My daughter is getting very hyped about St Valentine’s day – she is currently focusing on making her teacher a card, a card for Niall from One Direction (God help me, she is only 5) and a cake for her daddy. I haven’t the heart to break it to her that Daddy is not that keen on eating too much cake. I have also been told that it is OK to buy her a little teddy or bunny – ‘just something small for me’.

Victoria sponge was the first cake I ever learnt to make. I still love it and you really cant fail with this cake as long as you use soft butter and don’t overmix. Its extra special with the glazed blueberries, which make a great addition to most desserts especially a cheesecake or apple tart. The healthy part of this cake is to bring it into work and show your workmakes how much you love them and only eat one slice yourself!

Cake
4 free-range eggs
8oz caster sugar
8oz self-raising flour or self-raising gluten free flour blend
2 tsp baking powder
8oz unsalted soft butter
2 oz dessicated coconut
jam or lemon curd to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Grease and line 2 x 20cm/8in sandwich tins
Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then add the sugar, flour, baking powder and soft butter.
Mix everything together until well combined- it is easiest with an electric hand mixer
The finished mixture should be of a soft ‘dropping’ consistency – it should fall off a spoon easily.
Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and gently smooth the surface of the cakes.
Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
Check them after 20 minutes.
The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins.
Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool in their tins for a few minutes then run a palette knife around the inside edge of the tin and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.
Set aside to cool completely.
To assemble the cake, place one cake half onto a plate and spread it with plenty of jam or lemon curd.Top with some more lemon curd and cover with dessicated coconut.
Serve with the blueberries and tell you’re other half you love them.

Glazed Blueberries
2 tubs blueberries – about 400g
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp cassis if you have it
zest of half a lemon

Heat a pan to medium and tip in the blueberries,
Sprinkle over the sugar and shake the pan
Add the water and cassis if you are using it and swirl the pan to make a glaze