When we received an invite to an afternoon tea party post-Harry/Meghan wedding at the weekend we couldn't help but get on board and whip up a Lemon & Elderflower drizzle cake in homage to the royal flavours of choice.
Using only fresh, foraged elderflowers - a slightly risky strategy as elderflower heads only really began blossoming last week - this sweet, citric, buttery, tart and floral cake pairs perfectly with both our Glenburn Darjeeling First Flush and our Ti Guan Yin Oolong teas.
Ingredients
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 225g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- Finely grated zest 1 lemon
- 225g self-raising flour
For the drizzle topping
- Juice 2 lemons
- Finely grated zest 1 lemon
- 85g caster sugar
- 6 fresh elderflower heads, washed
Method
- Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
- Beat together 225g softened unsalted butter and 225g caster sugar until pale and creamy, then add 4 eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing through. Sift in 225g flour, then add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon and mix until well combined.
- Line a loaf tin (8 x 21cm) with greaseproof paper, then spoon in the mixture and level the top with a spoon.
- Bake for 45-50 mins until a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- While the cake is in the oven, make the drizzle topping by mixing together the juice of the 2 lemons, 85g caster sugar, the lemon zest and the elderflower heads - leaving one aside for presentation. Heat until warm to allow the elderflower flavour to gently infuse then leave to cool for half an hour.
- Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, then pour over the drizzle.
- Leave in the tin until completely cool, then remove and serve.