Name: Lemon & Elderflower Cake
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 105 min
Ingredients: 500 g Butter or baking spread; 500 g Caster sugar; 3 Lemons (zest only); 9 Eggs (large); 6 tbsp Elderflower cordial; 500 g Self raising flour; 3 tbsp Elderflower cordial; 350 g Butter or baking spread; 700 g Icing sugar; 2 tsp Lemon extract; 100 g White ready to roll fondant; 1 Lemon

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Ever since a certain royal wedding cake, lemon and elderflower has sky rocketed in popularity. If you'd like to recreate this royal trend at your wedding, or next celebration, this Lemon & Elderflower Cake is the perfect way to do so. It's a lemon and elderflower sponge, brushed with elderflower cordial after baking, then covered in lemon buttercream. I've decorated this cake in the naked cake style, where you can see the sponge layers through the buttercream. This creates a rustic, yet elegant appearance. It will happily take centre stage to impress your guests on your special day!

Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the butter and eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used a baking spread for the cake and unsalted butter for the buttercream.
I used a shop bought elderflower cordial by a brand called Belvoir, if you have access to elderflower plants, you can make your own cordial. There are many recipes available online.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales*. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons* and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Lemon & Elderflower Cake

To make the sponge, mix together butter and sugar, then add lemon zest and mix in.

Add eggs and elderflower cordial and whisk them in. Then add self raising flour, and gently whisk in it. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake them for 45 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

To make the buttercream, mix together the butter and icing sugar, then add the lemon extract and mix until smooth. I made some fondant flowers to decorate the cake with too, but you can decorate any way you like.

Layer up the sponges, brushing some elderflower cordial over each sponge, then cover the cake in buttercream.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

What is a naked cake?

A naked cake is a cake with a very thin layer of buttercream spread over it, so thin that you can see the cake sponge and layers peaking through. The trend is believed to have been started by Christina Tosi of the Milk Bar restaurant, and once celebrity weddings followed the trend, the rest of the world was not far behind! Naked cakes have a pretty, yet rustic appearance, and they can be very simply decorated with fruit or flowers. They are extremely popular at weddings, and it's easy to see why from their elegant look.

What is elderflower?

Elderflower are the flowers of the elder tree, they have a light and floral taste and are found throughout the UK in woodland. Elderflowers are in season from late May to mid June. They are clusters of tiny white flowers with a sweet and summery scent, and they look very pretty! Elderflowers are actually midly toxic, but this is removed once the flowers are cooked (for example when turning them into cordial) and they do have medicial applications too.

How long does this cake last for and can you freeze it?

The cake will keep in an airtight container for 3 days in a cool place. You can freeze the sponges either alone, or decorated (but do not freeze any fondant decorations or lemon slices). Once the sponges are fully cool, wrap them well with cling film or put them in an airtight container with some baking paper between them. You can freeze the buttercream on it's own in a tub, or you can decorate the cake and freeze it fully assembled. To do this and avoid damage to the decoration, freeze it either in an airtight container. Or let it freeze solid on a cake board or plate, then wrap in cling film. Remove the cling film when you take it out to defrost it, if you don't it could damage the decoration as it defrosts and softens. You can also freeze slices of the cake, again well wrapped in cling film or in airtight containers.

Can you make the cake with plain/all purpose flour?

Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some additional baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

Can this cake be made in different size cake tins?

Yes! If you would like to make this cake in different size tins, please check my Conversion Guide to find out how to adjust the recipe.

More tips for making the Lemon & Elderflower Cake:

If you don’t want to decorate the cakes with the fondant flowers I have used, you could also decorate them with sprinkles, some lemon zest, macarons, shop bought sugar or wafer flowers, or edible flowers.
If you'd like the adapt this recipe to smaller or large cake tins, you can use my Conversion Guide to adjust the recipe.
I used a shop bought elderflower cordial by a brand called Belvoir, if you have access to elderflower plants, you can make your own cordial. There are many recipes available online.

Troubleshooting

If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

Recommended equipment & ingredients*

*I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!

More Lemon & Elderflower recipes...

Lemon & Elderflower Cupcakes