Strawberry and elderflower honey cake Recipe

Celebrate all the efforts and hard work that the humble honeybee puts in with this show stopping strawberry and elderflower honey cake.

For our strawberry and elderflower honey cake, we’ve taken the (sometimes temperamental) genoise cake and given you a fool-proof recipe. In fact, we're confident it works every time! Forget bain-marie’s and whisking until you can no longer feel your arms, by heating the honey and using an electric mixer, this recipe will work every time. For more tips and tricks to fix common baking mistakes, read our handy guide.

The honey cake has been paired with a lighter-than-air elderflower Swiss meringue buttercream and juicy strawberries. If you prefer, you could use raspberries and fresh cream but the buttercream will last out of the fridge for longer. For something with a herbal twist, try Rose Prince’s rosemary and honey cakes or our Moroccan mint and honey cakes.

Ingredients

For the honey cake

• 5 medium eggs
• 150g organic runny honey
• 250g plain flour
• 40g butter, melted

For the buttercream

• 3 egg whites
• 200g sugar
• 350g soft unsalted butter
• 2tbsp elderflower cordial
• 300g strawberries, hulled and sliced (reserve a few for the top)
• edible flowers, to garnish

You will need

• 2x deep 18cm cake tins, lined with parchment

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3. Heat the honey in a saucepan over a medium heat and allow to boil for 1 min.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs on high in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, lower the speed and slowly pour in the honey. Turn the mixer back up high and continue whisking for 2-3 mins until the side of the bowl is cool to the touch.
3. Sieve the flour and fold into the mix in three parts, followed by the melted butter. Be sure not to over mix and deflate the mixture, but ensure there are no lumps of flour. Pour into the prepared cake tins and bake for 35-40 mins. Remove and leave to cool completely before slicing in half.
4. To make the buttercream, heat the egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, whisking constantly until the temperature reaches 71C. Take off the heat and whisk using an electric whisk or stand mixer. Once the side of the bowl is cool and the meringue is fluffy, add in the butter, bit-by-bit and whip until silky and smooth, mix through the elderflower at the end.
5. To assemble, place one on the sponges on a plate or cake stand, spoon over 1/4 of the buttercream and spread to the edges, scatter 1/3 of the strawberries over and top with another sponge, repeat for the other layers and top with the reserved strawberries. Garnish with edible flowers.