Food & Drinks

Royally delicious lemon and elderflower cake recipes

Elderflower is a quintessential British flavour, here's how you can bring a bit of the UK to your kitchen.
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Exciting news for foodies and royalists alike, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have selected their royal wedding cake.

Kensington Palace announced the exciting news on Twitter.

“For their wedding cake Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have chosen pastry chef Claire Ptak, owner of the London-based bakery @violetcakes.”

The palace then dished on the elusive flavour, confirming, “Prince Harry and Ms. Markle have asked Claire to create a lemon elderflower cake that will incorporate the bright flavours of spring. It will be covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers.”

These three recipes will help you get a taste of that royal flavour!

Elderflower is a quintessential British flavour that adds a delicate fragrance to desserts and drinks.

The easiest way to incorporate it is elderflower cordial, found in most large supermarkets in the cordial aisle.

It’s also perfect in a gin and tonic!

Obsessed with the royals? Like our Facebook page Now To Love Royals for the latest news on your favourite royal family members!

Who doesn’t love cakes?!

Cheat’s lemon and elderflower buttercream cake

Serves 10

Prep time 15 minutes

Cook 10 minutes + standing

Ingredients

460g packet round double unfilled sponge cake

½ cup elderflower cordial

¼ cup water

2 tbsp lemon curd

2 tbsp desiccated coconut

6 mini meringues

toasted coconut flakes and white chocolate curls, to serve

Buttercream

250g butter, softened

3 cups icing sugar, sifted

Cheat’s lemon and elderflower buttercream cake

Method

1 Halve both sponge layers horizontally. You only need three cake layers (reserve remaining layer for later use). Arrange cake layers on a tray and use a toothpick to poke holes randomly into the surface of each cake (this will help absorb the syrup).

2 In a small saucepan, combine cordial and water on medium. Bring to a simmer. Simmer on low 5 mins until mixture is reduced to ½ cup. Brush hot syrup over cakes. Set aside 15 mins to absorb.

3 To make the buttercream

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until as pale as possible. Gradually add icing sugar until incorporated. Set aside a third of the buttercream.

4 Place one sponge layer on a plate, cut-side up.

Top with half the lemon curd, spread over half the buttercream and sprinkle with half the coconut. Top with another sponge layer and repeat with curd, buttercream and coconut. Finish with a final layer of sponge, cut-side down.

5 Spread top with reserved buttercream and decorate with meringues, coconut flakes and chocolate curls.

Meghan knows how to bring in the Royal flavour.

Pavlova with elderflower and lemon strawberries

Serves 8

Prep time 15 minutes

Cook time 1 hour + cooling

Ingredients

4 egg whites

1 cup caster sugar

1 tsp cornflour

1 tsp white vinegar

300ml thickened cream

1 tbsp icing sugar

125g raspberries, roughly crushed

2 tbsp chopped pistachios

Elderflower and lemon strawberries

250g strawberries, sliced

¼ cup elderflower cordial

2 tsp lemon zest

Pavlova with elderflower and lemon strawberries

1 Preheat oven to 150°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

2 In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add caster sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until mixture is thick and glossy.

3 Beat in cornflour and vinegar.

4 Spread mixture onto tray in a 20cm round with an indent in the centre. Bake 10 mins. Reduce oven to 120°C. Bake a further 45-50 mins. Turn oven off. Cool pavlova in oven with door ajar.

Making the elderflower and lemon strawberries

5 In a bowl, combine strawberries, cordial and zest. Set aside 15 mins.

6 In a bowl using an electric mixer, beat cream and icing sugar until soft peaks. Fold through raspberries.

7 Pile raspberry cream into cooled pavlova case, then top with elderflower and lemon strawberries. Serve sprinkled with pistachios.

Prince Harry is a famous foodie.

Lemon, elderflower and passionfruit slice

Makes 20 pieces

Prep time 20 minutes

Cooking time 5 minutes

Ingredients

200g packet sweet

un-iced biscuits, crushed

150g butter, melted

For filling

400g can sweetened condensed milk

1 lemon, finely grated zest and juice

3 tsp gelatine powder

2 tbsp just-boiled water

For topping

1½ tbsp custard powder

¾ cup water, plus

1 tbsp extra boiling water

1/3 cup elderflower cordial

¼ cup passionfruit pulp

1 tsp gelatine powder

Lemon, elderflower and passionfruit slice

Method

1 Lightly grease and line an 18 x 28cm slice pan with baking paper, leaving a 2.5cm overhang.

2 In a large bowl, combine biscuit crumbs and butter, mix well.

3 Press mixture firmly into prepared pan using a fork.

Chill 20 mins until firm.

To make the filling

4 In a large bowl, combine the condensed milk, lemon zest and juice. In a small jug, whisk gelatine vigorously into water until dissolved. Beat gelatine mixture into milk mixture. Pour over biscuit base. Chill 30 mins until firm.

For topping

5 In a small saucepan, combine custard powder with a little water to make a smooth paste. Blend in remaining water, cordial and passionfruit until smooth. Stir over low heat 3 mins until boiling and thickened. Remove from heat. In a jug, whisk gelatine with extra boiling water. Stir gelatine mixture briskly into passionfruit mixture. Pour over filling. Chill 4 hours

or overnight until set.

6 Cut the slice into 20 squares to serve.

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