Victoria sponge cakes are a classic bake that appeals to most people's tastes. Whenever I make a Victoria sandwich cake, I always seem to gravitate to Mary Berry's all-in-one method - it makes for a perfect sponge that never fails. However, I wanted to see how other celebrity chef recipes compare. With this in mind, I followed James Martin's classic Victoria sponge cake recipe and was surprised by how good both were.

James Martin has a range of incredible recipes, and one I particularly love is his Swiss roll recipe, which was surprisingly easy to make. While I had high hopes for his Victoria sponge cake, I wasn't sure if it could match or beat Mary Berry's recipe. After all, she is known as the Queen of British baking for a reason.

Mary Berry's Victoria sponge cake

Mary Berry's Victoria sponge cake recipe is as simple as it gets. You just add all the ingredients needed to a bowl and mix - either by hand or using an electric mixer - before splitting the mixture into two small tins and baking them in the oven.

She recommends baking the cakes in the oven at 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 for 20 to 25 minutes; however, I find that the cakes need a little longer at this lower temperature. I find the sponges come out perfectly after 30 minutes.

Once baked, cooled and assembled, Mary Berry's Victoria sponge cake produced light, fluffy and airy results. I also loved how well both layers of sponge had risen equally, which improved the texture massively.

James Martin's Victoria sponge cake

While still simple, James Martin's Victoria sponge cake recipe requires a few extra steps and ingredients.

Instead of the all-in-one method, James recommends creaming the butter, sugar and vanilla essence first before beating in the eggs one by one and folding in the sifted flour last.

He also recommends baking the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes, but at a slightly higher temperature of 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.

Instead of just opting for jam and cream for the filling, James recommends adding raspberries to the centre. I loved this addition to the filling, as it gave the cake a great freshness and sharpness that cut through the sweetness.

In terms of the sponge, it was delicious and incredibly moist, but it was pretty dense, particularly the top sponge.

Overall, both Victoria sandwich cakes tasted amazing, but I have to give it to Mary Berry as the winner, as the sponge came out far better.