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
- 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:
- 1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp confectioner’s Swerve Sweetener
- 1 cup raspberry chia seed jam
- 1 tsp 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.
Nutrition
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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My eyes cannot believe this is a low-carb dessert! SO GORGEOUS. I’m definitely bookmarking for when I need a treat!
I made this but used some leftover frosting from the lemon strawberry cupcakes. It was wonderful. Almost like a strawberry shortcake.
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!
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!
I’ve already got a recipe for that! https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-pound-cake-tiramisu/
I love this cake, I made it for a church coffee hour and no one knew it was wheat free or sugar free
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?
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.
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.
I’ve been planning on a mini version of this one myself. Glad it worked out!
This was delicious! I used honey instead of swerve in my whopping cream and it turned out super yummy!
I haven’t had this cake since I was in London years ago! I love how delicate it looks, pinning and sharing:)
Hi can you use watered down heavy whipping cream rather than almond milk?
Absolutely!
Thank you. As a English mum, my children wanted a cake to have with tea. Can’t wait to try it.
Now only if I could find an English scone recipe for afternoon tea!
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.
I hear you can make your own clotted cream and I want to try that.
@Carolyn: it is SO easy to do! Simply pour into a shallow pan, (9x13glass) cover with foil and “cook” on very low heat (180F) for 12 hours. When done top should be very light brown. Let cool, move to fridge for 12 hours until solid.
Preferred is UNpasteurized or at least NOT ULTRA pasteurized (Organic Valley is ultra…). but I have done it with both and it turns out well using ultra as well as unpasteurized.
Also, SOME recipes add thickeners or other ingredients like sour cream greek yogurt, powdered sugar, even mascarpone! That is NOT TRUE clotted cream! Clotted cream has ONLY heavy cream in it.
Ah, yes, the clotted cream will need to be skimmed from the liquid at the bottom… Oddly, the ultra pasteurized clots almost all of the liquid!
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
Coconut and almond flour work very differently and are NOT able to be substituted for one another. Whey protein can be switched out with egg white protein powder.
Carolyn often suggests using sunflower seed flour but it may turn your creation green if you don’t add a Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the batter.
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 🙂
Protein powder helps things rise and hold their shape. You can skip it but it will not be as fine a cake, just FYI.
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! 🙂
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!
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!
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!