Brought to you by Kerrygold.

I shall be Queen of the Victoria Sponge before the day is out.

I'm going to be completely honest with you and admit that I've never been a true baker. I've always wanted to be, but I've lacked confidence and utensils in the past which is a devastating combination for any baker. The other irony of this cruel fact is that baking actually does run in my family, my cousin is a stellar baker who makes 7-tiered wedding cakes for the sheer craic of a Wednesday. It doesn't stop there, my Nana was unstoppable when it came to baking. I would be eternally mesmerised by how, literally within an hour of the family arriving, she'd knock together an apple tart or a Pavlova, still manage to cook the actual dinner, give out to Grandad for not helping and 'shoo' us out of the kitchen all at the same time. She was a talented woman. When lockdown hit, I was determined to flex my baking muscles. I knew that it ran in my blood and that if I tried I could potentially be the next Mary Berry and I didn't want to deprive the world of that! What to bake was the big question, I didn't want to be a flash in the pan banana bread casual baker... I wanted to go CLASSIC. A Victoria Sponge cake is the epitome of a classic bake (alright Paul Hollywood calm down). In all seriousness though, if we were to go back and actually look at the genuine history of it, you can't argue with the classic nature of the cake. The Duchess of Bedford (one of Queen Victoria's Ladies-in-waiting) is credited as being the creator of the classic sponge cake, and Queen Victoria herself was such a fan that she would have a slice of the spongey goodness every night with her cup of tea. Much like Queen Vicky, I'm partial to an evening cuppa and I've decided there's nothing wrong with bringing a bit of royalty into my routine because, at the end of the day, we all deserve a treat! I don't have any Ladies-in-waiting to help me unfortunately but luckily help is at hand in the form of Marian Kilcoyne of The Pepper Pot café, her divinely simple recipe, and of course... butter (insert drool emoji here). We all know there's not a single thing out there that doesn't taste better with butter and of course being Irish and HUMAN, it's Kerrygold all the way. The 'At Home with Kerrygold' Instagram series sees food experts come together from the comfort of their own homes and display some mouth-watering dishes that are easy to follow and has something every member of the family will enjoy. Honestly, the idea of attempting a Victoria sponge seemed daunting but after checking out Marian's recipe and directions, it was an absolutely delicious piece of cake... see what I did there? Here's what you'll need for the Victoria sponge:

• 125g Kerrygold Pure Irish Salted Butter
• 175g castor sugar
• 3 eggs (M)
• 175g of plain flour
• 1tsp of baking powder
• Splash of milk

For the filling:

• Whipped cream
• Fresh raspberries
• Raspberry jam
• Icing sugar

When you have everything together follow these simple directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until you get a light and fluffy consistency
3. Add the eggs into this mixture, one by one. Ensure to incorporate each egg before adding the next
4. Next, sieve in the flour and the baking powder together. F0ld this through the wet mixture making sure not to over mix
5. Add a splash of milk to bind the ingredients, then transfer the mixture into an eight inch lined tin
6. Bake the mixture for 35 minutes
7. When the cake has cooled, split the sponge along the equator into two halves and smear the bottom half with raspberry jam
8. Top the jam with freshly whipped cream and place the top half of the sponge back on
9. Finally, dust the cake with icing sugar and decorate with fresh raspberries and edible flowers

I didn't have edible flowers to hand so I definitely used my imagination and wrote 'STAR BAKER' on the top of my Victoria sponge with chocolate. It's not the classic way to do it but I'm pretty sure Queen Victoria and my Nana would be very proud of my efforts. Check out Marian making this stunning recipe below and stay tuned to our Instagram account for an exciting competition that's coming soon. Happy baking! Brought to you by Kerrygold Each food expert that features on the #AtHomeWithKerrygold series, shares their tried & tested recipes that you will love to try. With different themed dishes including baking, BBQ & brunch ideas there is something for everyone in the family to enjoy. You can find all of the At Home With Kerrygold recipes on Kerrygold.com and all the how-to-videos on Kerrygold’s Instagram