Honey cake with elderflower icing

To celebrate the short, six-week elderflower harvest (usually beginning in mid-May), during which Belvoir Fruit Farms encourages the local community to help them forage for the flowers they need, Belvoir has teamed up with The Great British Bake Off 2015 finalist, Ian Cumming.

Ian is known for his passion for using natural ingredients that he has either grown or foraged for.  Belvoir’s drinks are hand made using all natural ingredients with no artificial additives, preservatives or sweeteners and so Ian’s approach to his ingredients makes him the perfect culinary partner to demonstrate the versatility of Belvoir’s Elderflower Cordial, their very own summer nectar. 

This year Belvoir is supporting Friends of the Honey Bee and the British Beekeepers Association to help highlight the importance of the honey bee to the environment and the threat they are under through the use of pesticides and certain farming methods so why not try this delicious honey cake with elderflower icing recipe?

Honey cake with elderflower Icing

Makes two-layered 20cm cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

220g unsalted butter (room temp)

140g light muscovado sugar

140g honey

½ tsp of salt

4 large eggs

280g self-raising flour

2tsp baking powder

3 balls stem ginger

3 tbsp milk

2 tbsp Belvoir Elderflower Cordial.

For the Icing

100g double cream

200g mascarpone cheese

50g Belvoir Elderflower Cordial

100g icing sugar

Method:

1. Grease and line two x 8 inch (20cm) cake tins. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Finely chop the stem ginger.

3. Using an electric mixer beat the butter, sugar, salt and honey for a few minutes until light and fluffy. One by one beat in the eggs making sure each is well and truly mixed in before adding the next.

4. Sift in the flour and baking powder and carefully fold in. Carefully fold in the stem ginger. Finally fold in milk.

5. Split between the two tins and bake for approx 25 minutes or until a knife comes out cleanly from the middle. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before turning out from tins and placing on cooling rack. Pour 1 tbsp of cordial over the top of each cake.

6. Meanwhile put the double cream in a mixing bowl and whisk until just starting to thicken. Add remaining icing ingredients and very briefly beat until combined – be careful not to overbeat.

7. Place one of the cakes on the plate on which it is going to be served. Put approx a quarter of the icing in a freezer bag or in icing bag. Snip off corner and then pipe 1 to 2cm circles all around the edge of the bottom cake. Pipe the rest inside the circles and then use up to another quarter of the icing to cover the rest of the cake.

8. Gently place other sponge on top. Spread remaining icing over top. Pipe rosettes around edge if you have the necessary piping bags/nozzles.

Alternative: If you are not so keen on icing and prefer a less sweet cake then halve the amount of icing and spread some good quality lemon curd between the two layers of sponge.

Cook’s Tip: If you’re not keen on piping, simply spread the icing over the top of both cakes and sandwich together