene says
The post is fantastic! I love it so much:)
Have a nice weekend!
http://www.theprintedsea.blogspot.com
Tracy says
Thanks, Irene!
Meghan | Fox and Briar says
That trip to the UK sounds amazing! I actually have never had the victoria sponge, I only learned about it from watching the Great British Bake off! It really looks like such a fancy and delicate dessert. Beautiful!
Tracy says
Thanks so much, Meghan! Yeah, I had never even heard of them before I visited the UK for the first time. I love them because they are so easy but look so cute. 😉
Vicky @ Avocado Pesto says
These are absolutely adorable! Sounds like your trip through the UK was fun! I spend 2 weeks in Scotland a couple years ago and loooved it!
Tracy says
Thanks, Vicky! Two weeks sounds amazing. We were only there for a week so we didn’t get to hit everything I would have liked to. I would love to go back and spend longer!
jacqueline | i sugar coat it! says
I like Victoria sponge and these b-day cupcakes look deliciously delightful!
Tracy says
Thank you, Jacqueline!
Sarah says
These are GORGEOUS! And I love the little gifs and videos you included 🙂
Tracy says
Thanks, Sarah! I have way too much fun making gifs sometimes. 😉
Lucy says
What gorgeous cupcakes! I want to make these for Mother’s Day. I bet you could use any kind of jam–I’m thinking strawberry-rhubarb 🙂
Tracy says
You should! Strawberry-rhubarb would be so cute and pink. Perfect for Mother’s Day! 🙂
Tamara says
This is such a lovely post! I love to hear stories that surround the creation of a recipe… I don’t eat many sweets, but I think I’d really love this cupcake as it looks so light!
Tracy says
Thanks, Tamara! You could even leave off the buttercream and just dust it with powdered sugar they’re really good that way too. 😉