Lemon Elderflower Cake

This is my first attempt to make the Lemon Elderflower Cake as I have bought the Elderflower Syrup from Marks and Spencer. So, finally, I can bake the Royal Wedding Cake of Prince Harry and Meghan  Markle in 2018. I am curious how this royal wedding cake really taste like and why they chose this cake as a wedding cake. I think I found the answer after tasting it (see notes below). 

Lemon Elderflower Cake
Makes 12 slices (this portion)

Ingredients :-

Cake
300g Self-Raising flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
300g Butter
300g Caster Sugar (reduced to 200g)
3 tbsp Elderflower Syrup
Zest of 1 Lemon (& 1 Lime)
5 eggs

Preheat the oven to 180°C. 45-50 minutes (if one cake), 20-30 mins if half cake. 

Lemon and Elderflower Syrup
4 tbsp Elderflower syrup or cordial
4 tbsp Elderflower liqueur
zest of 2 lemons
(to pour after cakes is out from oven 5 mins)

Buttercream frosting
280g Icing Sugar (250 gm ++)
130g Room-Temperature Butter (125 gm)
zest of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp milk (optional, may be too wet)
1 tbsp Elderflower liqueur, if desired

Lemon Elderflower Cake

1. Sift the Self-Raising flour and baking powder.
2. Cream the butter, sugar and syrup until fluffy in consistency and pale in colour, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined, taking care not to over-mix the batter.
4. Grease two 20cm cake tins and line the base and sides with baking paper. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two tins and bake the cakes for 25-35 minutes or until springy to touch.

Lemon Elderflower Syrup

1. Make the syrup by combining the elderflower syrup, liqueur and zest. If you are not using liqueur then double amount of syrup.
2. When the cakes are out of the oven, slice them down the middle so as to make four layers. Brush all sides generously with the syrup. Leave the cakes to soak up the liquid for 20 minutes while they cool down.

1. Cool in the tin for 5 mins.
2. Squeeze the lemon juice, then sieve to remove the bits, and stir in the cordial. Use a fine skewer to prick the cake all over. Pour over the syrup, then sprinkle over the sugar – it should sink in but leave a crunchy crust.
3. Alternatively decorate the top with a thin glaze made from icing sugar and lemon juice. Add edible flowers.
4. Leave to cool completely before removing the cake from the tin.

Notes :-

Double portions of this make 2 8 inches of Butter Cakes (300 gm Self Raising Flour X 2) 

For Buttercream Icing, I used 250 gm Butter, 500 gm Icing Sugar, Zest of 2 Lemon, 2 Tbsp Elderflower Cordial. Just enough to cover this 4 layers cake. 

The taste is like lemon soaked butter cake, with a bit of floral fragrance. It is not like a heavy butter cake. Its light and lemon yet the cake holds in very well, reminds me of spring and summer in England. 

Moist in the inside, lemon taste. 

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