- Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Grease and line 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins with nonstick baking paper.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until very pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, adding 1 tbsp flour with each one, mixing between each addition, until combined. Gently fold in the remaining flour, the cornflour, baking powder and a pinch of salt until no white streaks remain; stir in the milk and vanilla extract.
- Divide the mix between the tins, level the tops, then make a slight indent in the centres. Bake for 25-30 mins until risen and golden, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 15 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To decorate, whisk the butter and icing sugar together until pale, thick and fluffy. Whisk in a little milk to loosen; the buttercream should be spreadable but still hold its shape.
- Transfer one of the sponges to a serving plate. Using a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle, pipe small rounds of buttercream over the sponge, then dot over the jam to fill the gaps in between; sandwich with the second sponge. Alternatively, swirl over the buttercream with the back of a spoon, then spoon the jam into the centre; sandwich with the second sponge. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar.
Flavour twists
Lemon and cardamom: Rub the zest of 1 lemon into the sugar before beating with the butter in step 2. Swap the milk for the juice of 1 lemon (made up to 60ml with milk), and stir in the crushed seeds of 6 cardamom pods with the flour. Use lemon juice instead of milk for the buttercream and fill with lemon curd instead of jam.
Autumn spiced: Swap the caster sugar for 150g light brown soft sugar and 75g dark brown soft sugar. Stir in 1 tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp each ground ginger and allspice along with the flour and use apple juice instead of milk. Fill with plum jam.
Chocolate and caramel: Replace the caster sugar with light brown soft sugar and swap out 4 tbsp self-raising flour for cocoa powder. Whisk 100g smooth caramelised biscuit spread into the buttercream, and swap the jam for salted caramel sauce.
Freezing and defrosting guidelines
Freeze undecorated sponges. In order to enjoy optimum flavour and quality, frozen items are best used within 3 months of their freezing date. For more tips on freezing and defrosting food, read our article Love Your Freezer.
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