Lilac Cake – Lilac and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake with Lilac Honey and Mascarpone Frosting

Lilac honey mascarpone
Lilac cake with mascarpone and lilac honey frosting

Lilac and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake with Lilac Honey and Mascarpone Frosting

This Lilac and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake is early summer on a plate!  It tastes wonderful – creamy, buttery and floral – and looks beautiful with its decoration of edible flowers.  I made my Lilac Cake for a special family tea, which thanks to recent surprisingly sunny weather, we were actually able to eat in the garden, close to the tree that had provided the blossoms.

This is a simple Victoria Sandwich cake, which is flavoured with lilac through the use of Lilac Sugar in the cake mix and Lilac Honey in the frosting.     It is really easy to make both the flavoured Sugar and Honey but you need to do this around a week before you plan to make your Lilac Cakee to allow the lilac flavour to be absorbed.   If you don’t have the time, inclination or opportunity to do this, you can make the cake without the lilac flavour – just use ordinary sugar in the cake mix and ordinary honey in the frosting.  The cake will still be delicious but, personally, I think it is worth going down the lilac route as the taste is unusual and results in a beautiful floral cake (to taste and to look at!) which captures the spirit of an early English summer.

Lilac honey for frosting
Lilac honey
Equipment

2 x 21 cm  or containers

Lilac cake
Eggs
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Lilac mascarpone and honey

Lilac and Vanilla Victoria Sandwich Cake with Lilac Honey and Mascarpone Frosting

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: for 10 people 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This is a fabulous Lilac Cake which celebrates the taste of English lilac.  It looks and tastes amazing and would be fantastic for an early summer birthday or special party.


Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

  • 450 g butter (softened)
  • 450 g Lilac Sugar (or caster sugar)
  • 8 eggs
  • 450 g self-raising flour
  • 7 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 teaspoons of [amazon_link asins='B00DUF3D9C|B0046EJ570|B00DUF3D9C|B00DUF3D9C|B007TA9ONI' text='Vanilla Essence' template='ProductLink' store='tastebotanica-21success|tastebotanica-20|tastebotani0c-21success|tastebotani0a-21success|tastebotani01-21success' marketplace='UK|US|IT|FR|DE' link_id='9c5499ff-68a6-11e8-a321-8188ded5e5dd']

For the frosting:

  • 500 g mascarpone
  • 2 tbs of Lilac Honey (or ordinary honey)
  • Fresh lilac flowers from two flower heads

Instructions

Method:  Cake

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  3. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  4. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  5. Add the milk and the vanilla extract.  It really makes a difference if you use a good quality vanilla extract – as opposed to vanilla essence – as this will give it a much more intense flavour.
  6. Grease your Victoria Sandwich tins or containers and then add the cake mixture.
  7. Bake your cakes in the oven for around 35 minutes.  They are done when they are golden brown, springy to the touch and have shrunk away from the edge of the tin.  You can test this by inserting a skewer in the middle of the cake – if it comes out cleanly with no mixture attached, your cake is done.
  8. Allow your cakes to cool on a rack before removing them from the tins or containers.

Method:  Frosting

  1. Beat the mascarpone and honey together in a food processor or using a hand blender until the mixture has thickened slightly.
  2. Use a third of the frosting to sandwich together your two cakes.
  3. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the assembled Lilac Cake.
  4. Take the small lilac flowers off the flower heads and wash them in cold water.   Allow to dry off on kitchen towel and then use them to decorate the top of the cake.   You need to complete this part of the decoration just before you are ready to serve the cake to ensure that the flowers look fresh and lovely!
  5. In the (unlikely) event that there is any Lilac Cake left over, this needs to be stored in the fridge due to the mascarpone icing.  It will keep for a couple of days but, like all sponge cakes, it tastes better when it is freshly made.

Notes

Make sure that the lilac you use has not been treated with chemicals.  The best place to get it is from your garden or that of a friend or neighbour.  Shop-bought lilac is not suitable for this recipe.

Keywords: lilac cake, lilac and vanilla cake

Mascarpone and lilac honey frosting
Spread the frosting on the Lilac Cake
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Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes

Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes

These Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes are the perfect easy summer baking recipe. The sponge is light and buttery. The use of fresh lemon makes them fresh and zesty and perfectly balances the floral flavour of the elderflower. The flavour of the cakes is echoed in the buttercream which is flavoured with fresh lemon juice and elderflower cordial.

Over the past few years, elderflower has become a very popular flavouring for all kinds of cakes and desserts. I first made these Elderflower Cupcakes a number of years ago at the request of my daughter for her to share with her biology class.  Each week a member of the class brings in cakes to share – school doesn’t sound so bad nowadays – and she specifically asked me not to make cakes with an unusual flavour.  Her exact words were “don’t make the flavour too ‘out there’, mum”.    After a focused discussion, during which various flavours were discounted –  lilac? (No), Lady Grey tea? (No!),  dandelion? (Seriously?!!) – we agreed on elderflower.

Although I love elderflower and use it in desserts regularly, this was the first time I had tried it in Elderflower Cupcakes.  I am not really a big cupcake maker!  I made two batches – one with just elderflower and one with elderflower and lemon.  When I tasted them, I understood immediately why it is usual to include lemon as an additional flavouring.  The cupcakes made just with elderflower were far too sweet for my taste but those made with elderflower and lemon were just right – floral but zesty!

What you need to know about these cupcakes

  • You don’t need access to fresh elderflowers to make them. In England, elderflowers are in season in May and June and are very common in hedgerows and the edge of woodland. I use fresh elderflowers to make many recipes including Elderflower Cordial. I really love making my own cordial but you can make these cupcakes using store-bought cordial and they taste just as good.
  • Cupcakes are very easy to make and quick to bake. Therefore, you can whip up a batch in under half an hour. However, you need to allow them to cool completely before you add the buttercream icing otherwise it will just melt into the cakes. I generally make these cakes the day before I plan to eat them so they have plenty of time to cool down.
  • I am not a brilliant icing piper. When I make these cupcakes, I generally simply put a teaspoon of icing onto each cake and smooth it down. I will always add some additional decorative element to make up for my lack of icing skills. If fresh elderflowers are in season, I will add a sprig to each cake. If not, I will add a little grated lemon zest as I think it is helpful to give a clue to the flavour of the cakes.

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Other Elderflower Recipes

I am a big fan of elderflower and love its distinctive floral flavour. I have lots of recipes, some using fresh elderflowers and some which can be made with shop-bought elderflower cordial.

  • Fresh Elderflower Cordial – very easy to make with fresh elderflowers and can be diluted as a drink and also used as a flavouring in other recipes.
  • Home-made Elderflower Gin – very easy to make with fresh elderflowers and great drunk on its own or as the basis for floral cocktails.
  • Elderflower Vinegar – delicious floral flavoured vinegar which is brilliant in salad dressings
  • Simple Elderflower Ice Cream – delicious floral ice cream which can be made using shop-bought elderflower cordial.
  • Elderflower and Gooseberry Sorbet – a refreshing floral sorbet that celebrates the brilliant flavour match of elderflower and gooseberry.
  • Elderflower Pannacotta – light and creamy summer dessert

Recipe for Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes

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Elderflower and Lemon Cupcake

Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 24 cakes 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

These scrumptious little cakes, flavoured with elderflower and lemon, are a perfect addition to afternoon tea!


Ingredients

Scale

For the cakes:

  • 250 g (9 oz) salted butter
  • 250 g (9 oz) caster or superfine sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 250 (9 oz) g self-raising flour
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 4 tbs elderflower cordial

For the icing:

  • 450 g (1lb) icing sugar
  • 225 g (8 oz) salted butter
  • 3 tbs elderflower cordial
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 200 degrees C/gas mark 6.
  2. Put your cupcake papers into your cupcake trays.
  3. Make the cake batter by creaming together the 250 g butter with the 250 g sugar.   Add the eggs gradually to ensure the mixture does not curdle.  Then add the 250 g self-raising flour.
  4. Add the grated lemon zest and the 4 tbs of cordial to the mixture and stir to combine.
  5. Put a dessert spoon of the cake mixture into each of the cupcake papers.
  6. Put your cupcake trays into the oven and cook for around 15 minutes.  The cakes will be done when they are golden brown and springy to the touch.
  7. Remove the cupcakes from the trays and put on a rack to cool.
  8. Make the icing by putting the 500g icing sugar, 250 g butter, lemon juice and 3 tbs elderflower cordial in a mixing bowl and beating until they form a pale, smooth icing.   Ice the cooled cupcakes and decorate as you wish!

Keywords: elderflower and lemon cake, elderflower cupcakes

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Mango and Lime Ice-cream

Mango
Mango and lime ice-cream

Mango and Lime Ice-cream

What can you do if you have three over-ripe mangoes?  Make ice-cream, of course!   This recipe for Mango and Lime Ice-cream is based on one included in Delia Smith’s Winter Collection – a cookery book I go back to year after year – but I include the lime zest as well as the lime juice as I like a stronger lime flavour.  Also, I generally make it with cream rather than crème fraiche as I am more likely to have this in the house.  Luckily for me, this ice-cream is better if your mangoes are very ripe as this gives it a stronger flavour.

This is a lovely ice-cream – exotic mango and zesty lime –  and very easy to make.  It makes a great dessert following a spicy meal (thai green curry anyone?) but is also very nice eaten straight from the tub in the garden on a hot summer’s day (don’t ask me how I know this!)

Equipment

Liquidiser, mixing bowl, freezer proof dish, Ice Cream Maker  (although you can make it without this – see below)

Mango
Mix the puree and the cream

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Mango

Mango and Lime Ice-cream

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: for 6 people 1x
  • Category: Ice-cream
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This ice-cream combines the fruity deliciousness of mango with a zing of fresh lime.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 120 g caster sugar
  • 3 large, very ripe, mangoes
  • 4 limes
  • 200 ml double cream

Instructions

  1. Put the sugar into a small saucepan together with 150 ml of water. Heat slowly until the sugar is dissolved. Then simmer uncovered for around 15 minutes until the mixture has reduced and looks thick and syrupy.   Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Peel your mangoes, remove the flesh, put it into your liquidiser and blend into a smooth puree.
  3. Put the mango puree into a bowl and add the cooled sugar syrup and the juice and grated zest of the limes.
  4. In a separate bowl (or food processor) whip the cream until it forms soft peaks.
  5. Fold the mango mixture into the whipped cream.
  6. Put the combined mixture into the fridge and allow to get completely cold.
  7. If you have an ice-cream maker, put the mixture into it and process according to instructions.  Once the ice-cream has thickened, transfer it to a freezer-proof container and keep in your freezer until you wish to eat it.
  8. If you do not have an ice-cream maker, you can transfer the mixture straight into the freezer-proof container, freeze for one hour, then stir and return to the freezer.

Keywords: mango and lime ice-cream, mango ice-cream

Mango
Ready to serve!

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Asparagus and Herb Cheese Tart

Asparagus and Herb Cheese Tart

Asparagus and Herb Cheese Tart is a really quick and simple supper or lunch dish and can be eaten hot or cold.   It uses ready-made puff pastry with a topping of lemon and herb flavoured cheese and fresh asparagus. You can make this recipe in around half an hour so it is perfect when you want to get something hot and tasty on the table in hurry.

What you need to know about this recipe

  • There is no shame in using ready-made puff pastry  – it makes things so much easier – but if you can find a brand that says it is made with butter it will taste so much better!
  • I combine plain cream cheese with garlic, lemon and herbs in this recipe as I like to choose my own flavourings. However, there are lots of ready-made garlic and herb cream cheese varieties. If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can use one of them rather than making your own.
  • In this recipe, I have used fennel, thyme, chives and parsley as I had to hand in my garden and which I think go well together and with the asparagus. However, you can use any herbs that you like. Others that would go well would be lemon balm, lemon thyme, dill and tarragon.
  • The one thing I would recommend keeping in, is the lemon zest.  Asparagus has an affinity with lemon and with dairy products – a traditional way of serving it is with buttery, lemony Hollandaise sauce – which highlights its fresh, grassy flavour.

Other asparagus recipes

If you like this Asparagus Tart recipe, you might also like my Asparagus Quiche. This is a different kind of recipe that is made with shortcrust pastry and contains a savoury custard filling studded with pieces of asparagus and fresh herbs. You might also like my Asparagus and Pea Soup which is flavoured with chervil and is a fantastic light summer soup.

Other quiche and tart recipes

Savoury tarts and quiches are a fantastic, cook-ahead simple supper or lunch. They are easy to make and are great either hot or at room temperature. They can also be easily divided into portions if you are feeding a large number of people. Easily transportable, they also make a good addition to lunch-boxes or basis for a picnic. Some of my favourites are listed below.

Asparagus and Herb Cheese Tart recipe

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Asparagus

Asparagus and Herb Cheese Tart

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: for 6 people 1x
  • Category: Tart
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This Asparagus and Herb Cheese Tart combines crisp buttery pastry with creamy cheese and fresh asparagus.  It is very quick and easy to make for a light lunch or supper.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 375 g (14 oz) pack of puff pastry (the brands made with butter are best!)
  • 200 g (7 oz) cream cheese
  • 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
  • Grated zest of half a lemon
  • A bunch of mixed herbs to taste  – I used fennel, thyme, chives and parsley – (finely chopped)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 7 or 8 stems of asparagus
  • Olive oil

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Roll your puff pastry out into a rectangle to fit your baking tray. Place it on the tray.
  3. Place the cream cheese in your mixing bowl and add the crushed garlic cloves, lemon zest and chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Spread the cheese mixture onto your pastry rectangle leaving about 2 cm clear around the edges.
  5. Remove the thyme leaves from the woody stems (keep the stems) and put them in a small bowl. Add the grated zest of your lemon along with the crushed garlic. Put your softened butter into the bowl and mash to combine with the other ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper.
  6. Remove the ends of the asparagus stems as these can be woody and difficult to eat. The best way of doing this is to simply bend the stem and it will snap at the right point.
  7. Place the asparagus on top of the cheese mixture on your pastry rectangle.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
  8. Place the baking tray into the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is crisp, golden and puffed up and the asparagus is soft.
  9. The tart can be eaten hot or at room temperature.

 


Keywords: asparagus tart, herb cheese tart

Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding

Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding 

Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding

This recipe for Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding is very easy to make and is a great starting point for someone who is new at dessert-making.  Traditional Bread and Butter Pudding consists, as the name suggests, of slices of buttered bread set in a simple baked custard.  

This recipe combines the lovely creamy custard with golden crispy bread and tangy sweet-sour rhubarb.  It is an easy way of providing the classic combination of rhubarb and custard.  It is really easy to make –  no messing about making pastry or sponge cakes for pudding – and should please those who like a traditional pudding and those who like something a bit different.

Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding

What you need to know about Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding

  • It is extremely easy and can be assembled with the absolute minimum of skill. Just butter bread, add jam and put it in a dish with some eggs and milk. Cook for half an hour in the over and that is it.
  • You can use home-made Rhubarb Jam. I have an easy recipe for this if you want to try it. However, you can make it with shop-bought jam and it will still taste good. You can also make it with other jam flavours. Any flavour would be good but I would recommend using one with a stronger, tart flavour such as gooseberry or maybe blackcurrant.
  • You can eat this pudding either hot from the oven or at room temperature. If you have some left over, you can cover it with clingfilm and keep it in the fridge for up to three days.
Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding

In praise of traditional puddings

I love making traditional old-fashioned puddings which can be made quickly from ingredients that are available in most households (bread, milk, eggs).   These puddings fell out of fashion, partly due to the focus on French cordon bleu style cooking in the 1970s. However, they had a renaissance in the 1980s when they began to appear on restaurant menus.   

In addition to this recipe for Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding, I also have one for Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding which is another twist on a traditional Bread and Butter Pudding recipe. That recipe is also known as Osborne Pudding as it was allegedly a favourite of Queen Victoria. It has a great combination of bread-filled custard and orange and slightly bitter marmalade.

If you are looking for another kind of easy pudding recipe, then crumbles (or crisps as they are known in North America) are another good option. You could try a traditional Apple Crumble or maybe a Rhubarb Crumble?

Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding
Other rhubarb recipes

I love rhubarb and have lots of other rhubarb recipes. It makes a great jam, compote or fruit curd. It is also great in a crumble. Rhubarb is also good in many home-baking recipes such as Rhubarb Crumble Cake, Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake , Rhubarb Victoria Sandwich Cake and Rhubarb Roulade. It also makes a good basis for cold desserts such as Rhubarb Curd and Rose Ice Cream or Rhubarb Fool. You can also use it to make Rhubarb Cordial and a pretty good Rhubarb Gin liqueur!

Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding recipe

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Bread and Butter Pudding with Rhubarb Jam

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: for 6 people 1x
  • Category: Pudding
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This traditional Bread and Butter Pudding is given a shot of additional flavour from zesty rhubarb jam.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 75 g (3 oz) butter
  • 4 thin slices of bread – crusty white is best!
  • About 4 tablespoons of Rhubarb jam 
  • 2 eggs
  • 400 ml (3/4 pint) milk
  • A few drops of vanilla essence
  • A few flaked almonds to decorate 

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Butter an oven-proof dish.
  3. Spread you bread slices with butter and then with jam.  Then cut them into strips of about 3 cm wide.
  4. Place a layer of the bread strips in your oven-proof dish.  Repeat until you have used up all the bread strips.
  5. Beat the eggs in a bowl and then add the milk and the vanilla essence.   Pour the mixture into the oven-proof dish.
  6. Leave for around 15 minutes so that the bread absorbs some of the milky mixture.
  7. Place the oven-proof dish in the oven and bake for 35 minutes until the custard is set and the top is golden and crispy.   
  8. If you wish to decorate with flaked almonds, sprinkle them over the top of the pudding after 30 minutes so that they toast but do not burn.

Notes

You can use any other strong flavoured jam as an alternative to rhubarb.  I have made this recipe with gooseberry and blackcurrant jam too.

Keywords: rhubarb bread and butter pudding