A Gertrude à la Crème

Another recipe from Eliza Acton, the most reliable of Victorian cooks. This is a good way to use a whole, slightly stale sponge cake. Stale cakes are not something modern households usually have to deal with, but they were not uncommon in large houses such as Audley End: ovens took a while to come to temperature, and could be fickle, while unexpected guests might well descend, wanting tea and cake, so it was a wise precaution to have a few