Duchess of Cornwall shares her Victoria Sponge recipe (2025)

  • The Duchess of Cornwall, 74, has shared her recipe for Victoria Sponge cake
  • Camilla revealedshe '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

By Bridie Pearson-jones For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

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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!

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'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

  1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325F, 170C
  2. Two 7-inch (18 cm) sponge tins, no less than 1 inch (2.5cm) deep, lightly greased and lined with greaseproof paper (also greased) or silicone paper
  3. Take a large roomy mixing bowl, and sift flour and baking powder into it, holding the sieve high to give the flour a good airing.
  4. Then simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl and whisk them – preferably with an electric hand whisk – till thoroughly combined. If the mixture doesn’t drop off a wooden spoon easily when tapped on the side of the bowl, then add 1 or 2 teaspoons of tap-warm water, and whisk again.
  5. Now divide the mixture between the two prepared tins, level off and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes. When cooked leave them in the tins for only about 30 seconds, then loosen the edges by sliding a palette knife all round and turn them onto a wire cooling rack.
  6. Peel off the base papers carefully and, when cool, sandwich the cakes together with lemon curd or jam (or jam and fresh cream) or Nutella or your filling of choice, and dust with icing sugar.

(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.)

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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 afterQueen 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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Duchess of Cornwall shares her Victoria Sponge recipe (6)

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Duchess of Cornwall shares her Victoria Sponge recipe (2025)

FAQs

Did the Queen like Victoria Sponge cake? ›

Queen Victoria and the Victoria Sponge

Food historian Alysa Levene reported in her 2016 bookCake: A Slice of Historythat the Queen was in fact particularly fond of this simple yet delicious sponge cake and enjoyed having a slice with her afternoon tea.

Can you give me the summary on how to process or prepare sponges and cakes? ›

How to Make Sponge Cake From Scratch
  • Step 1: Separate the eggs.
  • Step 2: Prepare the cake pan.
  • Step 3: Aerate the flour.
  • Step 4: Beat the egg yolks.
  • Step 5: Beat the egg whites.
  • Step 6: Fold the ingredients together.
  • Step 7: Pour batter into the pan and bake.
Oct 27, 2022

Why do they call it a Victoria Sponge? ›

The Victoria Sponge was named after Queen Victoria, who regularly ate a slice of sponge cake with her tea, each afternoon! To mark Royal Garden Parties, Buckingham Palace Pastry Chef's are delighted to share this traditional recipe. If you use social media, remember to share your #royalbakes !

What is the history of the Queen Victoria cake? ›

It is widely thought that this sponge cake sandwiched together with raspberry jam and dusted on the top with caster sugar was the Queen's favourite. Originally, the Victoria Sponge may have started in the nursery. In the early Victorian period, afternoon tea consisted of seed cake and fruit cake.

What was Queen Elizabeth's favorite cake? ›

Posted on www.today.com (Read original article here.) “This chocolate biscuit cake is Her Royal Majesty the Queen's favorite afternoon tea cake by far,” chef Darren McGrady, The Royal Chef and former personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, told TODAY Food.

What is the difference between a sponge cake and a Victoria sponge? ›

The Victorian creation of baking powder by English food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge.

What is the sponge cake theory? ›

This is the method whereby the eggs and sugar are whisked together to a stable foam and then the flour is folded in carefully to avoid excess loss of air. The flour must be well sieved in order to remove any lumps and to assist in its easy dispersion throughout the mixture.

What is a sponge cake in England? ›

Traditional Victoria Sponge Cake consists of 2 layers of light-as-air sponge cake that sandwich whipped cream and jam. Perfect for a British afternoon tea treat or anytime dessert.

What's the difference between sponge cake and angel food cake? ›

The primary difference is that angel cake relies solely on egg whites and contains no fats, while sponge cake uses both egg yolks and whites and can often include fats like butter.

What is a cake without cream called? ›

Oil Cake. Oil cakes follow the same principles as butter cakes, but use oil as the source of fat. Because oil is liquid at room temperature, oil cake recipes skip the step of creaming the fat and sugar; usually the oil is incorporated into the wet ingredients, which are whisked or folded into the dry ingredients.

What's the difference between vanilla cake and Victoria Sponge? ›

There are however some features which may distinguish them. The first is that there is usually more milk and fewer eggs in a vanilla cake than there is in a Victoria sponge. On the whole this makes them a bit denser in texture but also a bit more moist.

What is a cake without frosting called? ›

Naked cakes are layer cakes that are unadorned (or nearly bare) on the sides. That's right: no swoops of frosting or colorful iced patterns.

What cake did King Charles have at his coronation? ›

To make the Coronation cake, Robert used some ingredients from Charles' Highgrove estate. Sharing the details, Robert said: "The Coronation cake is a fruit cake, packed with succulent fruits including sultanas, raisins, and glacé cherries, which make up over half of the recipe.

What was Queen Elizabeth's wedding cake? ›

The Majesty of Queen Elizabeth's: Royal Wedding Cake

The result was a magnificent four-tiered fruit cake standing at nine feet tall. The cake design was an epitome of royalty with intricate sugar-work representing the couple's family crests, symbols of love and friendship, and scenes from their lives.

What is special about Victoria Sponge? ›

Firmly established amongst the nation's favourites is the Victoria sponge, or the Victoria sandwich cake, a two-layer, sponge-like, airy cake with a layer of jam and — for the indulgent — cream in the middle and a dusting of icing sugar on the top.

Did Queen Victoria like her food? ›

Queen Victoria was known for her love of food and enjoyed a wide variety of dishes. However, her diet was unhealthy, and she struggled with obesity.

What cake was served at the royal wedding? ›

This recipe is a rich-tasting and lovely interpretation of the lemon elderflower cake that will be made by Claire Ptak and served at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

What did Queen Victoria eat for dessert? ›

According to a tell-all biography of Victoria composed by “a member of the Royal household”, she was particularly fond of “chocolate sponges, plain sponges, wafers of two or three different shapes, langues de chat, biscuits and drop cakes of all kinds, tablets, petit fours, princess and rice cakes, pralines, almond ...

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