Welcome to the Village Tea Rooms! Come in out of the cold!
That's what we've been shouting all morning, it being cold as arctic stone here, with stiff February gales whipping through the street. It can be something of a wind tunnel this village, nestled (not so warmly) in the Lancashire hills, with Bolton to the South and Blackburn to the North, and the breezes shooting across from the Irish sea, like a souvenir from the Isle of Man. Anyway, I digress. My name is Maud Mortimer, sixty four years old and proprietress of the Village Tea shop for over thirty years. I choose the teas, I order the coffee, I bake the cakes and butter the bread for sandwiches (though Elsie fills them and plates the bit of greenery and plain crisps that comes with each one). And I'm not behind the door, either. I don't hold with all that twaddle about being stuck in the past like some (mentioning no names). I like to move with the times. I bought a 'DAB'. It's in the corner, next to the parlour palm and the photograph of Johnny Mathis. It might not touch those modern stations like Radio 2 (Elsie likes Classic FM, but I can't abide those rotten adverts), but it's digital. And I always try and keep my recipes up-to-the-minute, though I must say, you will never see a 'whoopie' in my shop. Not as long as we have a monarchy.
I must say though, this internet lark is the most 'modern' we'll get. Elsie's son, Peter, recommended I keep a journal of goings on here as, well, there's funny things afoot, and I can't do pen and paper anymore on account of my rheumatism, so he recommended a blog. I use the computer in the library round the corner and do my Tesco shopping at the same time, so it's fairly convenient really. I have decided to use it to record my myriad recipes I've developed and invented over the years, and impart some of the funny little stories or strange customers we come into contact with. And of course, any funny business...
To mark the beginning of this thing, then, I think it is only proper to start with the simplest and most famous of my recipes: the Victoria Sponge. I have won awards with this cake (being an ex, though previously active, member of the Women's Institute) and can guarantee it will not last more than two hours on the cake stand in the shop. I usually charge £1.75 per slice, though with the price of flour going up, I might have to raise it a few pence.
Victoria Sponge
(For 8 people to eat at the same time)
200g butter
200g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, preferrably freshly laid (I get mine from Tim the Egg Man, who has an allotment full of hens)
225g self raising flour
1tablespoon golden syrup
A splash of milk
For the filling:
Strawberry or Raspberry Jam
1. Preheat your oven to 175°C (Gas 5) and grease two 8in (20cm) sandwich tins
2. In a large bowl, cream your butter until it looks creamy and soft
3. Add the sugar and beat gently
4. Crack the eggs into a jug and whisk slightly with a fork.
5. Sift in 1/3 of the flour and add a little egg. Beat well.
6. Repeat number 5 until all the egg and flour is incorporated
7. Divide between the two tins and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch.
8. Leave to cool and sandwich with jam. Sprinkle with caster sugar.
A note: Some people (generally Americans) think this cake should be sandwiched with jam and buttercream, though this is not a traditional Victoria Sponge. I could have bowed to pressure and given you a buttercream option, but principles are not ten a penny these days, so let's leave it at that.
