The perfect Victoria sandwich cake

A bit of a classic either to enjoy at home or al fresco.

Ingredients For a 9in diameter spring-fold tin (3in height): serves nine 300g whole organic eggs 300g self-raising flour sieved 300g caster sugar 300g butter, soft 1 vanilla bean split and scraped

Filling 200ml double cream 10g caster sugar 50g raspberry jam

Method Leave all the ingredients at room temperature for an hour; the butter must be soft. Line the bottom of the tin with greaseproof paper, then smear soft butter onto it. Sprinkle the flour in and tap it around tip the excess flour out (do not use the weighed flour). Break the eggs into a bowl.

Place the soft butter and caster sugar into a mixing bowl with a beater and add half a vanilla bean. Turn the machine onto a medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together for three minutes, then add the eggs slowly one by one, still on a medium speed as you add each egg. Add a tablespoon of the weighed flour. This will help the mix to not curdle and split. Scrape the sides of the bowl now and again. Once you've added all the eggs, add the remaining flour to the cake mix.

Pour this into the cake tin and place into the middle of a fan-assisted oven at 180×C for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 170×C for a further 10?15 minutes. To check the cake is ready, insert a knife into the middle and when you withdraw the knife, it should come out clean. Turn out onto a cooling wire and leave for at least 20 minutes.

Whip the cream with the caster sugar and the seeds from the remaining half a vanilla bean whip it up lightly until it's semi-firm. Cut the cake in half through the middle and spread both halves with jam and then the bottom with the cream as well. Place the other half on top and then dust with the icing sugar.