Victoria Sponge for Mr M...

I know this blog is meant for all things Bijoux but I was so proud of the below that I had to share it. Mr M's pub has been closed for the last week undergoing a renovation. His team of painters have worked tirelessly in shifts day and night for the last week. I had a sneak peak at the results of all their hard work a day before the project was complete and vowed to bake a cake to thank them on behalf of Mr M, to take in the next day for their morning tea break. As people who know me will attest I am a savoury cook, leaving the baking to the extremely talented Miss J. However on this occasion I thought I would go it alone without the assistance of Miss J who is usually my baking advisor when I intend to attempt something sweet. So here we have it my first ever Victoria Sponge.....I need to make two thank you's, firstly to Nigella, who's recipe in her 'How to be a Domestic Goddess' book was a dream (I never knew baking could be this simple. Measure all the ingredients and then put everything in the Magimix were Nigella's instructions and to my amazement a beautifully flavoured cake mix was combined taking me back to my childhood and licking the bowl of the raw cake mix....what fun!). Secondly a huge thank you to Mr Adlington for his lovely gift of the very rare Bonne Maman Figues Violettes (Fig & Violet) jam brought back from France. I combined a layer of the delightful jam with sliced strawberries and creme fraiche (leftover from a dinner party at the weekend) sweetened with vanilla extract studded with vanilla pod seeds.




These lovely painters had worked through the night to complete the pub renovation for Mr M. I am assured they loved the cake even though their expressions may indicate otherwise. My first solo attempt at a proper cake..... a great success! Hooray! Now I just need to bake the cake so I can taste it too...hee hee!!

Baked by: Miss R