Recipe Of The Month – Lemon & Elderflower
This months recipe is Lemon & Elderflower, and we’d love to see your versions of this, so feel free to tag us in your pictures on social media!
If I had to admit to a signature cake, it would be lemon & elderflower as they combine two of my favourite flavours. I love it so much, my 4-tier wedding cake was all lemon & elderflower flavour! The one pictured today was made for my mum. I did make it gluten free but it’s easy to make with wheat flour too.
Ingredients
Sponge:
- 225g butter
- 225g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 225g self-raising flour (gluten free if preferred)
- 1tsp xanthan gum (only if using gluten free flour)
- 2tsp baking powder
- 2 lemons, zested
- 1tsp elderflower essence (I find mine in Waitrose)
Candied Lemon Slices:
- 2 lemons (ideally the ones used for zest)
- 100g sugar
- 200ml water
Buttercream:
- 250g Icing Sugar
- 80g butter
- 25ml lemon juice
Lemon curd for the filling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees (150 fan). Butter and line two 8” cake tins.
In a free-standing mixer (or using handheld electric mixer), cream the butter and sugar together. When light and fluffy, mix in the eggs, one at a time. (If the mixture begins to split, you can add a tablespoon from the 225g of flour.
Gently mix in the flour, (xanthan gum, if using) and baking powder. Hand mix the lemon zest and elderflower essence. Divide between the two tins and bake for 25 minutes until golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. Leave to cool completely.
For the candied lemon slices, remove the ends and thinly slice the rest of the lemons. In a small pan, place the sugar and water, and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the slices to the sugar & water mix and leave to simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Take some baking parchment and with a slotted spoon, place the lemon slices on the parchment and leave to cool.
To make the buttercream, sieve the icing sugar into a free-standing mixer (or a large bowl if using handheld electric mixer), and add the butter. Slowly begin mixing so that the icing sugar doesn’t puff all over you and the kitchen. When the icing sugar and butter start to come together slightly (it might look a bit sandy), add the lemon juice and keep mixing for around 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
To put the cake together, put about a 1/3 of the buttercream into a piping bag. Place one cake on a cake board or serving plate and spread some of the buttercream on top. a spoon, put the lemon curd into the middle of the cake and spread out (it’s ok if it mixes slightly with the buttercream). Using the piping bag, pipe small blobs around the edge of the cake which will create a barrier and keep the lemon curd inside the cake. It also helps fill the space on the sides if the bottom cake has a slight dome. Place the second cake on top and spread the rest of the buttercream on top. With the cooled lemon slices, place around the cake top.
Best served with cream or crème fraiche! Keep in a cool place and the cake should last around 3 days if you don’t eat it before then.
Recipe by Louise Arnold
LABakes – @labakesnorwich
If you would like to give this recipe a try, we would love to see what you create! Please tag us in your posts on social media:
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