The Trifecta of Classic British Bakes

Mini Victoria Sandwiches, Lemon Tartlets and Scones

Clearly, scones and the Victoria sandwich are quintessentially British (although the word scone may be derived from the Middle Dutch word schoonbrood — among other theories — meaning “fine white bread,” but even that probably arrived in the British lexicon by way of Scotland). The lemon tart, on the other hand, could be considered more of a mongrel in terms of its origins.

Lemons traveled the Silk Route from India — where they’ve been cultivated for more than 2,500 years — through the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean, arriving in Europe around 200 AD. Some thousand years later, it was Queen Eleanor, wife of England’s Edward I, whose longing for the fruits of her youth in Castile (now part of Spain) brought 15 lemons, 7 oranges and 230 pomegranates to England in 1289.

Apparently, lemon curd was developed in England in the 18^th century by Quakers and brought to America in 1774 by the Shakers, a breakaway sect of the Quakers. An American cook, Elizabeth Goodwell, is credited with the first known written recipe, in 1806, for lemon custard pie with a pastry crust. From there, it seems to have traveled full circle to France, where lemon tarts (aka tartes au citron) began proliferating in restaurants and patisseries in the 19^th century. Still, the lemon tart has roots in Britain, so I’m calling this challenge the Trifecta of Classic British Bakes.

This “back to basics” challenge may seem simple enough, but it takes a lot of knowledge and time management skills to juggle three bakes at once — let alone with a pared-down recipe containing very little instruction. The bakers in the Great White Tent had to know how to: (1) make jam, (2) make a Victoria sponge, (3) make short crust pastry, (4) make lemon custard, (5) make perfect scones, and (6) accomplish all of it in two hours.

Having spent nine weeks under the steely glare of Paul Hollywood and the motherly but perfectionist gaze of Mary Berry, however, these bakers had proved themselves worthy of the challenge. Yes, they hit some bumps in the road — Richard had never made lemon tarts before and ended up scrambling the custard, and Luis had some problems with his pastry crust — but they all accomplished the task at hand, albeit some with better results than others. (In the end, Nancy’s were deemed the best. The only criticism Mary could come up with was that she hadn’t piped the whipped cream onto her Victoria sandwiches.)

I took notes on how the bakers multitasked so I could follow their lead. Here’s the order in which they accomplished this trio of bakes:

1. Make pastry dough and chill.
2. Make strawberry jam for Victoria sandwiches.
3. Make Victoria sponges.
4. Roll out pastry dough for tartlets and blind bake them.
5. Make scones.
6. Make lemon custard.
7. Fill and bake tartlets.
8. Whip the cream for Victoria sandwiches.
9. Assemble Victoria sandwiches.
10. Decorate tarts with chocolate piping.

As always, it took me longer than the time they were allotted, but I was pretty proud of my results. Not having the individual tart and cake pans they used, I improvised by using muffin tins. That means my lemon tartlets were smaller than theirs. My custard had a few cracks and bubbles on top, but they weren’t completely scrambled. My scones got a good rise, but Mary probably would have said they were too pale. (Also, the last few that I had to cut from mushed together scraps of dough kind of fell apart when they baked.) The only problem with my Victoria sandwiches is that I didn’t whip my cream enough, so it was rather droopy. 

I love making things in miniature because they’re fun and easy to share. The Victoria sandwiches and lemon tartlets were a hit with my neighbors as well as my fellow Great British Bake Off fans, Lori and Dan. I confess that I kept all the scones for myself and my husband to enjoy for breakfast, but their petite size would be perfect for an afternoon tea with friends. 

Links to each of these recipes can be found here, here and here, but I’ve adapted them for American bakers below.

RECIPE NOTES: I have specified extra-large eggs for these recipes because they are the U.S. equivalent of large eggs in the UK. In recipes that call for fewer than four eggs, the size of eggs used often won’t make much difference in the results, but there are exceptions. For instance, a Victoria sponge is traditionally made with equal weights of flour, sugar, eggs and butter. Therefore, the size of the eggs used can throw off the ratio. 

TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE: In looking over my photos, I realize now just how many bubbles my lemon tarts had (although a dusting of powdered sugar goes a long way in hiding them!). I did a little research, and found this helpful article, which recommends stirring the eggs and sugar together rather than whisking, then letting it sit for half an hour to let the sugar dissolve, stirring occasionally, before adding the cream, lemon juice and zest. It also suggests skimming off any air bubbles before pouring the mixture into the tart shells. I will definitely try that next time!

Next week: Pièce Montée