Looking for the perfect cake to celebrate Harry and Meghan’s upcoming nuptials? This lemon and elderflower layer cake is worthy of a Royal wedding! This recipe makes 1 23cm (9in) cake which is then sliced in half.
Preheat the oven to 170C | 340F. Spray 1 23cm (9in) springform cake tin with cake release and line the bottom with baking paper.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the cubed butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the eggs and pulse again until mixed in, scraping the bowl as needed.
Add the milk, lemon juice and zest and blend for 2-3 minutes until the batter is smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula to make sure everything is well blended.
Divide the batter into the prepared tins and bake for 50 mins - 1 hour. The cake is ready when springy to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely then level the cake (if needed) and carefully slice in half using a large serrated knife.
Make the lemon syrup: combine lemon and sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves completely. Transfer to a bowl or jar. Brush the layers with the syrup while it is still a bit warm.
Make the frosting. Put the icing sugar and cream into the bowl of your stand mixer and stir together to combine.
Add the mascarpone and mix on low speed and then maximum speed for about a minute until fluffy.
Add the elderflower cordial and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Mix again on maximum speed until the frosting holds firm peaks.
Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe over the cake layers. Sandwich together and then frost the top and sides, using a palette knife and side scraper to smooth the frosting. I wanted a naked cake effect so the sponge is visible through the frosting.
For a tiered cake
Chill the cake in the fridge until firm and then position the smaller cake in the centre of the base layer. Decorate with fresh flowers, lemon slices or extra frosting.
Notes
If you are making a tiered cake you only need one batch of the lemon syrup.This recipe will yield 12-14 slices as a single tier.