Elderflower and Strawberry Sponge
Summer's here! Ready to celebrate? This is one of those cakes that's totally worth the sugar rush. Full of the flavours of early summer and served with a medley of cream, strawberries and elderflower. It’s a real treat!
We had to mark Mother’s Day late this year as my husband was in hospital. I’ve had eye on this recipe for a while and as soon as I saw the first bursts of elderflower I knew it was time. It went down exceptionally well, and I’d personally be inclined to move Mother’s Day so we can have it very year (I need a good excuse for cake). Can’t see Mum objecting as long as she gets this!
The sponge itself is very simple. I added the elderflowers, but couldn’t taste them, so really don’t worry if you can’t find any near you. The muddled cream adds a slight bit of faff, but it is DELICIOUS, and definitely worth the effort. I think it would be a great basis for a Summer Eton Mess. I’d also be tempted to substitute the elderflower cordial for elderflower liqueur if it were just for adults ...
The sponge would also work well on a picnic, as long as you leave the cream at home, and just serve with juicy strawberries. I would say it would easily serve 8 just as cake and 12 or 16 with the cream.
For the cake:
225g unsalted butter, very soft
225g caster sugar
4 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
250g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp fresh or dried elderflower blossoms (optional)
4 tbsp milk
finely grated zest of one lemon
For the elder flower syrup:
120ml elderflower cordial*
finely grate zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp demerara syrup
For the strawberry cream:
600g early British strawberries
2 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp elderflower cordial
450ml double cream
fresh elderflower heads to decorate (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/170ºC(fan)/350ºF/gas mark 4.
Line the base and sides of a deep 23cm spring form cake tin with non-stick baking parchment.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs as you continue to beat, adding a spoonful of flour if it starts to curdle (though it doesn’t matter too much).
Sift over the flour and baking powder, add the ground almonds**, elderflowers (if using), milk and zest and fold in with a large metal spoon or spatula.
Scrape into the tin, level the surface and bake in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Loosely cover the cake with a layer of baking parchment or foil if it is browning too much.
Meanwhile, combine the elderflower cordial, lemon zest and juice and demerara in a small jug. The demerara is not dissolved, as it will provide a crunch on top of the cake.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for five minutes, then use a skewer to puncture the warm sponge several times and pour the elderflower syrup over the top. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
Hull a third of the strawberries and use a fork to crush with the caster sugar and 1 tbsp of the elderflower cordial. Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove the strawberry seeds. You can keep things rustic by just crushing the berries, sugar and cordial together with a fork, if preferred.
Just before serving, hull the remaining strawberries and halve any large ones. Put into a bowl. Whip the cream with the remaining 2 tbsp cordial, until it just holds a floppy shape. Marble the strawberry puree through the cream, being careful not to over-mix so you keep the rippled effect. Pile into a bowl and set beside the cake, ready to spoon onto each serving plate. Pile a few fresh elderflower heads on top of the cake, if you have them.
Serve each slice with the hulled strawberries and marbled strawberry cream.
Recipe from ‘Alice’s Cookbook’ by Alice Hart.
*If the cake is just for adults I’d be very tempted to use elderflower liqueur instead of cordial.
**I substituted flour for the ground almonds.