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Cooking with Camilla! Duchess of Cornwall shares her Victoria Sponge recipe revealing she sometimes uses Nutella or lemon curd as the filling

  • The Duchess of Cornwall, 74,  has shared her recipe for Victoria Sponge cake
  • Camilla revealed she ‘loves chocolate’ and sometimes uses a Nutella filling
  • Cake’s named after Prince Charles’ great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria who enjoyed eating it with tea

The Duchess of Cornwall has shared her recipe for Victoria Sponge cake, revealing she sometimes swaps out the traditional jam and cream filling for Nutella.

Camilla, 74, who lives in Clarence House in London with Prince Charles, shared a photo to Instagram posing with a freshly baked cake, revealing she’s sharing the recipe in celebration of the return of Poetry Together tea parties. 

The cake is named after her husband’s great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.

The picture shows Camilla in a purple jumper with a white shirt underneath, holding the traditionally baked cake topped with icing sugar and filled with cream and fresh strawberries. 

The Duchess of Cornwall has shared her recipe for Victoria Sponge cake, revealing she sometimes swaps out the traditional jam and cream filling for Nutella

The caption from the official Clarence House account read: ‘The Duchess has shared her recipe for a Victoria Sponge for young and old(er!) alike to enjoy after reciting a poem by heart together,’ 

‘Launched by Gyles Brandreth in 2019, the Poetry Together initiative aims to unite people of all ages through the power of poetry – and not forgetting plenty of tea and cake!

‘After signing up, schools will be linked with their local care homes, allowing pupils and care home residents to come together to recite poetry together. 

‘This year’s events will be particularly special as schoolchildren and the elderly will be able to convene in person once again following last year’s event being forced online due to the pandemic. 

Camilla, 74, who lives in Clarence House in London with Prince Charles, shared a photo to Instagram posing with a freshly baked cake, revealing she’s sharing the recipe in celebration of the return of Poetry Together tea parties.

While, the duchess’s photo showed a more classic cake, her recipe revealed she sometimes opts for the likes of Nutella or lemon curd for the filling.

The recipe also adds: ‘the Duchess loves poetry and chocolate, too. 

‘You can make a chocolate version of the Poetry Together cake if you like. Simply omit the vanilla essence and add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to the basic ingredients.’

Poetry Together is an initiative to bring together young and old and share the joy of reciting poetry by heart. 

Camilla’s Victoria Sponge Cake recipe

Ingredients

4 oz self-raising flour (110g), sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 oz soft margarine or butter (110g), at room temperature

4 oz caster sugar (110g) 

2 large eggs

2-3 drops of pure vanilla essence

To finish: Lemon curd or jam (with fresh cream, optional) or Nutella or your filling of choice, and sifted icing sugar

Method

(The Duchess loves poetry. And chocolate, too. You can make a chocolate version of the Poetry Together cake if you like. Simply omit the vanilla essence and add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to the basic ingredients.)

 

The initiative sees schools connect with a local care home, with pupils and residents learning the same poem off by heart.

Each group rehearsed the poem ahead of the event today, where they performed in front of a crowded room. 

Last year, the royal bakers shared a recipe for the Queen’s Victoria Sponge cake which is often shared at garden parties.

Posting to the Royal Family’s official Instagram account, the Buckingham Palace cooks revealed the cake was named after Queen Victoria, who regularly ate a slice of sponge cake with her tea, each afternoon. 

How to make the Queen’s Victoria Sponge cake 

The Queen’s pastry chefs have delighted fans by sharing the recipe to their Victoria Sponge cake.

INGREDIENTS  

  • 3 eggs
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 150g unsalted butter
  • 150g sieved self-raising flour
  • 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence
  • 100g jam (strawberry or raspberry)
  • 150g softened unsalted butter
  • 220g sieved icing sugar
  • 1/3 vanilla pod or vanilla essence

METHOD 

 1. Preheat the oven to 180C (375F, gas mark 4) 

2. Grease and line two 8 inch cake tins (if you only own one tin, you can bake the sponge and slice in half)

3. Cream the caster sugar, vanilla essence and softened unsalted butter until light and fluffy

4. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs

5. Gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, to avoid the mixture curdling

6. Sieve the flour and fold into the mixture

7. Divide the cake mix between the two cake tins and smooth

 8. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the cake appears golden brown

9. Insert a skewer and ensure it comes out clean

10. Remove the sponges from their tins and leave to cool 

11. Cream the softened butter with the sieved icing sugar and seeds from the vanilla pod (or vanilla essence) 

12. Ensure that both sponges are completely cold before spreading a layer of jam onto the surface of one sponge

13. Spread a thick layer of buttercream on top of the jam ( if you prefer this can be done first)

14. Gently place the second sponge on top and gently press down

15. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with a pot of fresh English tea!






Posting to the Royal Family’s official Instagram account , the Buckingham Palace cooks revealed the cake was named after Queen Victoria, who regularly ate a slice of sponge cake with her tea, each afternoon.

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