Orange and Elder Flower Cake

• 125g butter, softened

• ¾ cup castor sugar

• 2 eggs, lightly whisked

• 1 ½ cups of self-raising flour, sifted

• 1 tbsp dried elderflowers, powdered by blitzing into a fine powder using a coffee grinder/dry mill on your blender

• 1 orange, juiced and rind finely grated/chopped

• 2 tbsp milk

• 1 vanilla bean, use the scraped out seeds

 

Preheat oven to 180C.

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In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until pale yellow and light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla bean and mix well. Then add in the eggs, a small amount at a time, and mix until well combined for about five minutes. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and elderflower powder together. Add the flour one third at a time to the butter mix, alternating with the orange juice and milk. Mix until combined and gently stir through orange rind.

 

Pour into 20cm greased and lined round spring form tin. 

 

Bake for 30 mins, then check to see if skewer comes out clean. If not, pop back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes if needed.

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Cool cake on a wire rack.

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Elderberry Cream Cheese Icing

• 100g butter, softened

• 200g cream cheese, softened

• 100g icing sugar, sifted

• 1 tbsp elderberry syrup

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Mix butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Pour in your elderberry syrup and mix well and you are happy with the colour. Add in as much icing sugar as you need, until the mixture is a firmer and thicker consistency.

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Cool the icing mixture in the fridge until firm and easy to spread, about 20-30 minutes.

Spread icing over the cake. Decorate with dried orange slices, dried elderberries and edible flowers of your choice. Calendula flowers and cornflowers look pretty as they contrast to the pinky purple icing.

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