Celebrate the upcoming coronation of King Charles with my easy and delicious Coronation Cake! This Union Jack cake decorated with whipped cream and fresh berries is perfect for sharing and fit for royalty.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time35 minutesmins
Total Time45 minutesmins
Course: Cake
Cuisine: British
Keyword: Coronation Cake, Union Jack Cake, Victoria Sponge Traybake
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160° Fan). Mist a 9x13 tin with cake release and line with baking paper letting the edges hang over the sides.
Place the self raising flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir to combine.
Add the lemon zest, vanilla, Stork, eggs and milk / lemon juice. Beat together with an electric hand mixer / stand mixer until the batter is completely smooth. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are well mixed.
Transfer to the prepared pan and level. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is golden, springy to the touch and just coming away from the edges of the cake pan. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Leave the cake in the tin and allow it to cool down.
ADD THE JAM (optional)
Combine the jam, lemon juice and water or gin if using in a saucepan and stir over low heat until slightly runny and smooth.
Make holes over the entire cake using a straw, without piercing all the way down. Spread warm strawberry jam over the cake, encouraging it to sink into the cake. This is entirely optional but adds a lovely flavour and keeps the cake beautifully moist.
MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM
Add the cold double cream, icing sugar and vanilla into a mixing bowl and whisk at medium speed until the cream holds peaks. Don’t beat for too long as the cream can curdle. You will need to use the cream straight away so prepare it just before using.
DECORATE THE CAKE
Carefully lift the cake out of the pan and invert onto a large board so that the underside is uppermost (the jam can cause the whipped cream to slide off that’s why I am flipping the cake).
Spread the whipped cream over the cake in an even layer just before serving.
Use the raspberries and blueberries to create the flag – I suggest lightly tracing the outline of the Union Jack on the whipped cream using a knife so that you can position the berries easily. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
This Coronation Cake is best eaten as soon as it is decorated as it uses fresh cream and berries. You can prepare the sponge up to a couple of days in advance and keep it, wrapped, at room temperature until ready to assemble.
This cake will look just as stunning simply topped with a medley of fresh berries if you don’t want to decorate as shown.
Leftover cake needs to be stored in the fridge where it will keep for up to a day. It is not suitable for freezing.
You will likely have leftover berries after decorating this cake but it is handy to have extra as you will need to group them by size.