• Home
  • Eat
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Main Dishes
      • Chicken
      • Beef
      • Seafood
      • Healthy Dishes
      • Paleo Dishes
      • Salads
    • Desserts
      • Decorated Cookies
      • Cookies
      • Bars and Brownies
      • Cakes and Cupcakes
  • Shop
    • Cookie Decorating Supplies
    • Bakeware
    • Cookware
    • Kitchen Gadgets
    • House
  • About
    • Contact
    • Bucket List
  • Cookie Decorating 101

Follow the Ruels

Lemon Elderflower Cake

April 10, 2018

 What can I say about this lemon elderflower cake? Other than it didn’t turn out at all like I had expected. But, in the best way possible!

If you follow me on Instagram, then you already saw a sneak peek of this cake last week. In the comment, I mentioned that this is not what I had planned on the cake looking like. In my head, before I started, I had planned on this being a cake completely covered in a layer lemon buttercream frosting then topped with white and yellow buttercream flowers complete with buttercream leaves. 

Now, I am often overly ambitious when it comes to my baking projects which often leads to a last minute change of plans. In this case, it was just poor planning. I simply didn’t make enough buttercream! I couldn’t even cover the whole dang cake!

Whoops!

But in the end, I think the lack of buttercream led to this beautiful, simple, and rustic cake that perfectly embodies the actual cake within. The lemon elderflower cake layers are just that. Beautiful, simple, rustic, and delicious! The lemon flavor is dominant, but not overpowering and there is a hit of that sweet elderflower with each bite thanks in large part to the elderflower simple syrup that I drizzled over each layer. 

If you have never had elderflower flavored anything, then you may be a bit skeptical. Not to worry, it’s not an overly floral taste, like rose or lavender, so you won’t think you are eating soap. It really just provides an extra layer of sweetness and perfectly compliments the lemon.

However, if you are just not into elderflower at all, ditch it! Just make a lemon cake! It will still be wonderful!

How to Make It

The first step to making this cake, and any cake, really, is to sift the dry ingredients together. I used to skip this step, but now I know that this simple step really changes the texture of a cake. Sifting the flour creates a much lighter, less dense cake.


Set the flour aside and move on to the lemon. First zest one or two lemons until you have about 2 tablespoons of zest. Then squeeze the juice out of the lemon. You will be adding the lemon juice to the milk along with the elderflower liquor.

Speaking of which, if you have never had elderflower liqueur in a drink before, it is delicious! I don’t drink a lot to begin with, so I didn’t have any elderflower liqueur on hand. But I did find mini bottles at my local liquor store. I highly recommend just getting 1-2 mini bottles instead of 1 big bottle unless you plan on drinking the rest of it.

Now that we have that covered, lets move on to making the batter.

Cream together the butter and sugar then add in the lemon zest.

Mix in the eggs one at a time until they are completely incorporated into the butter. You don’t want the egg-butter mixture looking likes it’s separated or curdled.


Now mix in the dry and wet ingredients, alternating between the two. I like to add the dry ingredients in three parts and the wet ingredients in two. So it looks something like this: dry, wet, dry, wet, dry. Always start and end with dry.

One of my biggest cake tips I have for you is to line the bottom of the cake pay with parchment paper! This will make getting the cake out super easy even if the cake is still warm. I still recommend spraying the pans with baking spray, too. But this is just added insurance. 

Then portion the batter between the cake pans. I like to use a scale to make sure that the amount of batter in each one is pretty even. But that may be overkill. You can just eyeball it.

A new thing I tried with these cakes is using the Wilton Bake-even strips. Then insulate the cake pan so that ideally your cakes bake evenly on top (no weird dome that you have to slice off), and they don’t caramelize around the edges. 

Verdict: They sort of helped. One cake was very even, but slightly caramelized. One cake wasn’t as even but not at all caramelized. Overall, they turned out better than they would have without the strips, so it was well worth the money for these!

How to Assemble and Decorate the Cake

Then the cakes come out of the oven and they magically stack and decorate themselves! Isn’t that a fun trick!

Actually, this is where I really dropped the ball and stopped taking photos. I think because I was in such a tizzy over the buttercream that I didn’t get any photos of the actual decorating process. What a horrible blogger I am!

I did capture part of the decorating process, and that is the little flowers that I did manage to make!

These little guys were so easy to make with my #107 piping tip. You just press the tip to a sheet of parchment paper, squeeze, and turn your wrist slightly which produces the cute little drop flowers. Then I just dotted the center with a little yellow buttercream.

I put these in the freezer to harden while I worked on the rest of the cake. 

Actually, the rest of the cake was pretty easy to assemble.

Step 1: Cut the cake into two layers for four total layers (if you want, you can leave it as a two layer cake).

Step 2: Brush elderflower simple syrup over each of the cake layers (recipe and directions below)

Step 3: Spread a thin layer of buttercream on the first layer, top with some lemon curd (optional), then top with another cake layer. Repeat until all layers have been added.

Step 4: Spread buttercream all over the top and sides of the cake, then use an offset spatula or bench scraper to scrape the sides of the cake to create a naked cake look. Leave a thin layer of buttercream on top.

Step 5: Pour some lemon curd over the top of the cake and spread out to cover the top, pushing some of the curd over the edges. You may need to heat up your lemon curd to make it more liquid if you are using a store bought version.

Step 6: Add the flowers in whatever arrangement you like. Because they are frozen, they are easy to peel off the parchment and stick onto the cake.

Step 7: Admire your handy work!

Truly, this cake wasn’t hard to decorate and assemble once I realized my mistake and that I wouldn’t have enough buttercream to achieve the look I was after.

And, making naked cakes is really easy for even those with no cake decorating experience because you don’t have to worry about your frosting being perfect! Actually, you want it to look imperfect!

I, for one, like the limited buttercream on this cake because it lets the lemon elderflower cake shine through. 

Of course, if you are a frosting lover, you may want to double up on the buttercream recipe so you can cover your whole cake like I was supposed to!

Tools and Recipe

[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3095132″] 

[yumprint-recipe id=’170′]

   

/ Filed In: Cakes and Cupcakes, Cakes New, Desserts, Eat
Tagged: buttercream, buttercream flowers, cake, decorated cake, elderflower, layer cake, lemon, naked cake, Spring

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you follow a link and purchase the item I may receive a small commission. Each and every penny earned goes back into the creating recipes to share on the blog.

Comments

  1. kelly laver says

    April 26, 2018 at 11:34 am

    it would be really good if someone posted a picture about how they made it

    • followtheruels says

      April 26, 2018 at 11:40 am

      Your right, Kelly. It would have been nice to see how I assembled the cake. However, the beauty of this recipe is that you can make it however you’d like. As a cake, as cupcakes, 2 layers, 4 layers. It’s up to you! If you really want to learn how to make a naked cake, there are lots of other videos and blog posts that will show you how to do it.

  2. Molly says

    April 29, 2018 at 4:50 pm

    This looks amazing!! Did you use 8″ or 9″ cake pans?

    • followtheruels says

      April 29, 2018 at 8:54 pm

      I actually used 6″ pans to get 4 layers. You could use 8″ to get 2 layers.

  3. Sandi says

    May 6, 2018 at 4:20 pm

    What is Swiss Meringue Buttercream? Is it different from regular buttercream??

    • followtheruels says

      May 6, 2018 at 4:26 pm

      Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a type of buttercream that is made with Swiss meringue (whipped egg whites and sugar). Unlike American Buttercream, which I assume is what you are referring to, it is much lighter and a bit less sweet, which is why I prefer it. I have a link to my favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe in the post. Or you can search “Buttercream” in the search bar.

      • Stephen Hart says

        May 19, 2018 at 6:35 pm

        Swiss buttercream takes some work compared to American buttercream, but so totally worth It!

        • Cince says

          May 25, 2018 at 2:29 am

          I am reading lots of descriptions of the Swiss merringue buttercream but WHERE IS THE ACTUAL RECIPE?

          • followtheruels says

            May 25, 2018 at 8:39 am

            The recipe is on its own page, which is linked in the blog post. https://followtheruels.com/2017/09/best-buttercream-frosting-recipe/

  4. SARA POMISH says

    May 8, 2018 at 3:48 pm

    Thanks for sharing, this cake looks gorgeous and delicious!

    I’m going to try a low carb version of this using an almond flour sponge cake, sugar free lemon curd, etc. I’m going to make a double recipe of my sponge and curd to be sure to have enough for an 8-inch, 4-layer cake. Wish me luck!

    Here’s the cake recipe I’ll use for the layers…

    https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/strawberry-lemonade-cake-low-carb-gluten-free/

  5. Asha says

    May 15, 2018 at 8:01 am

    Hi! I’ll be making this cake this week! Can I make the lemon curd today, in advance? How long will it keep in the fridge before I need to use it? Thanks.

    • followtheruels says

      May 15, 2018 at 8:17 am

      Definitely! Lemon curd will last at least a week in the fridge.

  6. Karen says

    May 16, 2018 at 1:16 am

    Can I use cake flour?

    • followtheruels says

      May 16, 2018 at 8:00 am

      Absolutely! It will just yield a lighter cake. Nothing wrong with that!

  7. Anne says

    May 17, 2018 at 10:19 pm

    Just took the layers out of the oven. My son’s 18th birthday is tomorrow just in time to celebrate with this fragrant cake and then we’ll carry it into the weekend royal wedding festivities. He just walked in from basketball practice and was hugely impressed by the elderflower and lemon. Good job. It takes a lot to make an 18 year-old boy take notice. Thank you!

    • followtheruels says

      May 18, 2018 at 10:04 am

      Well, if an 18 year old boy is impressed, then that is pretty much the highest praise this cake can get!! So glad you enjoyed making this recipe! Hope your son has a great birthday!

  8. Kathy says

    May 17, 2018 at 10:50 pm

    ?So I tried making this beauty today for the Royal Wedding Viewing Party I’m having on Saturday. While it doesn’t even resemble your gorgeous cake, the taste is incredible!! I love the way you really went step by step in your directions. Even your timings were perfect! Thank you!! (I have to find out how to send the picture of mine to you ??)

    • followtheruels says

      May 18, 2018 at 10:03 am

      That’s so fun Kathy! I am glad my recipe came in handy! Please send pics, I would love to see them. You can just email them to me if you’d like. [email protected].

  9. Parigino says

    May 20, 2018 at 5:35 pm

    Hello, and thank you for publishing this wonderful recipe. My question is, “How should I adjust the buttercream and lemon curd ingredients to make enough of both to cover an entire cake ?”

    Thank you very much !

    • followtheruels says

      May 20, 2018 at 8:38 pm

      The curd measurements should be enough for the entire cake. However I would make 1.5 or 2x as much buttercream depending on how large your cake is. If you make the same amount of cake, do 1.5x the buttercream. Any larger and double the recipe.

  10. Grace says

    May 26, 2018 at 5:45 am

    Hello, can I use elderflower cordial instead of liquor. If so, are the quantities the same?

    • followtheruels says

      May 26, 2018 at 6:44 am

      I believe so. I have never had elderflower cordial so I don’t know how concentrated it is.

  11. Holly says

    June 12, 2018 at 9:17 pm

    I really want to make this gluten free. Can I just switch out the all purpose flour with bobs red mill 1:1 ratio gluten free flour?

    • followtheruels says

      June 13, 2018 at 1:37 am

      I would think so, however I am not an expert at gluten free baking. I would consult the packaging for BRM to see what they say on ratio for cakes

Trackbacks

  1. What Is Elderflower? How To Replicate The Flavor Of The Royal Wedding Cake – Natural Detoxification Diet says:
    May 18, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    […] the Lemon Elderflower Cake recipe from Follow the […]

  2. What Is Elderflower? How To Replicate The Flavor Of The Royal Wedding Cake - 24x7 Live News says:
    May 19, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    […] the Lemon Elderflower Cake recipe from Follow the […]

  3. So That's What Elderflower Is? Solving The Mystery Of Harry And Meghan's Cake - Las Cruces Chiropractic Care Center - the Blog says:
    June 9, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    […] the Lemon Elderflower Cake recipe from Follow the […]

Follow

Hey There!

Hey there, I'm Lindsey. I'm a number cruncher by day and a home cook and baker by night. While I love to eat healthy and find fresh and healthy alternatives for my favorite foods, I will never turn down dessert! Life is all about moderation, right?

Recipes

  • All Recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Appetizers
  • Salads
  • Main Dishes
  • Side Dishes
  • Desserts
  • Drinks

Favorite Finds

[show_lookbook_widget id=”388783″]

Theme by 17th Avenue · Powered by WordPress & Genesis