Lemon Victoria Sponge Cakes with Almond Crisps

Grease 8 friand tins or 8 holes in a standard muffin tin and line the bases with baking paper. Place the friand tins on a lipped baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

Beat the butter and sugar until very light and pale. Gradually beat in the eggs (the mixture may curdle), scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Sift in the flour and add the salt, milk and lemon zest. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold together making sure there are no pockets of flour in the batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the tins and smooth the tops.
Bake for 10-11 minutes until golden and risen and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the tins. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes.
Turn out and remove the baking paper then leave to cool completely.
To assemble: Cut the cakes in half and spread the base with raspberry jam. If using the crisps, lightly brush the tops with jam or honey then
spread the cut side with cream. Sandwich together and top with almonds crisps otherwise if serving plain just dust the tops with icing sugar and serve. Makes 8

Almond Crisps
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
Toss the almonds and sugar together in a bowl and add the egg white and mix well. (Don’t whisk the egg white.) Spread the mixture onto a lined baking tray and bake for about 8 minutes, turning every 3 minutes, until golden and caramelized. The mixture will puff up and be very sticky when cooking but will become crisp when cooled. Cool on the tray and store in an airtight container.