Ingredients
Units
Scale
- Royal Wedding Lemon Elderflower Cake
- 3 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
- 2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- zest of one lemon
- 7 lightly beaten egg whites, at room temperature
- ***
- Elderflower Syrup:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup elderflower liqueur (such as St. Elder or St. Germaine)
- ***
- Lemon Buttercream:
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 8 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2–3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup milk or cream (may not use all)
- zest of one lemon
- lemon yellow food color
Instructions
- Instructions to Make the White Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
- Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl and use an electric mixer on low speed to whisk the ingredients together. Then add the cold butter a little at a time. Then let the mixer run on low speed for about 5 minutes.
- Then add half of the milk and the lemon extract and turn the mixture to medium speed. Then add the remaining milk and egg whites until just combined on medium speed.
- Turn the mixer off and scrape down the edges of the bowl, folding the batter with a rubber spatula until the mixture is consistent. Divide batter between the greased pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes on 350°F. Let cool in the pans then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Level the cakes evenly using a cake leveler or large serrated knife, then cut each cake layer horizontally so that you have four thin cake layers.
- Elderflower Syrup Instructions:
- Combine the water and sugar in a large heat-proof measuring cup and heat in the microwave 1 minute, then stir and heat again for 1 minute. The sugar should be melted and mixture is clear. Then slowly stir in the elderflower liqueur. Apply the syrup to the cooled cake layers using a pastry brush until the cake is well-saturated (you may not have to use all of the syrup). Allow the cakes to stand for 30 minutes while the syrup soaks in.
- In a standing mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and mix until crumbly. Add the lemon juice and beat again. Add milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time while beating on medium speed, until the mixture is fluffy and spreadable. Add the lemon zest and mix again. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold together.
- Remove half of the icing to a large bowl and cover to prevent the buttercream from crusting.
- Add a few drops of lemon yellow food color to the buttercream left in the mixing bowl. Beat until a consistent yellow color is achieved. Transfer the yellow buttercream to a piping bag and snip the end. Evenly pipe buttercream onto three of the cake layers and stack them, ending with the unfrosted layer on top.
- Apply a thin coat of leftover yellow buttercream over the entire cake. Refrigerate until firm.
- Apply a thick covering of white frosting over the top and sides of the cake, smoothing the surface. Refrigerate about 2 hours.
- Decorate the top of the cake with flowers, greenery and berries. Be sure to wrap the flower or greenery stems in plastic wrap and insert them into the cake.
