At my husband's request, I've recently created this delectable half-and-half wholemeal Victoria sponge cake. Not only does it infuse your diet with fabulous fibre, but it's also light and fluffy too!
Dubbed the "half and half" cake due to the blend of Half Wholemeal Self-Raising Flour and Half White Self-Raising Flour, it achieves a consistently airy and moist texture whilst still remaining true flavour-wise to the classic Victoria Sponge Cake.
It's a fantastic, healthy addition to my bakes and one I will surely make again.
Dubbed the "half and half" cake due to the blend of Half Wholemeal Self-Raising Flour and Half White Self-Raising Flour, it achieves a consistently airy and moist texture whilst still remaining true flavour-wise to the classic Victoria Sponge Cake.
It's a fantastic, healthy addition to my bakes and one I will surely make again.
To make the cake, you will need to do the following: Preheat your oven to:
- Fan assisted: 170ºC - (I baked mine on 175°C)
- Regular oven: 180º/190ºC (Approx)
- Fahrenheit: 338F
- Gas Mark: 3
Cake Ingredients:
- 150 Grams Country Life Spreadable Butter
- 150 Grams Ocado Granulated Sugar
- 3 Medium Ocado Eggs
- 75 Grams Allinson's Wholemeal Self-Raising Flour
- 75 Grams McDougall's Self Raising Flour
- Cake Release Spray (Optional)
Cake Filling:
- 100 Grams (Approx) - Strawberry Seedless Jam
- Icing Sugar for Dusting
Notes:
- You can use either butter or margarine for this recipe.
- Use your own variety of self-raising wholemeal and regular self-raising flour if you prefer.
- You can use more or less jam, depending on how much you like as a filling.
- As an additional filling, you could also add buttercream or fresh cream but I prefer just jam.
Equipment:
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Electric Hand Whisk
- Scales
- Large Spoon
- Large Glass (Optional)
- Sieve
- Spatula
- 8-inch Sandwich Tins
- Wire Racks
- Tea Towel (Optional)
Method
1 Weigh out the butter and sugar. Place them into a large mixing bowl.
2 Mix them together using the electric hand whisk until they are combined.
3 Add one egg at a time and mix in with the electric whisk.
4 Weight out the 75 Grams of Wholemeal flour and then sieve into the mixing bowl.
Some of the larger Allinson's wholemeal flour pieces will remain in the sieve; just tip these into the batter.
5 Now weigh out 75 Grams of the Mcdougall's Flour.
Sieve that into the batter.
6 Combine manually using the spatula until all the ingredients have mixed together.
It will resemble thick porridge.
Then, mix the batter for about 10 seconds using the electric whisk.
7 Split the batter into the pre-greased sandwich tins.
Place in the centre of the oven or the recommended shelf issued in your oven manual. I have a large capacity oven, so I baked them on shelf 2.
8 Bake for approximately 17 - 22 Minutes (depending on what temperature you baked it on) or until golden brown and they spring back to the touch. I baked mine for 17 and a half minutes at 175 °C in a fan-assisted oven.
9 Once baked, remove from the oven, leave them in the sandwich tins and place on a wire rack to cool for approximately 5 minutes. I place them on a wet tea towel as this helps the tin contract and the cake shrink back and remove from the tin easier.
10 After five minutes, turn the tins over and allow the weight of the cake to drop from the tin.
Leave them in the tin for approximately 5 mins, or if they have slipped out, remove the tins fully.
11 Allow the cakes to cool properly on a wire rack.
12 As I only added jam to my cake and no cream, I let the cakes rest for 5 minutes but applied the Jam to both cakes while they were still warm.
13 I then placed the second layer on the top of the bottom layer.
14 This was then covered in a tent until the cakes were fully cooled.
15 Once fully cooled, I placed the cake on a board and lightly dusted the top with icing sugar.
I then placed it in my cake stand and placed the lid on top to keep the cake fresh.
16 This is the first cut slice; as you can see, the cake is lovely and fluffy but still holds its shape. It tastes light and fresh too.
Overall, I'm really pleased with this cake structurally and taste-wise. Adding the wholemeal flour didn't present any challenges or change the flavour of the cake, so win-win. A healthier version of a classic cake that even the kids will love!
Enjoy!
Happy Baking! 
