Victoria Sponge Swiss Roll

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Grease a 33 x 23cm swiss roll tin with a little vegetable oil and then line base with baking paper. Grease this again with some oil and then sprinkle some caster sugar into the tin and move it around to make sure it evenly covers the base and sides of the tin. Tap out any excess.

Place the sugar and eggs into a large bowl and use and electric whisk to beat for approximately 10 minutes until the mixture has volumized considerably and it is pale in colour. This is when you can test it has reached ‘ribbon stage’ – when the whisk is lifted out the mixture and you run it across the top, it will leave a trail of mixture that sits on top, like a ribbon.

Carefully sift the flour into the mixture in stages, folding it in after each addition. Take time to do this as it is important to keep the mixture light, fluffy and aerated.

Once all the flour has been incorporated, pour it into the prepared tin and smooth over the top. Place the tin into the preheated oven for 10–12 minutes until well risen, golden and baked throughout.

While the sponge is baking, place a piece of baking paper slightly larger than your swiss roll tin onto the kitchen surface. Sprinkle this liberally with some more caster sugar.

Once the sponge has baked, remove it from the oven. Run a knife carefully around the edges to make sure it isn’t stuck and then tip and invert it onto the sugar-coated baking paper. Using a knife, draw a small cut line roughly 1cm from the edge of one of the long sides. Then starting here, carefully roll the sponge, making sure to tight the edge in tightly to create a neat spiral. Once it is rolled, keep it like this with the paper surrounding it, until the sponge has cooled.

While the sponge is cooling prepare the fillings. In a large bowl add the double cream and icing sugar, then whisk until it forms soft peaks. In a separate bowl add some strawberry jam, along with one tablespoon of water and mix so it is easier to spread. Finally, roughly chop some strawberries for the filling, leaving some whole for the top.

Once the sponge has cooled, carefully unroll it. Start by spreading a layer of the strawberry jam, then sprinkle across some of the chopped strawberries. Top this with a layer of the softly whipped cream. Make sure not to make the layers too thick as it will be difficult to roll again. Once all the layers are added, carefully re roll the sponge.

Using a sharp serrated knife, trim off the ends so you have a neat sponge. Decorate the top with some of the cream and fresh strawberries.