Capturing the Elusive Sponge

     Not long after moving to the Isle of Lewis, I developed feelings for the queen of tea accompaniments, the Victoria Sponge.  The Victoria Sponge is amazing.  I wish I could translate the texture, taste and aesthetic beauty of this wonderful dessert into a description worthy of its splendor, but all I can think to say is that it's amazing.  It's perfect when made by experienced hands, even if those experienced hands are supervising.  That's right, back on Lewis, I successfully baked a Victoria Sponge under the careful supervision of a master.  It was...yeah...amazing.

     Anyway, back to the story.  I decided I'd make this dessert for my family last month, so after taking another look at a tested and tried recipe given to me by the best sponge makers on the island, I gathered my supplies.  It didn't take me long to find some holes...  Caster sugar?  What is that?  Obviously something that Americans don't see the point of.  Which would account for my never having met a cake worthy of the Victoria Sponge on this side of the pond.  Once I decided to just use regular sugar, I realized that we didn't have any self-raising flour handy, but I'd already set my heart on making it that second, so I used regular flour with some baking...soda?  powder?  Something along those lines.

     So, I made my cake.  I could tell fairly early on that it would not be the kind of sponge I was used to hogging at various music nights, and tea breaks on Lewis.  Here's the finished product...

     Well, it was spongy.  Like, dish spongy.  The taste was ok, and made it edible, but good grief what a let down.  Some people decided to forego the pleasure of my sponge...  Smart kid.