Making mini Victoria sponges

Hello! Thanks for choosing this lesson. My name's Mr. Ballam. And today, we're going to be making mini Victoria sponges. Let's get started, shall we? So what are we going to learn today? Well, by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to use your food skills to make Victoria sponges. The mini ones, they're absolutely delicious. Now, there are some key words that I want to go through before we start. And the first one is Queen Victoria, and she was queen of the UK from 1837 to 1901. The second word is discrimination tests, and these are tests that rate the intensity of sensory attributes or compare similar foods. For example, things like crunchiness or creaminess. The next one is sponge, and that's a sweet, soft baked food usually made from sugar, butter, flour, and eggs. The fourth one is folding, and that's a process. That's mixing in flour through the action of cutting and turning the mixture with a spoon. And you do that to make sure you don't lose too much air. And the last word is creaming, and this is to work two ingredients together into a smooth paste. Let's get started with the first part of the lesson, sponge origins. Now, Victoria's sponge was named after Queen Victoria, and it was thought that it was her favorite, and she was queen of the UK from 1837 to 1901. And Victoria Sponge, as with other cakes such as the Battenberg, are popular with afternoon tea. And the Victoria sponge is also known as the Victoria sandwich cake, Victoria sponge cake, and the Victoria sandwich. Lots of different descriptions for the same thing. Now, sponges are traditionally made with eggs, flour, and sugar, and sometimes they're called a fatless sponge. You may have heard of that before. Things like Swiss roll are fatless sponges. But sometimes butter is also used, which is referred to as a sponge cake or cake. For example, a lemon drizzle cake uses this method. But often, the term sponge and cake are used interchangeably. So let's have a quick check for understanding, shall we? So true or false, a sponge and cake are the same. Well, that's false, isn't it? And why is that? Well, while the terms sponge and cake are often used interchangeably, sponges are traditionally made with just eggs, flour, and sugar. Do you remember they're the fatless sponges, things like Swiss rolls, whereas cakes are made with eggs, flour, sugar, and butter. Things like lemon drizzle cake. Brilliant! Well done. Now, traditionally, a Victoria sandwich cake comprises these things. So two cake layers, a jam filling, and caster sugar or icing sugar dusted on top. And they may also include things like a vanilla buttercream or perhaps fresh whipped cream as well, or fresh fruit such as lovely strawberries. And sometimes for special occasions, there may be other fillings are added, or perhaps it's iced on the top, a bit like this Union Jack Victoria sandwich cake just here. And the mini Victoria sponges that we're going to make use the following ingredient. So the first one is caster sugar, and caster sugar is a finer sugar than granulated sugar, and it's easier to mix with the butter. And the caster sugar helps to make the sponge light and fluffy. The other ingredient we're going to add is butter, and butter provides a rich flavor and helps with the texture and gives moisture to the sponges. And if you don't want to use butter, you can use, for example, baking block or a vegan alternative. We're also going to be using eggs today, and the eggs have beaten to trap in some air and to help the cakes to rise. And the protein from the egg helps to keep the sponge together and hold its shape. And also, we're going to be using self-raising flour. Now, the flour provides the main structure for the sponges, and it already includes baking powder, which produces carbon dioxide when mixed with the liquid, helping the sponges to rise. Other ingredients include baking powder. So although we've already got some in the self-raising flour, we're adding extra baking flour to make sure it's really light and fluffy. And baking powder, as I've already mentioned, produces the carbon dioxide when mixed with the liquid. And with the heat from the oven, it helps the sponge to rise. We're also going to be using jam, and jam is a mixture of fruit and sugar that's been cooked until it thickens, then it's cooled down. And pectin, a substance found in many fruits, helps the mixture, the jam mixture, to gel, to set, and the sugar helps to preserve the jam. So let's have a quick check for understanding, shall we? So which ingredients help sponges to rise, a, b, c, d? Yes, that's right, a, baking powder. Anything else? Yes, brilliant. Self-raising flour. So these help the cakes to rise. But is there anything else? Yes, that's right. Also, eggs. So these three ingredients help the sponges to rise. Well done! So I've got a task for you now. And what I want you to do is to match the ingredient to its correct explanation below. So look at the ingredients along the top and then match them to the explanations underneath. Good luck. I'm sure you'll do really well. I'm going to come back very soon to see how you've got on. Pause the video. So how did you get on? Let's have a look together, shall we? So let's start with caster sugar. That's right. Caster sugar links to finer than granulated sugar. Do you remember we used that one for creaming in because it helps us get more air? How about butter? Yes, that helps with the texture and also adds moisture too. And eggs? Brilliant! They're beaten to help the sponge to rise. And self-raising flour? Yes, that's right. That contains baking powder. Baking powder? Yes, brilliant. That produces carbon dioxide when mixed with a liquid. And that means the jam. That's right, it's fruit and sugar that's cooked until it thickens. Brilliant work! Well done. Well, let's move on to the second part of the lesson, which is all around making and evaluating your mini Victoria sponges. So the first thing we're going to look at is discrimination tests, and these can be used to rate the intensity of sensory attributes. So for example, they may just focus on one particular sensory attribute of the food. So for example, crunchiness, or perhaps they could be used to compare similar foods. So you might have two foods that are similar and you have to compare them for one sensory attribute. So for example, in this occasion, which one is the most creamy and you have to pick. So these are discrimination tests. And we are going to use a discrimination test to rate the sensory attributes of our victoria sponges, and we're going to use a star diagram, or some of you may have called it a star profile before. And to perform the test, we're going to choose eight attributes that describe the food and they should be measurable. So things like nice is not really a word that we're going to pick here. So we need eight sensory attributes. They're really important. So I want you then to taste the sponge, thinking about the eight sensory attributes that you've chosen. Next, you need to decide on the intensity of each attribute on a scale between zero and 10. So the higher the number, the greater the intensity. So if one of your words was crunchy, for example, zero would mean that it's not crunchy at all, and 10 would mean it's the most crunchiest thing you've ever had. And we mark the star diagram with a score, making a star. You can see here on the example on the screen, you can see how we've rated the different sensory attributes between zero and 10 for the different eight different words. And then once that's done, it produces a star. So quick check for understanding. So true or false, discrimination tests evaluate the likes and dislikes of similar foods. Yes, that's right. It's false, isn't it? And why is that? Well, discrimination tests are used to rate the intensity of different sensory attributes and compare similar products. So for example, it might be which one is the most creamy? And when we make our mini Victoria sponges, we're going to use a number of different food skills. And the first one is measuring and we're going to be using weighing scales. And before we measure, make sure they say zero. That's really important. And also, we're going to be using measuring spoons. And remember to use the correct sized spoon. It sounds silly, but sometimes things can go wrong. We're also going to be creaming. You can see here the mixture here. This is where the sugar and the butter is being creamed together until it's light and fluffy. And the action of creaming helps the sponges to rise because it gets a little bit of air trapped with the sugar in the butter. And you can do this by hand or perhaps using a hand-held electric whisk. We're also going to be mixing. So the eggs are beaten, which is a kind of mixing, and then they're going to be gradually added to the creamed mixture. Now, we always need to make sure when we touch raw eggs, we wash our hands afterwards. And again, the beaten egg helps the cake to rise, but also, it provides structure to the sponge. And it's really important when we add the beaten egg, it's added a little at a time to prevent the mixture from curdling or splitting. Another food skill we're going to use is folding. You can see folding in action here using a metal spoon. And the self-raising flour and baking powder is folded into the mixture. So the flour is added on top of the mixture, and then it's cut through with the spoon and folded over. And the reason for folding is, you're trying to keep as much air in the mixture as possible. So let's have a quick check, shall we? So the food skill folding is used to a, b, or c? Brilliant! That's right. Yes, it's b, isn't it? It helps to keep as much air in the mixture as possible. Great work! Another food skill we're going to use is portioning. And you can see here that the sponge mixture is being equally divided or portioned into the muffin cases. And we're going to use two spoons here so it's hygienic. And the reason we're making mini sponges is that they cook quicker as the heat can transform more quickly. We're also going to be baking. So first of all, make sure your oven is preheated so it's at the right temperature when you need it. Secondly, always make sure you use oven gloves, putting food into and taking food out of the oven. It's really important because burns really do hurt. And the sponges will take about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your oven, and they should be golden brown and a little bit springy on the touch. So now, I want you to go ahead and make your mini Victoria sponges. I bet you can't wait. But before you do, I want to make sure that you're ready to cook. So the first thing is just get ready. So tie up any long hair, remove jumpers, wash your hands, and wear a clean apron. And also, get your ingredients and your equipment ready. And then while you're preparing and cooking, I want you to be safe and hygienic. Remember things like washing your hands when you've touched a raw egg. I also want you to focus on your food skills so that might be accurate. Measuring, for example, or perhaps folding in gently so you keep all the air in the mixture. And here's the recipe. So here are the ingredients, first of all. And here's the equipment that you'll need. You might want to pause the video to get all these ready. And here's the method, part one. And here's the last part of the method. So good luck to you. I'm sure you're going to do absolutely brilliantly, and we'll come back very soon to see how you've got on. Remember to pause the video. Good luck! So then, how did you get on? Did you enjoy making your mini Victoria sponges? I bet you did. Well, let's just go through the recipe to see how you were successful, what you did. Well, the first thing you would've done is to preheat the oven so it's ready when you need it. That's really important. The second is, you would've put the muffin cases in the muffin tin. Then you would've creamed the sugar and the butter together until it's light and fluffy. Next, you would've beaten the eggs, and then you would've gradually added in the beaten eggs to the creamed mixture. Then you would've sifted the flour and the baking powder onto a plate or a piece of grease-proof paper. Then we would've folded the flour into the mixture gently to make sure we keep as much air in the mix as possible. Next, we'd have divided that mixture equally between all the muffin cases, and then we would've baked them for about 10 to 15 minutes until they're golden brown and a little bit springy to the touch. Then we would've cooled them down. Then we would've cut each sponge in half and spread the bottom part with jam. And lastly, we would've put the top of the sponge back on and dusted it with a little bit of caster sugar. Brilliant work! Well done. So next, I want you to conduct a star diagram discrimination test on your very own mini Victoria sponges. And I want you to describe your results and any improvements you might make next time. So I want you to use the Victoria sponge downloadable file, and I want you to choose eight attributes that describe the characteristics of the sponge. So for example, it could be things like chewy, buttery, or smooth, not things like nice. Remember, they need to be sensory discrimination words. And then in the downloadable file, you would then type in these eight attributes in cells A4 to A11. Next, you would've tasted just one sponge. Then you would decide on the intensity of each of those attributes. Do you remember, on a scale between zero and 10, where 10 is the greatest intensity? Then you will type in the number or the score that you've given for each attribute in the file. Remember, in cells B4 to B11. And what will happen is, the star diagram will then update making a star, just like the one on the screen. And then very lastly, I want you to describe your results. So we have a few suggestions on the screen now of sensory words, but you can pick your own two. So go ahead and perform your very own star diagram discrimination test. Remember to pause the video and good luck. Brilliant! How did you get on? Did you enjoy doing that? It's really interesting, isn't it, deciding the intensity of different sensory attributes? So here's my results on the screen. You can see here, I've created a star diagram based on the eight different sensory attributes that I decided on. And my results show that the sponge is sweet and buttery. You can see the scores on the star diagram there for sweetness and buttery. Also, it has a golden brown appearance, so that's good too. However, it's not very soft, crumbly, or chewy either. So what can I do next time? Well, I think I need to follow the recipe better. That's what it's telling me. And also, I need to use the right amount of ingredients because based on my results, some things didn't quite work properly. And also, I need to make sure air is mixed into the cake mixture much better too. Oh, brilliant! Well done. I hope you really enjoyed today's lesson about making mini Victoria sponges. And we've learned so much, haven't we? Let's have a quick summary of what we've learned today. So the first one is the Victoria sponge was named after Queen Victoria. And traditionally, a Victoria sponge has two cake layers with a jam filling and caster sugar or icing sugar dusted on top. We also learned that discrimination tests can help to rate the intensity of different sensory attributes as well as compare similar food. Do you remember which one is most creamy, for example? And when we've been looking at all the different ingredients and food skills, we can see that the action of creaming the butter and sugar and the use of the self-raising flour and beaten eggs helps the cakes to rise. We also know that baking mini sponges allows them to cook more quickly as the heat can transfer more easily too. And lastly, we've used quite a lot of different food skills, haven't we? So things like measuring, creaming, mixing, folding, portioning, and using the oven too. So brilliant work! Well done to you, and hope you come back very soon for another cooking and nutrition lesson with me. Thanks a lot. Bye!.