St George’s Day in England is celebrated on 23 April. But what festive cake we should be indulging in for this celebration? William Shakepeare, who wrote the famous words about Richard III’s request for a horse, has his birthday on the same day. He may not have had a birthday cake with candles as is the current norm, though scones and Shrewsbury Biscuits were already popular in his time and Maids of Honour had been around since the time of Henry VIII.
I was delighted that a recipe for St George’s Hall Cake from my Grandma Abson’s collection was kindly published by our friends in North West Bylines in honour of Eurovision in Liverpool in May 2023. This cake is still flourishing in that corner of England but I am still searching for a national cake for our neglected St George.
St George’s breads and cakes around the world
In Bulgaria, check out this glorious Mesenitza they have to celebrate St George’s Day on 6 May, as in the Orthodox calendar. St George is top of the charts in the calendar of saints’ days in other countries that celebrate his legend, with sumptuous treats on the same day in Canada, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Romania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Macedonia. In Turkey, where he was born, Baklava and Revani Semolina Cake are baked for festivals in his name for celebrations on that day.
What is the most quintessentially English cake today that we could put forward to commemorate this ‘amazing’ guy who slayed dragons and fought the good fight but who sadly came to such a sticky end? You may have plenty of ideas but, for me, it must be the most famous cake of all – the Victoria Sandwich.
It’s the staple item for a perfect afternoon tea, invented by Queen Victoria when she was a young princess. She preferred to eat sponge rather than bread sandwiches and Isabella Beeton and other 19th century cooks made this concoction pride of place in their recipe books.
Grandma’s Victoria Sandwich
Here’s my Grandma Abson’s prizewinning recipe for Victoria Sandwich (she won the Chapel Autumn Fayre baking competition every year). You don’t need to worry about imperial or metric but just weigh out three eggs and then the same weight of the eggs for the main ingredients – butter, sugar and flour and a little milk so the mixture isn’t too stiff.
Victoria Sandwich
3 eggs and their weight in :
caster sugar
self raising flour (sieved)
butter
milk to mix.
Cream the butter and sugar (I use a hand whisk or mixer for ease). Beat the eggs and add to the creamed mixture. Fold in the sieved flour. Add a little milk to make a dropping consistency. Put into 2 x 7 in/18 cms lined or greased round tins. Bake for 20 minutes in a quick oven. (Mark 5, 190 C or 170C Fan). When cold, spread raspberry jam on top of one cake and place the other on top. Sprinkle icing sugar on the top cake. We like adding Butter cream in the middle with the jam or you can use whipped cream.
So happy St George’s Day – whatever you choose to bake have a great day!
You can read more about Grandma Abson’s life, her passion for baking and recipes HERE and head over to Instagram @grandmaabson to see Meryl baking with her grandchildren.
