Lemon and blackcurrant Cake Decorated with Edible Flowers

Thu, 10 August 2023

Ingredients

Serves 12–16

 

For the Cake

· 225 g (8 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

· 2 lemons, zest only

· 225 g (8 oz) butter, at room temperature

· 4 large eggs, whisked

· 225 g (8 oz) self-raising (self-rising) flour

· 2–3 tbsp milk

 

For The Buttercream Icing (frosting)

· 225 g (8 oz) butter, softened

· 550 g (1 lb 3¾ oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar, sifted

· 2 lemons, zest only

· 2–4 tbsp whole (full-cream) milk or single (light) cream

· 200 g (7 oz) Blackcurrant Jam or another jam of your choice, such as raspberry or blackberry

 

To Decorate

· pressed edible flowers, about 30–40 stems such as chamomile, lavender, cornflowers, calendula, daisies and violas

· fresh edible flowers and leaves (optional)

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/370ºF/Gas 5. Butter and line two 15-cm (6-in) loose-based cake tins (pans).

 

2. Cream the butter until smooth, using a stand mixer with the beater attachment, or a wooden spoon and a lot of effort. Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat on low speed until it is combined, then beat on high speed for 3–4 minutes, until light and fluffy. This will take longer if you are beating by hand.

 

3. Add a spoonful of the whisked eggs and beat on high speed until the mixture is smooth and combined. Keep adding the egg and beating until all the egg is incorporated. For the last couple of additions, add 1 tbsp of the flour as well, to stop the mixture from splitting.

 

4. Fold in the rest of the flour. I use the stand mixer at very low speed, but you can also do this by hand. Mix in the milk. The mixture should be thick but still drop slowly from a spoon.

 

5. Weigh the cake mixture equally into the two tins. Smooth the tops and make a small indentation in the middle of each to counteract a domed rise.

 

6. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the cake is just starting to come away from the edge of the tins and a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

 

7. Cut the cakes in half horizontally, as evenly as possible, so that you have four separate layers.

 

8. Now make the buttercream. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed for 5 minutes.

 

9. Add in the icing sugar in a couple of batches, along with the lemon zest, and beat on low speed until incorporated. Turn up the speed and beat on high for another 3 minutes. Add half the milk or cream and beat again. If you need to, add the rest of the milk or cream; the icing (frosting) should have a spreadable consistency that still holds its shape. If there are too many big air bubbles, reduce the speed and beat on low for a minute or two.

 

10. Fill a piping bag with three quarters of the buttercream. Dot a little buttercream on to the plate or cake stand you are using. (The cake will need refrigerating after the first coat of buttercream, so make sure the plate or stand fits into the fridge.)

 

11. Put the first cake layer on the plate, remembering how the next layer lines up. Pipe on a swirl of buttercream and use a palette knife to spread it out about 1 cm (1/2 in) thick. Now pipe a thin circle of buttercream around the top, about 0.5 cm (1/4 in) in from the edge. This will be a barrier, to keep the jam from leaking out. Spoon one third of the jam inside that line and spread it out.

 

12. Repeat with the other layers. For the top two I always turn the cakes upside down, so that I end up with a bottom layer on the very top – this gives a cleaner edge.

 

13. Once all the layers are assembled, do the crumb coat. This is a layer of icing that locks in the crumbs and evens out the surface before you do the final coat of icing. Pipe a zigzag of icing all the way around the cake, taking the zigs and zags to the top

and bottom of the cake. Then use a palette knife to spread it out. Some areas will be thicker than others; the idea is to create a smooth cylinder of cake, filling in any gaps and imperfections. Finally, spread icing on top of the cake. You can use some of the icing you scraped off the sides as you smoothed it out, even if there are a few crumbs in it. Make sure the whole cake is covered in icing and there are no bare patches. Refrigerate the cake for 2 hours (or overnight) to set the icing.

 

14. Beat the remaining buttercream again for a couple of minutes until it is soft and creamy and will spread easily. Using a palette knife, spread it over the sides of the cake in an even layer, then smooth the surface using the palette knife or a cake scraper, if you have one. If you are struggling to get a smooth surface, dip the knife in boiling water, dry it and use the hot knife to smooth out any imperfections. Just be careful not to hold it against the icing for too long, or it will melt the butter. Dollop the last of the buttercream on top of the cake, use the palette knife to spread it out and then create a swirl on the top of the cake.

 

15. Now the fun begins. Arrange the pressed flowers on a work surface and start to select flowers to decorate the cake. It can help to choose three or four different flowers and then repeat clusters or singles of these around the cake, or to choose a limited palette of colours and then select only flowers in those tones. I usually put larger flowers on first, and fill the gaps with smaller flowers and leaves. To attach a pressed flower to the cake, hold it gently against the buttercream and press it in very lightly. Add flowers until you have decorated all the way round the cake and are happy with the result. If you want to reposition a flower, just peel it off and smooth out the icing using the warmed palette knife.

 

16. Keep the cake in a cool room until you are ready to serve. Just before serving, you can decorate the top with fresh edible flowers and leaves. For larger flowers, use a cocktail stick (toothpick) or narrow skewer to make a hole in the top of the cake and gently push the flower stem in to hold it in place.