Victoria Sponge Cake with Oat Flour

Janie's Mill just launched a new product - Organic Oat Flour! To celebrate, we made a simple Victoria sponge cake with 100% oat flour, giving it a slightly sweeter, toasty flavor, and an extra tender crumb. And between the layers of tender spongecake are mint whipped cream and blackberry jam -- fit for a Queen!

Named after Queen Victoria, who apparently loved to have a slice with her afternoon tea, this traditional British "sandwich cake" features two light sponge cake layers sandwiched with a filling of fruit jam and whipped cream.

Yield: 1 8-inch cake, serves 10-15

Total Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 cup (2 sticks or 226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  
• 1 ½ cup teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 cup (245 g) granulated sugar 
• 1/4 cup (65 g) heavy cream
• 6 Tablespoons (90 g) whole milk
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups (240 g) Janie's Mill Organic Oat Flour
• 4 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

For the whipped cream: 

• 1 cup (240 g) heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons (16 g) powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons finely chopped mint (optional)

A jam of your choice!

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two 8-inch pans with parchment paper and grease the bottom and sides. Set aside.
2. To make the cake: Cream the soft butter with the salt and sugar using a stand mixer or a whisk until the mixture is slightly paler.
3. Whisk together the cream, whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and milk. Set aside. Sift together the oat flour and baking powder. Oat flour tends to clump easily, so don't skip the sifting!
4. Starting with the liquid, alternate adding the liquid and dry ingredients into the creamed butter and sugar. Mix gently until you have a smooth batter. 
5. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 25 minutes. The sponge should bounce back lightly when pressed and pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a rack.
6. To make the whipped cream: Whip the cream and powdered sugar to soft peaks. Fold in the finely chopped mint (if using).
7. To assemble: Set one of the cakes on a cake plate, spread the jam over the cake, then dollop the whipped cream filling on top and smooth lightly to the edges. You may not need to use it all. Place the second sponge cake on top and sprinkle it with powdered sugar just before serving.