Elderflower Cake with St Germain Soak and Elderflower Mascarpone Frosting

The kids and I are planning on about a dozen “mad tea parties” this summer. That should average out at 1 1/3 a week!

Now, we wanted to come up with a cake that had “mad tea party” written all over it. So, after receiving the most amazing bottle of Elderflower Cordial from a friend of ours [here’s a similar recipe from seriouseats], we decided to make the most epic elderflower cake of our lives. Then, to test it out, we, the royal “we,” in this instance, brought it to a mad party of another kind, a cocktail party hosted by the amazing Nathalie of Plenty Mag [rose gin cocktails anyone?], and it was flying on and off of plates faster than you can say “Mickey Mouse.”

So, all set for summer partying are we! Here’s our recipe for an easy and amazing Elderflower cake with St. Germain soak and Elderflower Mascarpone Frosting. [And by the way, bakers, I know it may be scandalous for me to suggest, but, if you’re in a pinch, just make a sheet cake from a box mix, maybe use some whipped cream as your topping, and incorporate cordial and/or St. Germain as you see fit].

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Elderflower Cake with St. Germain Soak and Elderflower Mascarpone Frosting

A wonderful single layer spring-form tea-cake. If you're an elderflower fan, this is your recipe!

Author: Roseanne Carrara, Summer of Funner

Ingredients

CAKE

• 2 cups soft unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4  large eggs room temperature
• 4 tbs elderflower cordial or St. Germain [we used the former]
• zest of 1 lemon

ST. GERMAIN SOAK

• 1/4 c fresh lemon juice [3-4 small lemons]
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbs St. Germain or elderflower cordial [we used the former]
• +2 tsp optional granulated sugar for "crunch"

FROSTING

• 2 cups mascarpone
• 4 tbs icing sugar
• 3 tbs elderflower cordial or St. Germain [we used the former]
• 1 c heavy cream

OPTIONAL DECOR

• Berries
• Edible Flowers
• Fresh Herbs

Instructions

CAKE

• Heat the oven to 350
• Line the bottom of one spring form cake pan with parchment and butter the sides.You might also choose to wrap the bottom in a bit of foil to prevent spilling.
• Cream the butter and the sugar.
• Beat in the eggs one by one.
• Add the lemon zest and elderflower cordial or liquer.
• Gradually add in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Spread the batter in the tin and even out with a spatula. [You will notice that this is a thick batter. This is alright! The cake will be soaked in syrup after baking!]
• While the cake is in the oven, prepare the soak, below.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch, and a knife comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit in its pan on a wire rack. [Just to be sure that the soak does not trickle out of the springform pan, I like to put my wire rack on top of a pan before I put the cake on it.]
• Prick the cake deeply and evenly all over with a toothpick.

SOAK

• Heat the lemon juice and sugar over medium heat until just dissolved.
• Remove from heat.
• Add in the elderflower liquer or cordial and stir.
• Prick the cake deeply and evenly all over with a toothpick.
• Drizzle cake with warm syrup.
• Optional: If you'd like a bit of a crunchy texture, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar.
• Cool completely before frosting.
• After a 45-60 minute rest on the counter, the cake may be refrigerated to speed cooling.

FROSTING

• Beat the mascarpone in a mixer or by hand.
• Beat in the icing sugar to taste.
• Incorporate the elderflower cordial or liquer.
• Set aside.
• In a cold bowl with a cold whisk, whisk the whipping cream to the firm peak stage.
• Gently, fold in the mascarpone mixture until combined.

PREPARATION

• Remove the soaked cake from the pan and set it directly onto the serving dish.
• Or, if you find that your cake is too brown on the edges or the bottom, get out a bread knife and trim as you desire before removing to a serving dish. [Don't be afraid to trim ALL of the edges off as well as a mico-thin layer off of the browned bottom!]
• Cover the top and sides with the frosting.
• Add fruit or flowers to the top, surround with herbs, or decorate as you desire.
• Refrigerate and, if possible, remove from refrigeration only about 15-20 minutes before serving.
• Enjoy!