It’s the second week of The Great British Bake Off! Who is loving it so far? My favourites at the moment are Manon (no not just because she looks like me haha) as well as Kim-Joy, Jon and it’s a choice between Rahul or Briony! Either way, they are all great personalities this year and I’m enjoying watching them all so much!
The signature challenge this week was tray-bakes so I decided to make my own creation and as the sun is still out and the UK is looking like it’s going to get an Indian summer, I thought I’d stick with the summer flavours and play around with lemon and elderflower!
Whilst I have had many alcoholic beverages with a hint of elderflower (don’t judge, the combo of gin and elderflower is EVERYTHING) I have always been hesitant to use elderflower in my baking. Maybe because it reminds me of lavender, something for the garden or perfumes not a cake?! My mind has been well and truly turned after this recipe
The cake itself is super moist and just like a lemon cake, I created a drizzle that seeps into the cake before coating it in icing. The drizzle is made using juice of fresh lemons, a little bit of sugar as I want to keep most of the tartness as well as elderflower cordial by Belvouir. This cordial is DELICIOUS, it’s very sweet and concentrated but is a perfect match for the bitterness of the lemon. Heat it up, let the sugar melt and you have an exquisite drizzle!
The cake itself is a very simple lemon cake made with fresh lemon zest, butter, sugar and flour and whilst you have to mix the butter and sugar together, as well as beating in the eggs, everything else gets folded in and takes 10 minutes to prepare so it’s great for a day when you need cake in a hurry or you just start craving!
The buttercream was a little creation of mine at the time. At the start, I had a basic lemon drizzle in mind using only the drizzle and maybe creating a sugar crust on top. However, when the cake came out and after watching the most recent Bake Off episode I was inspired by Rahuls recipe where he used an Italian buttercream to top his lemon and cardamon cake. Most lemon cakes tend to have just a drizzle or a very sweet thin icing on top so I decided to create a very simple and light buttercream to add to the cake to make it even more special
The buttercream uses more of the elderflower cordial with only a hint of lemon as I wanted the icing to have an elderflower punch! When you bite into this cake the first thing you get is elderflower from the icing and as you continue chewing, the lemon cake reaches your tastebuds it’s amazing! The flavours match so well but change as you are eating every mouthful.
If you are looking something to bake this weekend then give this a try! You wont regret it and neither will anyone who comes to visit when given a slice of this! It’s a super summer treat so great for BBQs especially as it can all be made in one pan and sliced into however many you need. Decorate with edible flowers (you probably have some in your garden right now), which you can buy from most supermarkets nowadays! Or candied lemon peel and edible glitter would make a wonderful decoration too, or even some fresh fruit! It’s up to you
Let me know over at @merakibaking on Instagram if you made this or let me know if you made a different traybake which you class as your signiture! I am in love with Bake Off so send me messages on who your favourite is and we can chat all things cake! Have an amazing weekend everyone, recipe is just below! X
Ingredients
-
For the cake
- 225g Unsalted butter, softened
- 225g Caster sugar
- 4 Large eggs
- 225g Self raising flour
- Zest of 1 lemon (save the juice for the drizzle) For the drizzle
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 100ml Belvoir elderflower cordial
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar For the buttercream
- 250g Icing sugar
- 80g Unsalted butter, softened
- 3 Tbsp Belvoir Elderflower cordial
- 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
- Edible flowers (optional)
Directions
- If your butter is too hard, place in the microwave for 10 second bursts, stirring after each one to quickly soften. Be careful not to let it melt!
- Belvoir is a lovely brand which make many different types of drinks and cordials. Any elderflower cordial is fine, but Belvoir is just my preferred brand. Make sure to buy cordial not presse!
- This cake can be made into a normal cake size rather than a traybake. It can go in a 20cm round tin but baking time might take slightly longer, around 5-10 minutes so keep checking on it!
- Decorate with edible flowers. I have different flowers growing in the garden and these violas are the ones available and growing in my garden at the moment. They are so gorgeous to look at, they are edible and actually taste good (they have no aftertaste or bitterness). I got mine from a garden centre for around £3-£4 each punnet and make great decoration for cakes as well as additions to salads.
