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Victoria Sponge Cake

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The classic and elegant Victoria Sponge Cake gets a low carb, gluten-free makeover. This healthy dessert is a must-make.

Low Carb Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe

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.

Sugar-Free Grain-Free Victoria Sponge Cake

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.

Low Carb Victoria Sponge with Clotted Cream and Raspberry Jam

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.

Sugar-Free jam and clotted cream in a delicious gluten-free sponge cake

Keto Low Carb Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe
Print
Victoria Sponge Cake
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 

The classic and elegant Victoria Sponge Cake gets a low carb, gluten-free makeover. This healthy dessert is a must-make.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Servings: 1 cake
Calories: 292 kcal
Ingredients
Cake:
  • 3 cups almond flour
  • 1/3 cup whey protein powder
  • 2 tsp grain-free baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 3/4 cup Swerve Sweetener
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup almond or cashew milk unsweetened
Filling:
Instructions
Cake:
  1. 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.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, whey protein powder, baking powder and salt.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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:
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Dust powdered sweetener over top.
Recipe Notes

Serves 12. Each serving has 9.09 g of carbs and 4 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5.09 g.

Food energy: 292kcal
Saturated fatty acids: 7.27g
Total fat: 24.56g
Calories from fat: 221
Cholesterol: 81mg
Carbohydrate: 9.09g
Total dietary fiber: 4.00g
Protein: 10.55g
Sodium: 178mg

Nutrition Facts
Victoria Sponge Cake
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 292
% Daily Value*
Cholesterol 81mg 27%
Sodium 178mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 9.09g 3%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Protein 10.55g 21%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Nutritional Disclaimer

Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.

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Comments

  1. OMG! You just made my day. Low carb Victoria Sponge! I am probably the biggest anglophile on the planet. I even married one. I lived in London as a kid and oh man I remember the sponges you could buy in the high street, scrumptious!
    Downtown Abbey is also my all time favorite, and I TiVo it to watch the next day, so can’t wait!
    I have all I need so will make it TODAY!
    Thank you, thank you!

    Reply

  2. This is amazing; I have always wanted to try a Victoria Sponge & so I shall at last! I too, love British Period pieces and can frequently be found watching some BBC or Masterpiece show on Netflix or Amazon (so much so my roommates just look at the screen and say “British?” when the enter the room). I’m so excited to try this, thanks Carolyn!

    Reply

  3. Carolyn, you have made my day, too! LOVE Victoria sponge and have always wished for an LC version. I have been re-reading some old Rosamund Pilcher books over the past few weeks and the characters are always having tea and scones…or gingerbread…or Victoria Sponge. Every time I put down the current book, I feel like running out to the nearest bakery posthaste! (Yes, Downton Abbey has the same effect.) This will be appearing soon on our tea table here in ever-so-refined St. Augustine, FL!

    Reply

  6. I watched the Great British Bake-Off too, and they made this very dessert in the finale last night! They called them Victoria Sandwiches, but it was the same thing, cupcake version. I too love British period shows. I highly recommend The Paradise. It’s on Netflix if you have it. Also Call the Midwife. Love them!

    Reply

  7. This looks wonderful!!—do you think it would be ok to sub the almond flour with sunflower meal??

    Reply

    • You may get a greenish cake because of the way sunflower seeds react with baking powder. Try a few tbsp of lemon juice to help offset that. No matter what, your cake won’t have quite the same colour, because sunflower meal has that greyish colour.

      Reply

  8. Is this like an angel food? Wondering if you could just bake in a bundt pan. Bet it would be good with strawberries and whipped cream.

    Reply

  9. Love Downton, the fashion & food of a time gone by we can visit via TV. Thought I would fill this wonderful cake with vanilla custard and top with strawberries. Will need to get out the china tea cups I think a tea party is in order, my granddaughters love coming over for a real “Victoria BC Tea”.

    Reply

  12. Victoria sponge was a huge hit, made a blackberry jam for the filling (neither of us is a big raspberry fan). Now I am stuffed full of cake and cream, and still have half a cake left. Looks like he will get dessert in his to go lunch. Poor thing!

    Reply

  13. Looks great! I also love DA! If you aren’t familiar with Georgette Heyer, you should get ye to the library because you will LOVE her books. She basically invented historical romance as a genre. And she is very witty.

    Reply

  15. Could I sub in a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder to get a chocolate cake, or doesn’t it work that way?

    Reply

  16. Carolyn — you are genius!! I just watched the final episode of Great British Baking and was thinking how hard would a LC Victoria Spounge be? LOVE Downton also 🙂

    Blessings!
    Gail

    Reply

  17. I was wondering if another protein powder would work…I can have butter, but most dairy is not my friend… 🙁 The whipping cream is easily subbed with coconut cream, but I just don’t know if a different type of protein powder would work instead of whey? Or if something other than protein powder would work as I really don’t understand all of the intricacies of LC baking yet.

    Reply

    • Yes, use egg white protein powder. A brand called Deb El is what I use, found in the baking aisle of many grocery stores.

      Reply

  18. This looks wonderful, Carolyn! I live in the UK and Victoria Sponge is the most popular cake for tea. My daughter and I love Downton too! She is away at university now so every Christmas we buy the DVD of the last season and spend a day watching the whole thing while wrapping presents! I love your recipes and even though I develop recipes too I recommend your site to my weight loss clients as a good resource for goodies. I even provide them with American cups and spoons so they follow your recipes more easily!

    Reply

  19. Carolyn this looks wonderful I will be trying it soon. In 2000 I took a trip to London with my Mom and Sis, we had the best tasting cake I think it was called sticky toffee pudding cake. I wonder if you could work your magic on that recipe? Thanks for all your hard work.

    Reply

  21. I realize you are going for low carb and totally appreciate that using sugar goes against that concept. That said, I’ve tried ALL the ‘tols and let us just say that they don’t agree with my body. I try to cut carbs in other ways (coconut and almond flours, almond milk, etc). If I were to make the recipe but use evaporated cane juice in place of Swerve, would it turn out? I am not familiar with the relationship between swerve and sugar and don’t want to assume it is 1 to 1. I realize using sugar will up the carbs so it will be a very occasional treat.

    Reply

    • Swerve is meant to measure cup for cup like sugar so you can use a regular sugar in its place. In reality, you could probably use a little less cane juice to stay a little lower carb and it would still be sweet enough. My only concern here is that cane juice is liquid and you may throw off the liquid content of the cake. I’d cut down on the additional liquid by a bit.

      Reply

    • Try allulose! I have had wonderful results with that. It’s 70% as sweet as sugar though, so I like to add 1/8 of a teaspoon of Stevia powder for every cup that I use. I just make it up ahead of time.

      Reply

  22. I just made this sponge cake last night. It was absolutely fabulous! It had the best texture of any low carb, grain free, sugar free cake that I’ve ever made. I served it to a bunch of ladies who are very skeptical about the way I eat and they even thought it was delicious. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!

    Reply

  23. I made this cake last night and we are completely in love, my husband called me from work today and said babe this cake is absolutely delicious this is what I want you to make for me for now and on, Lol… I also made the raspberry filling and we all loved it, my son’s girlfriend came over and I offered some and she was skeptical and said no but I told her just try a bite and then she was like sorry but can I please have a piece? its delicious. Lol…. Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful recipes.

    Reply

  24. Thanks once again! Not only was your Victorian Sponge Cake a smashing success it was also suggested I make it again for Easter Dessert.

    Reply

  25. Hey Carolyn! I was wondering, if I’m going to use powdered swerve in the cake, would the amount be different than what you have in the recipe? Like, is 3/4 cup of confectioners swerve more than 3/4 cup granulated? If so, what’s the conversion? I’m so excited to make this cake for my family next weekend! Thanks!

    Reply

    • If I use confectioner’s in a cake or muffin, I usually use it in the same amount. It may not give you quite the same texture, since non-granulated won’t whip air bubbles into your butter. but it should turn out alright.

      Reply

    • Yes, you could make this a day ahead. Or you can make the cake layers and wrap them in plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge for a few days before filling. The finished cake can be left on the counter for a few days just fine. If it lasts that long… 🙂

      Reply

  28. What is the purpose of the protein powder? I have a lot of food allergies and cannot use it, but was thinking I could sub something for it instead if I knew the purpose it had in the recipe.

    Reply

    • In the absence of gluten (which is a protein), a dry protein helps the baked goods rise and hold their shape. You can use powdered egg whites too.

      Reply

  29. This cake was simply amazing. I was an idiot and burned my raspberry jam (I get distracted easily) and had to make a blueberry/cranberry chia seed jam instead which was still very good. Once I put everything together, it was absolutely delicious. I took the cake to a women’s church party and didn’t tell anyone it was low carb (usually that turns people off for some reason). I managed to get one small slice before I turned around and saw a cluster of ladies all surrounding the cake and cutting into it as fast as possible. It was gone in seconds. Excellent recipe, Carolyn. Thank you so much! In fact, I think I’ll make it again tonight. One slice simply wasn’t enough.

    Reply

  30. Oh my, I just made this for Easter brunch. it is glorious!! I added orange extract to the cake and then filled it with sugar free cannoli cream. I am probably going to make two as the scavengers are eyeing it intently as I speak.

    Reply

  31. Thank you for this wonderful recipe, Carolyn! I made the Victoria Sponge today for Easter, splurging on real clotted cream (!) and using your lemon curd recipe in place of the jam. Topped with a handful of fresh strawberries, it was delicious and a huge hit!

    Reply

  32. Awesome recipe!!! Can I use liquid stevia extract instead of Swerve or do you need it for bulk?

    Reply

  33. Made this over the weekend and it is by far my favorite LC cake EVER. It is also gorgeous. The cake is a thing of beauty only amplified by the whipped cream and jam (I used La Nouba’s sf raspberry spread from my pantry). You are the LC baking queen, Carolyn!

    Reply

  34. I can’t wait to try this recipe! (How did I manage to overlook it for so long?) I caught the Victoria Sponge “bug” several years ago when I watched the movie, “Calendar Girls”. (Stars Helen Mirren, Annette Crosbie, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie and, for the gorgeous male, they tossed in Ciaran Hinds.) I liked sponge cake long before that, but was convinced that there had to be something different, if it was called, “Victoria Sponge”. I’ve found other recipes, tried them and enjoyed them, so I will add this to my repertoire. Thank you for yet another!

    Reply

    • Hi Carolyn! This recipe is delish! I made half the recipe and made it in a small loaf tin (increased the cooking time a little) also used a little xylitol instead of Swerve (we don’t get it here in South Africa) and it turned out great! Put a blob of cream on it plus some chia jam and it was freaking amazing! My absolute favourite cake is a vanilla sponge so this recipe has helped to keep us on the low carb track! Thanx again!

      Reply

  35. I make my own clotted cream all of the time! 🙂 Preheat your oven to 180* and pour 4 cups of heavy cream (any kind will work, even pasteurized) into a shallow baking dish. Cook for eight-twelve hours. Remove and allow to cool completely. Skim the clotted cream off the top and refrigerate for eight hours. And you’re done! 🙂

    Reply

  36. Oh wow, sounds delicious. Do you think it’s possible to make it without protein powder too or substitute it with something else ?

    Thank you so much 🙂

    Reply

    • Protein powder helps things rise and hold their shape. You can skip it but it will not be as fine a cake, just FYI.

      Reply

  37. hi! this looks incredible, however i dont eat nuts due to sensitivity. could coconut flour work here? i dont have whey protein either due to dairy/lactose sensitivity. i have hemp protein powder but the taste is like ash and i wouldnt want to ruin the cake! hope you can help xxxx

    Reply

  38. I made this last month and it was really nice. My husband (who normally shuns all gluten-free food) even loved it. I live in England where clotted cream is very reasonable so used clotted cream and it worked out fine.

    Reply

  41. This was delicious! I used honey instead of swerve in my whopping cream and it turned out super yummy!

    Reply

  42. I made a perfect ‘serving for two’ version of this for my husbands birthday (I didn’t want to be tempted to keep eating!) and it was simply wonderful! I had never thought about making smaller servings before but had enjoyed your cheesecake brownie for two so much, decided to see if I could do it to this as well. It worked great and I will definitely be making this again, maybe even the whole version! Highly recommended.

    Reply

  43. I’ve made this twice. It was perfect once and more “scone-like” the second time. I don’t know where I went wrong the second time. Can you tell me, what is the ideal consistency of the batter when you pour it in the pan? Should it be more liquid, so you can just “shake the pan” to smooth it or should you have to “work it smooth” with the knife before baking?

    Reply

    • A good low carb almond flour batter won’t pour…it needs to be spread to the edges of the pan. But it shouldn’t be scone like so it makes me wonder if you forgot an ingredient or something.

      Reply

  45. This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
    Do you think it’d work for a tiramisu as well?
    Thanks for all of your lovely recipes!

    Reply

  46. Oh my goodness Carolyn, you’ve outdone yourself with this sponge cake! I made a hazelnut espresso meringue torte and your sponge worked perfectly. It took the hazelnut syrup I brushed on it without falling apart and tasted heavenly with the whipped ganache between the layers, The crispy meringue and espresso Swiss meringue buttercream went perfectly with it! I was thrilled with the results. I wish I could send you a pic. It turned out gorgeous!

    Reply

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