Next up in my ongoing cooking lesson series, I'm going to teach you how to bake a delicious little thing called Victoria cake. A staple of British cafes and bakeries, this is a two-tiered sponge cake with frosting and strawberry jam in the middle and powdered sugar on top, often accompanied by berries and whipped cream. Sound yummy to you? If so, here's what you'll need to make one for yourself!

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of flour, plus some extra to coat the cake pans with
- 1 cup of sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 2 1/2 tbsp of milk
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 container of vanilla frosting
- 1 jar of strawberry jam
- 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
- 1 carton of raspberries
- 1 can of whipped cream
- Butter, margarine or shortening to coat the cake pans with

Recipe:
1. Preheat the oven to about 325-350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, use a handheld electric mixer on low speed to mix the flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, milk and vanilla extract together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
3. Grease and flour two round cake pans of equal size.
4. Divide the cake mix between the pans and smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes. You'll know they're done when the cake surface is golden and springs back when lightly pressed. I emphasize "lightly" there, don't go too hard on the poor cake. If it doesn't feel quite right yet after 20 minutes, give it a few extra minutes, but no more than 5.
6. Take the cakes out of the oven and let them sit in their pans for 15 minutes, then turn them onto a cooling rack and leave them for another 15 minutes to cool enough to work with safely.
7. Use a knife to trim off bits of excess and/or any tough overbaked spots you find along the sides of each cake, just be careful not to overtrim or mangle it.
8. Spread frosting over the top of one of the cakes.
9. Cover the frosting layer with strawberry jam, leaving about 1cm of frosting uncovered along the edge.
10. Place the second cake on top of the first.
11. Coat the top of the finished cake with powdered sugar.
12. Add the raspberries for a bit of extra flair, and serve individual slices with a side of whipped cream.
Just do all that and Bob's your uncle! You've gone and made a Victoria cake, and you should be quite proud! It may seem tough to make a cake from scratch like this, but I believe in you! :3