fig and earl grey victoria sponge

fig and earl grey victoria sponge

• 12 Jan 2025

Last year, when figs were in season, I made a batch of fig and earl grey jam using this recipe because I planned to make a Fig and Earl Grey Sponge Cake. Before I had a chance to make the cake, figs disappeared from the fruit shop and I completely forgot about the 2 pots of jam which I'd stored under my bed.

I've had nothing but good results making my version of Nicola Lamb's Victoria Sponge cake recipe, so I knew I would use that as the base for my recipe when I rediscovered the pots of jam at Christmas time. As soon as figs appeared in the fruit shop I bought a punnet and off to the kitchen I went to make the cake. Of course you don't need to make your own jam, store bought is fine, and remember to steep the cream with the tea leaves the night before you decorate the cake.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17cm cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. 

Fig and Earl Grey Sponge Cake

Cake 
135g unsalted butter, soft (20°C is great!)
3g (½ tsp) sea salt flakes

165g caster sugar
45g cream
2 whole eggs 
1 egg yolk 
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g whole milk
165g plain flour
10g baking powder (around 2 tsp)
2 tsp sugar for a crispy top

Filling  
300mls thickened cream

1 tsp loose leaf earl grey tea
½ cup fig and earl grey jam

Topping
Fresh figs

Berries
Icing sugar, for dusting

Method

The night before you plan to bake the cake, pour the cream into a bowl and add the earl grey tea leaves. Leave it to cold steep overnight. 

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C, conventional. Grease, flour and line the base of a 17cm tin with baking paper. Set aside.

Cream the soft butter with salt and sugar for 2 minutes on medium speed using a stand mixer. This is enough for the butter and sugar to aerate slightly and become a little paler, but not so much that it is whipped. 

Mix together the cream, whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract and milk.

Sift together the plain flour and baking powder. Set aside. Starting with the liquid, alternate adding the liquid and dry ingredients into the creamed butter and sugar, in around three batches, scraping down as necessary. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the sugar.

Bake for 45 minutes on the centre rack of the preheated 190°C oven , then check if the sponge is golden and bouncy, and pulling away from the sides slightly. Bake for additional 5 minutes if seems underbaked. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a rack. When completely cold, use a long serrated knife to slice horizontally through the centre of the cake, separarting the cake into 2 layers.

Filling
Strain the cream, then whip to soft peaks and bring the jam to room temperature if it is kept in the fridge. 

Assembly
Place one of the cake halves onto a serving plate spreading jam all over the base. Spoon 2/3 of the cream onto the jam layer and spread to the edges with the back of a spoon - leave a 1-inch border if you don't want it to splurge too much! if you want, you can top the cream with a few fresh fig slices. As a splurging insurance policy, you can pop your cake in the fridge or freezer to firm up the cream a bit. 

Smooth the cream a little, then add the sugared sponge layer. Add a small dollop of cream to the top of the cake, then add slices of fresh fig and a few berries. Dust with icing sugar and serve. 

The cake will keep in the fridge for 3 days, stored in an airtight container.

No surprise, the cake was absolutely delicious.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian