I make a similar recipe often and the cake produced is nice and light. I
cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs gradually beating with an
electric mixer on a medium setting.If it curdles, i just carry on regardless
and have never noticed a difference in the cake so I wouldn't worry too
much! I don't fold the flour in with a spoon, but beat it in with the mixer.
As for using icing sugar, this could well have been your problem.I'm sure
that if you use caster sugar next time it will be fine. Also instead of
using water, I tend to use milk to let down my mixture. Makes the cake much
lighter.
Mel.

"Darrell Grainger" > wrote in message
...
> Greetings fellow bakers,
>
> I just tried making a Victoria Sandwich cake over the weekend. I've been
> told this is also called a pound cake (pound of sugar, pound of butter,
> pound of flour). The cake is fairly simple. I used:
>
> - 196g of unsalted butter
> - 196g of self-raising flour
> - 196g of icing sugar (recipe called for caster sugar)
> - 3 eggs (188g total weight)
> - a little warm water
>
> They turned out a little dry and dense. Still edible but not the greatest
> cake I've ever made.
>
> Things to note:
>
> You mix the butter and sugar together first then slowly add the eggs. If
> the mixture curdles while adding the eggs, add a tablespoon of the flour.
> I had to do this. Why did they curdle? Should I have been mixing faster at
> a higher speed and adding the eggs faster?
>
> Also, you are to folder in the flour then add warm water nutil you get a
> drop consistency. I think I might have over folded the mixture.
>
> The recipe called for caster sugar but all I had ws icing sugar. The
> manufacturer added cornstarch to the sugar. Did this have some affect?
>
> Do you think any one of these factors could have contributed to the cake
> being a little dense? Or is it typically a dense cake?
>
> Any tips you could provide would be appreciated.
>
> --
> Send e-mail to: darrell at cs dot toronto dot edu
> Don't send e-mail to