The classic and elegant Victoria Sponge Cake gets a low carb, gluten-free makeover. This healthy keto dessert is a must-make.
Are you a Downton Abbey fan or do you think it’s the Masterpiece Theater equivalent of a fluffy meaningless soap opera? I don’t really care what the critics may say, I am addicted. Regardless of increasingly complicated plot lines and lack of significant historical commentary, I can’t take my eyes off the show and the characters. I adore them all, even the villainous Thomas and all his machinations. We DVR it every week so we can watch it at our leisure. Which means that I haven’t yet seen the season finale from last night and I will kill you if you spoil the ending for me. I am not making idle threats!
I have a long-standing love of British period pieces, both written and filmed, and it hardly matters what period we’re talking about. Growing up, our bookshelves were filled with classic novels and being an avid reader, I was devouring them all at quite a young age. Thomas Hardy, DH Lawrence, Dickens, The Bronte sisters, George Eliot, W. Somerset Maugham, E.M. Forster; anything from Jane Austen forward, I was reading. I probably didn’t understand some of the more complicated portions and I certainly didn’t understand the historical significance of these books, but I drank it all in, practically by osmosis. Sure, I read my fair share of Sweet Valley High and The Babysitters’ Club, but if it was British and written in a bygone era, I ate it up with a spoon.
So you can see why Downton is just the sort of television series I would like. I don’t have a lot of time for TV, but my husband and I like to pick a series to watch together and do “date nights”. We set our kids up with a movie and dinner downstairs while we repair to the other TV with plates of something delicious and a drink or two. We get ourselves really into it, discussing the characters like they are close friends. And every word that comes out of Dame Maggie Smith’s mouth quickly becomes quotable material for us. Recording it is important because we have to often stop and hit replay on a few of the more intense, or funny, scenes, just to enjoy them again.
And I am always eyeing Mrs. Patmore’s culinary creations. Even though good ol’ Queen Vic had passed by the time Downton Abbey takes place, I could easily see a Victoria Sponge being served to the Crawleys at tea time. They are such a simple and yet elegant cake. Most recipes use clotted cream, one of my favorite British treats, but I wasn’t about to go spend $7 a bottle (and I’d likely have needed two or three bottles for this cake). So I faked my own version by over-whipping heavy cream, which I’ve always noticed looks and tastes like clotted cream. And I have to give a shout out to my favorite brand of whipping cream, Organic Valley (no, I am not being paid for this, but oh man, I love the stuff). There are no fillers or gums or preservatives; it’s just straight up heavy cream from organic and mostly pastured cows. I easily go through two or three pints a week. One of the things I love about it is the clumpy stuff that often collects just at the top. No, my friends, that is not a sign the cream has gone bad. That’s the good thick, almost clotted cream rising to the very top. If you can’t manage to mix it back into the rest of the cream, grab a spoon and dig in. It’s delicious and far too good to waste!
Check out this post from The View from Great Island to make your own Homemade Clotted Cream.
Victoria Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 cups almond flour
- ⅓ cup whey protein powder
- 2 teaspoon grain-free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup almond or cashew milk unsweetened
Filling:
- 1 ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon confectioner’s Swerve Sweetener
- 1 cup raspberry chia seed jam
- 1 teaspoon confectioner's Swerve for dusting the cake
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease 2 circular 9-inch cake pans very well (if your pans are not very non-stick, line them with circles of parchment and grease the parchment paper too). You can also use 8-inch round pans but your cake layers will take a little longer to bake.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, whey protein powder, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat butter with sweetener until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well combined. Beat in vanilla extract.
- Beat in half of the almond flour mixture, then beat in nut milk. Beat in the remaining almond flour mixture until well combined. Divide batter between prepared cake pans and use a knife or offset spatula to smooth the top.
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and the top is just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 10 minutes in pans, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Filling:
- Beat whipping cream with powdered sweetener past the "whipped cream" stage. It should not be smooth and homogenous-looking, but instead be a bit thicker and look somewhat clotted or clumpy. Do not keep beating after this or you will soon have butter.
- Place one cake layer on a serving platter and spread with chia seed jam. Spread the clotted cream over top of the jam and place the second cake layer on top.
- Dust powdered sweetener over top.
S.E. says
would collagen powder work as a suitable replacement for whey?
Carolyn says
No, it makes things very gummy and hard to cook through.
Eljay says
Could this cake be baked using cupcake forms instead? If so, how might the baking time change? TIA
Carolyn says
You will have to experiment! 🙂
Susan Yakus says
Hi Carolyn, would you use this in a trifle? TIA
Jill Graves says
I did! I used a half of one layer. I left it unwrapped on the side for 3 days to dry out a bit, then made the trifle as normal. Hubby never even realised it wasn’t the full sugar version.
Kylie says
Could pea protein be used instread of whey protein?
Carolyn says
As long as it’s not green in colour!
Matthew says
I’m going to try this tomorrow, but is there any chance i can substitute the whey powder to something else?
One reason for that is my experience with whey protein (on its own) has been rather unpleasant digestion wise. The other reason is its kinda expensive? Hope to hear from you and thanks for sharing! looks amazing
Carolyn says
You need some sort of protein powder for the cake to rise properly. It can be egg white protein.
Dana says
Somehow missed this recipe when searching cakes. But, boy, am I glad I stumbled upon it. I’ve made it with blueberry chia jam and strawberry chia jam. Both are delicious! Love the sponge cake texture! Another homerun outta the ballpark, Carolyn!
Carolyn says
Excellent!
Hannah Norris says
Please can you tell me how many slices this divides into to make serving sizes? I want to make this for our wedding anniversary, next month, Andrew my husband has a sweet tooth! ????
Carolyn says
Hi Hannah… at the top of every recipe card, it tells you the number of servings. In this case it’s 16 so it would make 16 slices.
Serena says
I’m English and having tried many keto recipes over the years this cake is by far the closest thing to a victoria sponge made with wheat flour and sugar that I have ever tried. I used erythritol and whey protein isolate as that’s what I had in my pantry. I also scaled the recipe down to 2/3rds and baked it in two 6″ silicone cake pans for 20 mins. This will now be my go-to cake recipe – thank you!
Carolyn says
Delighted to hear that you liked it!