Elderflower, vanilla and strawberry cream sponge.

Every thing recently has been busy and I mean really busy. Work has been busy and I've been busy. Have I said busy enough yet? Anyway after work on Saturday I had to hurry home, even turning drinks with my work girls down, because I needed to bake this cake. Not just any cake but my mum's birthday cake. I had this cake planned for a while and after searching around for recipe inspiration I finally found a recipe that worked well for me and with few tweaks I had it sorted.

I decided that no birthday cake is perfect until it's been topped with cake bunting. Or as my brother called it a clothes line. I made one before if you fancy a little diy project.  I will warn you as this cake contains cream it will need to be eaten within two days and stored in the fridge. But that shouldn't be a problem with how delicious this is!

You will also need to use English strawberries. Preferably local strawberries. I walked past the market in the morning nd was tempted to buy them but didn't want to store them at work so I waited until my lunch which worked out to be a good thing as they were on offer two punnets for £1. Can't argue with that and they taste so good.

Anyway enough chat. Time for cake!

You will need:

 175g butter, softened

 175g caster sugar

 3 eggs, lightly beaten

 175g self-raising flour

1 tbsp vanilla extract

 3 tbsp elderflower cordial

 300ml pot of double cream

 225g strawberries

 icing sugar, to dust

Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins. 

Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF, gas 5). 

Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, then fold in the flour and 2 tbsp elderflower cordial.

Spoon the mixture into the cake tins and level the surface. Bake for 20 mins or until the sponge has risen and springs back when pressed lightly.

Cool in the tins then turn out. Whip the cream until it holds its shape. Fold in the remaining 1 tbsp elderflower cordial. Slice the strawberries in half leaving a few for the top of the cake.

Spoon the cream onto one cake and arrange the cut strawberries in the on the cake. Top with second sponge and press down lightly. Add a small amount of cream to the top of the cake and place a few whole strawberries. Dust with icing sugar. 

Enjoy!

[Food] Strawberries and Cream Cake

Well Wimbledon is now over, we have a British winner and I have a crush on Andy Murray. Anyway it's that wonderful time of year to indulge in the best British strawberries and lashings of cream. And what's better than strawberries and cream, strawberries and cream in a cake. This recipe won't let you down.

Adapted from Good Food

For the cake:

200g caster sugar

200g softened butter

4 eggs, beaten

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

icing sugar, to decorate

For the filling:

284ml tub double cream

250g tub mascarpone

3 tbsp caster sugar

150g strawberries, chopped

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/gas 5. Butter two sandwich tins and line each with a circle of grease proof paper.

In a bowl beat together all the cake ingredients until you have a smooth soft batter.

Spoon equal amounts into the sandwich tins and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden and cooked. 

Cool the cakes.

To make the filling whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Beat the mascarpone and caster sugar in a separate bowl and then fold in the cream, mix together until smooth.

To assemble spoon half of the mixture over one of the sponges and fill with chopped strawberries. Place the other sponge over the top and dust the top with icing sugar. Place two strawberries on top and serve. 

The cake will keep a couple of days in the fridge, but chances are it won't stay around that long anyway!

Enjoy!

♥ 

Pavlova Meringue Stack Recipe!

I've got a confession to make. This should have been three tiers instead of two. This is more of sandwich than a stack but it should be a stack. Sadly the third tier is stuck to the baking paper. Oh well it still looks good!

I planned to make a Pavlova but then decided to make a stack instead. Here's the recipe for you guys:

Adpated from Delia's Pavlova Recipe.

Ingredients:

For the meringue:

3 Large egg whites

175g Caster sugar

Food colouring, colour of your choice

For the topping: 

300ml Cream

350g Berries

Icing sugar, to dust.

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2/150ºC.

2 .Place the egg whites into a large clean bowl and whisk until stiff.

3. Fold in the sugar 25g at a time, being careful not to beat the air out of the whites.

4 .Spoon the mixture equally onto three baking trays, covered with baking parchment. I made circles but any shape will be fine.

5. Swirl some food colouring on the top of the meringue. I used a wooden skewer but a cocktail stick will work just as well.

6 .Turn the oven down to Gas Mark 1/140ºC and bake for an hour.

7. Once cooked leave in the oven, preferably over night to dry out but a few hours would be fine.

8 .Peel the meringue from the baking paper. And place the bottom layer onto a cake stand.

9. Whip up the double cream until stiff and pile onto the meringue. Add the next layer of meringue and then another layer of cream. Then the last meringue and a dollop of cream in the middle.

10. Decorate the cream with berries of your choice. I went for blueberries and strawberries.

11. Dust with icing sugar and serve to your hungry guests.

It is quite an easy recipe and looks spectacular. It would be perfect for an afternoon tea or as an alternative to a birthday cake.

♥