Victoria sponge: how much it costs to make, per portion
A classic 20 cm two-layer Victoria sponge cut into 12 slices: four-egg all-in-one sponge, strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream. Costed from JJ Foodservice wholesale prices dated 9 October 2026. Vanilla extract is from our 7 September Tesco price.
The lowest price is the one that just reaches 68% GP, the UK food GP benchmark (UKHospitality × Christie & Co, 2022: 65.9–69% food GP across every segment). It covers the ingredients at a normal margin, not staff, rent or energy, and most cafés, pubs and takeaways charge more for simple dishes. Check what places near you charge. GP is worked out on the ex-VAT price.
VAT: cold cake sold to take away is zero-rated; eaten on your premises (including your own tables outside) it is standard-rated at 20%. HMRC VAT Notice 709/1, section 4.1: “Cold takeaway food and drink is zero-rated, as long as it’s not of a type that’s always standard-rated” (Catering, takeaway food).
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Ingredients and cost, 12 portions
| Ingredient | Pack price | Pack size | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsalted butter | £30.49 | 5000 g | 325 g | £1.98 |
| Caster sugar | £21.49 | 12000 g | 235 g | £0.42 |
| Self-raising flour | £1.79 | 1500 g | 225 g | £0.27 |
| Eggs, medium | £3.49 | 30 each | 4 each | £0.47 |
| Baking powder | £1.79 | 800 g | 5 g | £0.01 |
| Whole milk | £1.69 | 2000 ml | 30 ml | £0.03 |
| Vanilla extract | £4.45 | 95 ml | 5 ml | £0.23 |
| Strawberry jam | £10.99 | 3000 g | 150 g | £0.55 |
| Icing sugar | £6.99 | 3000 g | 200 g | £0.47 |
| Batch total | £4.42 | |||
| Per portion (÷ 12) | £0.37 | |||
Cost per line is pack price × (amount used ÷ pack size), the same sum the tool runs. Change one pack price and every line that uses it moves.
What it really costs: waste and staff time
| Ingredients | £0.37 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.02 |
| Staff time: 30 min hands-on for the batch of 12 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £0.66 |
| Food, waste and staff per portion | £1.05 |
At the lowest price (£1.15 ex VAT) that is 91% of the price, before rent, energy and everything else. Many UK sites aim to keep food plus staff (prime cost) at or under 60–65% of sales. The staff line counts hands-on prep only, not unattended cooking, and uses the April 2026 National Living Wage; put your own rate, minutes and waste in the calculator's real cost section or the prime cost calculator. Every dish side by side: the UK dish cost index.
Method
- Heat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan) and line two 20 cm tins.
- Beat 225 g of the butter with 225 g of the caster sugar until pale, beat in the eggs one at a time, then fold in the flour, baking powder, milk and half the vanilla.
- Divide between the tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the sponge springs back. Cool completely.
- Beat the remaining 100 g of butter with the icing sugar and the rest of the vanilla. Spread one sponge with buttercream and jam, sandwich, and dust the top with the last 10 g of caster sugar.
Costing notes
Butter is the biggest line, at nearly half the cost. Supermarket packs of butter cost noticeably more per gram than a wholesale case: if you are a home baker pricing cakes to sell, use what you actually pay, then add packaging (a cake box and board run 50p to £1.50) and your time, which is usually the biggest cost of all. The cake pricing calculator in our shop does that sum.
Sold by the slice in a café, a 12-slice cake at £3.50 a slice brings in £42 against an ingredient cost of a few pounds.
Where the prices came from
JJ Foodservice collection prices as shown on its public search pages on 9 October 2026 (delivery runs about £1-2 a case higher). A few lines JJ did not list in that day's searches reuse the dated prices already on our other starter recipes (7 September 2026, JJ Foodservice or Tesco retail, marked on each line). JJ does not label VAT on most lines: raw food is zero-rated in the UK, while soft drinks, alcohol, confectionery and some ingredients carry standard-rate VAT. Your supplier's price is the one that matters: open the recipe and type it in.
- Unsalted butter: Lakeland Unsalted Butter 20x250g (DAI186), 5 kg, £30.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Caster sugar: Tate & Lyle Caster Sugar 6x2kg (SPI083), 12 kg, £21.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Self-raising flour: Wright's Self Raising Flour 1x1.5kg, 1.5 kg, £1.79 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Eggs, medium: Medium Eggs Size 3 1x30, 30 each, £3.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Baking powder: JJ Signature Baking Powder 1x800g, 800 g, £1.79 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Whole milk: Fresh Whole Milk 1x2L (DAI005), 2 L, £1.69 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Vanilla extract: Dr. Oetker Madagascan Vanilla Extract 95ml, 95 ml, £4.45 — Tesco (retail), accessed 2026-09-07
- Strawberry jam: Strawberry Jam 1x3kg, 3 kg, £10.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
- Icing sugar: Tate & Lyle Icing Sugar 1x3kg, 3 kg, £6.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-09
More costed dishes: bakery and cakes
- Scones with jam and clotted cream — £0.80 a portion
- Chocolate brownies — £0.33 a portion
- Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting — £0.49 a portion