Deborah's special afternoon tea recipe

Ingredients

• 225 g self-raising flour
• 225 g soft vegetable spread
• 225 g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• Strawberry jam
• Whipped double cream
• Icing sugar, to dust
• 110 g plain flour
• 55 g icing sugar
• 55 g cornflour
• 110 g butter, hard from the fridge
• Drop of vanilla essence
• 225 g self-raising flour
• 55 g butter
• 25 g caster sugar
• 8 strawberries chopped
• 1 egg
• splash of milk

Method

1. For the cake, heat the oven to 170°C (gas 3). Grease a 20cm round tin and line its base. Beat 225g self-raising flour, the vegetable spread, 225g caster sugar, four eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla together for about 5 minutes. Transfer to the tin and bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes, until safely cooked through. Cool in the tin before turning out.
2. Once completely cold, split the cake horizontally into three layers. Fill the layers with strawberry jam and whipped double cream, reassemble and dust with icing sugar.
3. For the shortbread, reduce the oven to 150°C (gas 2). Process the plain flour, icing sugar and cornflour with the cold butter until crumb-like. Add the drop of vanilla and process only until a dough forms.
4. Roll the shortbread dough to about 1cm thick, cut into shapes and bake on a tray for about 15 minutes. Cool fully; omit the source's unlisted vanilla-sugar finish unless it is separately specified.
5. For the scones, raise the oven to 190°C (gas 5). Rub or process the remaining 225g self-raising flour with 55g butter until crumb-like, then mix in 25g caster sugar and the chopped strawberries.
6. Beat the remaining egg with enough milk to form a soft dough. Roll it to about 2.5cm thick, cut with a 7cm cutter and bake for about 15 minutes, until risen and cooked through.