The inspiration for this springtime Lemon Elderflower Cake was drawn from the announcement of the lemon and elderflower flavours for the May 2018 wedding cake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. I suspect, after this wedding, that elderflower will be the trendy new flavour for many recipes – either of the eating or drinking kind.

When I had the idea to make this cake, I questioned whether I could find elderflower liqueur (which is what I wanted to use) anywhere on PEI.  However, a visit to a local liquor store revealed that they had had numerous requests to bring in elderflower liqueur in the past couple of months to the point that they decided to carry it to see if it was a product that would sell.  I am told the bottles of St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur from France are selling well. I suspect people are curious about the flavour of elderflower, especially after it was announced as one of the flavours for the royal wedding cake.

Elderflower liqueur, made with the starry white elderflower blossoms, is rather difficult to describe. It has a somewhat seductive fragrance that I would describe as a layered fusion of floral and citrus notes perhaps from the lemon and grapefruit family. I think I can also detect hints of summer fruits like pears and peaches. It certainly has exotic character and would remind me of a floral summer bouquet with notes of fruit.

Nothing says springtime more than a lemon cake. I have blended freshly squeezed lemon juice with the flavour of elderflower liqueur to layer some flavour into a basic white cake and transform it into a tasty homemade Lemon Elderflower Cake. This is a true old-fashioned homemade cake that has a dense texture and moist crumb.

I have chosen to fill the cake layers with decadent lemon curd. I make this curd regularly and it makes a dandy cake filling.  For the icing, I have taken my standard buttercream recipe and flavoured it with the elderflower liqueur to tie the flavour of the icing and cake together.

This batter is sufficient for either two standard layer cake pans, either 8” or 9” in diameter.  However, for the cake in the photos, I used 6” round pans and layered three of them together.  The recipe will yield four 6” cakes but four is too high for the cake to cut easily and stay together well enough to plate attractively.  Save the fourth cake for a future use – it is divinely lovely served with crushed strawberries, ice cream, and a dollop of whipped cream. Just sayin’!   What follows is the method for a three-tier 6” cake.  If you choose to make the cake in either 8” or 9” round pans, just be aware that the baking times may need to be adjusted slightly from what the recipe indicates for the 6” cakes. With variances in ovens, I always recommend checking the cakes for doneness five minutes before the recipe indicates the cakes should be baked then checking them every five minutes thereafter until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean – the true indicator that the cakes are baked.

I chose not to color the batter yellow with gel food coloring.  I purposely left the cake white because I wanted the bright yellow lemon curd to stand out between the layers of the cake.  If, however, it takes a yellow color to make the cake look like a lemon cake for you, by all means, add small amounts of yellow gel food coloring until you get the desired intensity of color.

I am a huge proponent of the insulated baking strips placed around the cake pans to keep the cakes from baking unevenly and forming a dome as they bake. These strips come under various brand names. Mine are from Wilton and I swear by them.  Simply soak them in water for a few minutes then squeeze out the water and wrap a strip around each cake pan just before it goes in the oven.  I find the cakes bake much more evenly and there is less waste when it comes to leveling the cakes to prepare them for stacking together to form a tiered cake.  Some small amount of leveling is likely still going to be necessary but not nearly as much as baking the cakes without the insulated strips.

It was not so long ago that all the rage in cake decorating was the use of fondant.  Every one was anxious for the satiny smooth perfect finish.  Then, the naked cake appeared on the scene and it had very little icing, giving a more rustic and casual look to a cake.  While the naked cakes are still popular, particularly for folks who don’t want a lot of sugar icing, the current trend (at time of writing) is that tasty old-fashioned buttercream icing is back in style and piled on the cake in no particular fashion. This is great for people who are not particularly skilled with cake decorating because it is perfectly acceptable to have imperfections and uneven spreading of the icing. It’s meant to look homemade and casual.

When filling a cake with lemon curd or jam, it is advisable to pipe a ring of icing all around each layer of cake before adding the filling.  This will create a dam to prevent the filling from seeping through the icing on the side of the cake.  Pipe the icing ring about ½ inch in from the cake edge then spread the filling inside the dam.

I also strongly recommend crumb coating the cake with a thin layer of the icing and then placing it in the refrigerator for 25-30 minutes to set.  This will seal the cake and make the final layer of icing crumb- free.

In keeping with a spring theme, I chose to decorate this cake with fresh bright yellow-colored freesia, some small wax flowers, and some Italian ruscus.

[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]

Lemon Elderflower Cake

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter, room temperature
1¾ cups + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 large egg whites, room temperature
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tsp vanilla

3 cups cake flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

¾ cup + 2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp Elderflower liqueur

Icing:
¾ cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup shortening, room temperature
¾ tsp almond flavouring
¾ tsp vanilla
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp Elderflower Liqueur
1½ lbs icing sugar, sifted
Dash of salt (optional)

½ – 2/3 cup Lemon Curd

Method:

Cake:  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line four 6”x2” pans with parchment circles on the bottoms and line the sides of each pan with a long continuous strip of parchment paper. Spray pans lightly with cooking spray to hold the parchment in place. Spray parchment-lined pans lightly with cooking spray.

In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter then slowly add the sugar.  Beat until mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the whole eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Repeat with the egg whites, adding one at a time.  Add the lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and vanilla. Beat well.

Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.  In a one-cup measuring cup, combine the milk and Elderflower Liqueur.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter-sugar mixture alternately with the liquid ingredients in three additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, and beating well after each addition.  Beat one additional minute on medium speed.

Transfer batter equally among the pans and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until cake tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean. It is recommended to check cakes the first time around the 25-minute baking point, then check them every five minutes until they test done. Cool cakes on wire cake racks for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting cakes.

Icing:  In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and shortening together until blended and creamy.  Beat in the almond flavouring, vanilla, water, and liqueur.  Gradually add the icing sugar, a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

Assembly:  Use three of the four cakes.  Reserve fourth for another use. Level each cake to the same height.  Brush off loose crumbs from each cake. Place one cake on cake plate or cake stand.  Spoon about ¾ cup icing into icing bag fitted with round tip.  Pipe a circle of icing around cake edge, about ½“ in from the outside edge, to form a dam.  Spoon lemon curd inside the dam.  Place second layer of cake over filling and repeat with icing circle and lemon curd filling.  Crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of the icing (this will look messy and that’s okay).  Place cake in refrigerator to set for 25-30 minutes then remove and ice the cake with a thicker layer of icing.  Decorate as desired.  Refrigerate until use. (Freeze any leftover icing for a future use.)

Yield:  One 3-layer 6” cake (or one  8” or 9”  2-layer cake)

Note:  The baking times given are for the 6” cakes.  This cake may be made in two 8” or 9” round pans; however, baking times may need to be adjusted.

Print

Lemon Elderflower Cake

Made with real lemon and a hint of elderberry liqueur, this Lemon Elderberry Cake is deliciously moist with its lemon curd filling and elderberry-flavoured buttercream icing.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10

My Island Bistro Kitchen My Island Bistro Kitchen

Ingredients

Cake:

• ¾ cup butter room temperature
• 1¾ cups + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 4 large egg whites room temperature
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice strained
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups cake flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cup + 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp Elderflower Liqueur

Icing:

• ¾ cup butter room temperature
• ¾ cup shortening room temperature
• ¾ tsp almond flavouring
• ¾ tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp Elderflower Liqueur
• 1½ lbs icing sugar sifted
• Dash of salt optional
• ½ - 2/3 cup Lemon Curd

Instructions

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line four 6”x2” pans with parchment circles on the bottoms and line the sides of each pan with a long continuous strip of parchment paper. Spray pans lightly with cooking spray to hold the parchment in place. Spray parchment-lined pans lightly with cooking spray.
2. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter then slowly add the sugar. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the whole eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Repeat with the egg whites, adding one at a time. Add the lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and vanilla. Beat well.

3. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. In a one-cup measuring cup, combine the milk and Elderflower Liqueur. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter-sugar mixture alternately with the liquid ingredients in three additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, and beating well after each addition. Beat one additional minute on medium speed.

4. Transfer batter equally among the pans and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until cake tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean. It is recommended to check cakes the first time around the 25-minute baking point, then check them every five minutes until they test done. Cool cakes on wire cake racks for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting cakes.

Icing:

1. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and shortening together until blended and creamy. Beat in the almond flavouring, vanilla, water, and liqueur. Gradually add the icing sugar, a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

Assembly:

1. Use three of the four cakes. Reserve fourth for another use. Level each cake to the same height. Brush off loose crumbs from each cake. Place one cake on cake plate or cake stand. Spoon about ¾ cup icing into icing bag fitted with round tip. Pipe a circle of icing around cake edge, about ½“ in from the outside edge, to form a dam. Spoon lemon curd inside the dam. Place second layer of cake over filling and repeat with icing circle and lemon curd filling. Crumb coat the cake with a thin layer of the icing (this will look messy and that’s okay). Place cake in refrigerator to set for 25-30 minutes then remove and ice the cake with a thicker layer of icing. Decorate as desired. Refrigerate until use. (Freeze any leftover icing for a future use.)

Recipe Notes

Note: The baking times given are for the 6” cakes. This cake may be made in two 8” or 9” round pans; however, baking times may need to be adjusted.

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