It’s not often that I get to post a celebratory recipe here but today I’m doing just that. What am I celebrating? The Marmalade Teapot! This tiny corner of the internet that I call mine. Today marks not only the blogs 6th year anniversary but this post also marks my 200th recipe! If you’d have asked me 6 years ago if I’d reach this milestone then I never would’ve believed it.
This tiny corner of the internet has seen me through thick & thin in my life, it’s helped me get jobs, it’s given me drive & focus at times when I’ve felt lost, it’s shown me support & community… it’s my own little canvass to be pour my creative energies into. Any of you who’ve been with me from the early days will know that it’s been through quite a few makeovers over my blogging journey too. The photo’s may look a little different (read: a lot different, & for the bloody better too), my voice & tone may have developed (& grammar, somewhat, still hitting that spellchecker), but my passion for baking remains unchanged.
Obviously, no celebration is complete without a cake. Seeing as I already started this page with my favourite cake recipe of all time, for this celebration I’ve chosen a few of my favourite flavours to work with instead. Combining the sharp citrus hit of lemon with the sweet, floral notes of elderflower was always going to be a winner (I’m a sucker for anything elderflower).
For this three tiered beauty, I’ve created a moist elderflower sponge, sandwiched with bright & zesty lemon curd, & covered it all in a rich elderflower Swiss meringue buttercream. This lemon & elderflower cake is so light & flavourful whilst still remaining subtle & summery. It’s just delightful, fit for any kind of celebration.
LEMON & ELDERFLOWER CAKE
(makes an 18cm layer cake)
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 210g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 180g caster sugar
- 180ml yogurt
- 3 large eggs
- 100ml rapeseed oil
- 5 tbsp elderflower cordial
For the Swiss meringue buttercream:
- 100g egg whites (around 3 large eggs)
- 200g caster sugar
- 300g butter, cubed
- 5 tbsp elderflower cordial
For the filling:
- 150g lemon curd
Optional – For the decoration:
- Dried/fresh lemon slices
- A few elderflower heads
Method:
To make the cake:
- In a large jug, combine the yogurt, eggs, oil & elderflower cordial
- In a large bowl, combine the flour & baking powder
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients & add in the wet yogurt mixture
- Fold everything together until smooth & no pockets of dry flour remain
- Divide the mixture evenly between 3 greased & lined 18cm sandwich tins
- Bake in the oven at 180C for 25 minutes, until the cakes are springing back to the touch when pressed lightly with a finger in the centre
- Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 10 mins before removing & placing on a wire cooling rack until cooled
To make the Swiss meringue buttercream:
- Bring a medium saucepan filled halfway with water to a gentle simmer
- In a bowl large enough to rest on top of the saucepan (without touching the water), add in the egg & sugar & whisk together
- Gently heat the egg & sugar together over the saucepan until all of the sugar has dissolved & you can no longer feel any grains of sugar with your fingertips
- Either use a hand mixer or pour the egg mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer & whisk for at least 10 minutes until it has thickened to form a glossy meringue texture & had cooled to at least room temperature
- Keeping the whisk running, add in the butter, one cube at time, ensuring that each addition is well whisked into the meringue before adding the next
- Add the elderflower cordial to the meringue & whisk again
- Continue to whisk for a further 5 minutes until nice & smooth
To assemble the cake:
- When the cakes are completely cool, divide the lemon curd between two of the cakes & spread evenly
- Use half of the Swiss meringue buttercream to cover the sides & top of the cake before using a spatula to smooth & finish
