Donal Skehan’s Strawberry and Elderflower Cake
Ingredients
225g butter
225g caster sugar
4 large free range eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
225g self raising flour
About 3 tbsp of milk to loosen batter
6 tbsp Ashbolt elderflower concentrate (cordial)
1 jar of good quality strawberry jam
250ml double cream
To Finish:
Dusting of icing sugar
A good handful of fresh strawberries
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 the grease and line two 21cm springform tins.
- In a standalone mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs one by one before adding the vanilla extract.
- Using a spatula, fold in the flour until you have a smooth mixture. Use a little bit of the milk if you need to loosen the mixture. You want the mixture to be a bit loose.
- Divide the mixture into the two springform tins, flatten the top with a spatula if needed. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until it’s nice and golden.
- When the bases are cooked, take them out and let cool for a few minutes before you take it out of the tin to cool completely. Pierce the top of each sponge with a stick and pour over 2 tbsp of the elderflower cordial on each sponge and let it sit and soak.
- While the bases are cooling prepare the filling by whipping the double cream together with the last 2 tbsp (or to taste) of elderflower cordial.
- To assemble the cake, spread some strawberry jam on one of the bases before topping with cream, then add the second base and sprinkle with icing sugar and top with some strawberries.
Original source http://www.donalskehan.com/recipes/strawberry-and-elderflower-cake/
Delicious in Desserts
o Use Elderflower Concentrate neat as a garnish on desserts, or pureed with darkberries. o Drizzle over ice-cream, plain yoghurt and pancakes.
o Add a ‘zing’ to fruit salad.
o Use in sorbets or jellies – the sparkling can be
substituted for champagne in jellies.
o We recommend a couple of drops of Elderflower Concentrate added to
Ashbolt olive oil for an amazing salad dressing.
o Pour a little Concentrate over a salmon for a truly delicious flavour.
o Help to plump up dried fruit.