Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen cake designer Claire Ptak from Violet Cakes Bakery to create a lemon and elderflower cake for their royal wedding that will 'incorporate the bright flavours of spring'. But what's the next best alternative for those of us (practically all of us) who will be missing out on tasting the creation? Baking one ourselves.
Clarence Court has created a gorgeous royal wedding-inspired floral cake with a jam and buttercream filling using their Braddock White duck eggs for a fluffier texture. Topped with flowers and fruit, this light and delicate cake will also make the perfect addition to any summer gathering.
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Yields:
15 - 20 serving(s)
Prep Time:
1 hr
Cook Time:
1 hr
Total Time:
2 hrs
Ingredients
6 Clarence Court Braddock White duck eggs (500g total weight)
500 g caster sugar
500 g very soft unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)
400 g self-raising flour, sifted
4 tsp. baking powder
100 g ground almonds
1 tsp. almond essence
2 tsp. edible dried lavender, removed from stems and crushed
6 Tbsp. elderflower cordial
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 Tbsp. good quality raspberry jam or preserve (higher fruit content lower sugar if possible)
1 lemon
300 g very soft unsalted butter
650 g icing sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp. custard powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla paste
4 Tbsp. milk
Fresh flowers and fruit to decorate
Directions
Step 1Pre-heat the oven to 160c/ 320 f/ gas mark 3.
Step 2Start by making the sponges. You need to make 4 sponges in total so unless you have a big freestanding mixer, 4 x 20cm loose bottom sandwich tins and a double oven we suggest you split all the quantities for the cake mix in half and bake 2 sponges at a time.
Step 3Grease and line 2 x 20cm loose bottom sandwich tins and line the base with a circle of greaseproof paper. In a large bowl or mixer add 250g eggs, 250g caster sugar, 250g very soft butter, 200g self-raising flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 50g ground almonds and 1 teaspoon crushed dried lavender. Beat until the mixture just comes together then stir in the almond essence. Don’t over beat the mixture.
Step 4Divide the mixture equally between the tins and level with a spatula. Place the tins in the oven and cook for 20 - 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.
Step 5When the cakes are ready, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. After 5 minutes, remove the cakes from the tin and allow to cool fully. Once the tins are cool, re-grease and line with fresh greaseproof paper and repeat the sponge making process again.
Step 6Place the elderflower cordial in a small saucepan on a low heat, until a little thickened then leave to one side. Mix the raspberry jam in a bowl until spreadable.
Step 7Then make the buttercream icing. Place the butter in a free-standing mixer and beat until light and fluffy (around 4 minutes). Add half the icing sugar and continue to beat for 2 minutes, then add the remaining icing sugar and custard powder and beat for a further 2 minutes. Mix the vanilla paste with the milk and add 2 tablespoons of vanilla milk to the icing. Continue to mix into a light and fluffy icing. Cover the icing bowl with cling film and place to one side.
Step 8When the sponges are cool carefully trim off the slightly risen tops to give level sponges. Use a pastry brush to brush over the elderflower syrup. Allow the syrup to soak into the sponges for a few minutes. Spoon the jam over 3 of the sponges and spread it out evenly. The last one will be turned upside down to make the top layer. Place the first layer onto a serving plate or board using a blob of buttercream to help keep the cake in place. Spread a thin, even layer of buttercream on top of the jam and sandwich the second sponge on top. Repeat 2 more times and finish with top layer turned upside down to make a perfectly level top. At this point it might be worth placing the cake in the fridge to firm up the buttercream for 20 minutes or so.
Step 9To ice the whole cake spoon a good blob of buttercream on top of the cake and use a palette knife to spread a fairly thin layer of icing to cover. To thinly ice the sides of the cake, use a palette knife to carefully spread a few blobs of buttercream really closely against the sponges. Ice and shave off excess icing in confident movements to achieve a “semi naked” cake look.
Step 10Place the cake in the fridge if not using straight away to set overnight.
Step 11About 2 hours before serving take the cake from the fridge to come to room temperature. Arrange your fresh flowers and fruit on top to decorate.
