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Anyone who knows me knows several things about me that are constant:
I love to cook, especially for other people.
My passion is baking.
I love The Great British Bake Off show and have followed it since the beginning.
I love all things English Tea and enjoy having and attending Tea Parties.
Did I already say that I am passionate about baking? I think I did.
I love my Instant Pot and while not everything is suited for it, I like to try to see how much is. Especially baked goods. I love the challenge and have been very pleased with how much comes out great when people say it won’t. That tickles me to no end! (Aside: NO, I do not recommend the Mealthy CrispLid because using it voids the Instant Pot warranty, so be warned when people suggest it.)
Because of my love for GBBO and English Tea, I challenged myself to learn how to bake a proper Victoria Sandwich, in the oven and see if it would work in the Instant Pot. I made 5 attempts (2 in the Instant Pot and 3 in the oven) and the only one that worked for me was my second Instant Pot version. That’s the keeper.
I did everything the same for both the Instant Pot and the oven versions. I used my wonderful, versatile Hatrigo stainless steel push pans for both the Instant Pot AND the oven.
To my surprise, my oven-baked sponges did not turn out at all (they need tweaking for technique), and I’ve binned the 3 attempts thus far, but the Instant Pot bake worked beautifully the second time round with some cook time changes.
I used Mary Berry’s Victoria Sponge recipe (below). Why? Because she is both the beloved British Queen of Baking AND the beloved Queen of The Great British Bake Off.
TIPS:
Follow Mary’s recipe, exactly. Seriously. Except cook it in the Instant Pot.
Weigh everything exactly. In grams, just as written.
Do not overmix which will insert too much air and the sponge can rise too high and then fall. Mine did.
Let the sponges cool before spreading with jam and cream..
For the oven version:
Do not open the oven door whilst baking, the sponge can fall. Mine did.
This Victoria sandwich recipe by Mary Berry is featured in Season 4, Episode 10 of The Great British Bake Off.
My directions for the Instant Pot:
NOTE: the texture of the sponge is more “dense” than what you get from oven-baked, but still very moist and delicious. We really enjoyed this!
Prepare Mary’s recipe, as written.
Place 1 1/2 cups of water in the steel inner liner of the Instant Pot.
Place a trivet in the water.
Prepare the Hatrigo 7-inch push pans by greasing the pan inside, especially the sides. I use a homemade liquid of cold-pressed avocado oil and sunflower lecithin.
Place the round parchment paper that comes with the Hatrigo push pans onto the bottom of each pan or cut you own to fit.
Divide the batter evenly between the 2 push pans and smooth the top. I use a small offset spatula.
Wrap the bottom of each pus pan with foil to prevent leakage.
Cover each pan with foil (It won’t touch the food), or if you prefer, parchment first, THEN foil. The foil has to be crimped down over the pan to prevent moisture and parchment alone won’t do it.
Place one pan on the trivet in the Instant Pot. I use a second trivet with very short legs to separate the 2 pans, but you can simply use the parchment or foil that covers the bottom pan to separate them.
Place the second pan on top of the short trivet, or first pan and make sure it sits flat.
Close the lid and seal. Pressure cook on HIGH for 60 minutes.
When cook time has completed, let the pressure release naturally, around 15-20 minutes.
Remove both pans, remove covers and let the sponges cool slightly in the pans (about 10 minutes. Push the bottom up and flip each one over onto a cooling rack.
Follow the rest of Mary’s recipe to create the “sandwich” which is iconic for British Tea time!
Enjoy!
Mary Berry’s Victoria Sponge Sandwich Recipe
**NOTES: I am not an Amazon affiliate and I receive no monies for recommending products. As a published, independent, unbiased Product Reviewer for over 30 years, I can recommend those products that I actually have tested, that have passed my reviews and that I use myself. All the product listed are ones that I purchased, love and use in my own kitchen
About Vickilynn Parnes
