Where is the champagne? Where are the streamers and glitter? You are invited to a nice helping of this strawberry and elderflower cake! Why, you ask? I am celebrating my third year of blogging. The first recipe that went online on my blog was this lemon tart, which I still love to make. I honestly never thought I would be blogging for three years. I have always been a person who just learns things by doing them. Instead of figuring everything out beforehand, I just give it a go and see what happens. The reason I started this blog was because I got tired of having to pass on recipes I was asked to provide to my friends and family. I also wanted to have some kind of organization so I thought a blog may come in handy. I would have never believed that I would enjoy taking pictures as much as baking. Mind you, I once was a professional pianist, I always thought my visual ability was not as good. However, I am still enjoying my blog immensely, be it baking, food photography or anything else, and for that reason I hope there are many more blog years to come. How about a slice of this delicious strawberry elderberry cake for this special occasion?
I did feel bad buying strawberries this early on. The produce guy informed me they were from Greece. So at least from Europe. I normally try to publish recipes that actually use ingredients of the season. However, this time I made an exception as I am currently also doing trial runs for a three-tier wedding cake I was asked to bake for a June wedding. And since it is my blog’s birthday, I thought I would combine the two and voila, this is how this strawberry elderflower cake was born.
I hope you will bake this cake when strawberries are in season, for example here in Germany for Mother’s Day. I love the moist yet stable vanilla cake layers. I already used them in this blackberry lavender cake. As no lavender is used here, preparing the cake layers is much easier and you don’t have to start the day before. I like that you can use these sturdy vanilla cake layers also for a wedding cake with several tiers. The center contains some reduced and thickened strawberries and the cake is then topped off with the famous Swiss meringue buttercream. I like to reduce the amount of sugar in it. Instead, I went for some additional chocolate on the top. This cake is definitely a show-stopper and perfect for any celebration, be it for a birthday, or just for fun.
This strawberry elderflower cake consists of moist and stable vanilla cake layers, a creamy strawberry filling and Swiss meringue buttercream. It is topped off with some chocolate drip. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and place parchment paper on the bottom of two either 20-24cm/8 or 9-inch cake pans. If you only have one, you will have to bake one after the other. I used 20cm/8inch cake pans to get a taller cake. Stir the eggs, milk, elderflower syrup, and sour cream in a separate bowl until combined. Sift into a large bowl the flour and cornstarch, add sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat in the butter and vanilla extract until combined. Beat in the egg-mix little by little, but don't beat for two long (only 10 seconds each). Pour into prepared cake tins and bake for about 30-35 minutes, an inserted toothpick should come out clean. If cooking with one, keep the remaining dough in the fridge. Let cool and divide each in half to get four cake layers. Meanwhile for the strawberry filling heat the strawberries and cook on medium for a few minutes to reduce the liquid and to get the strawberries to soften completely. If desired, you can puree the strawberries. Stir the cornstarch with some water in a mug and add to the hot strawberries while stirring. Cook on medium for another minute while whisking. Set aside. For the Swiss meringue buttercream create a waterbath for the egg whites mixed with the sugar. Keep on water bath while stirring. The temperature should reach 71 degrees Celsius. Another way of testing without a thermometer is to rub a bit of it between your fingers. If you can't feel the sugar granules anymore and the sugar has dissolved completely, it is done. Immediately transfer the egg mix to a mixing bowl and while still warm, start whipping. Whip until the mixture has cooled off, this can take ten minutes. Mix until stiff peaks form. Now add the room-temperature butter, a little at a time. It will first curdle. Continue beating until smooth. If too runny, stick in the freezer for about ten to fifteen minutes. If it continues getting thick or still curdles, heat just slightly bit and beat again. The main secret is for the eggs and the butter to both get to the right temperature. If one is colder or hotter than the other, the cream will not come together. Set aside once ready. To assemble the cake, brush each cake layer with some elderflower syrup. This will not make the cake sweeter, but help for it to stay moist. Pipe an outer ring of Swiss meringue buttercream on the bottom cake layer and spread one third of the strawberry filling in the center. Smooth with a knife. Place the second cake layer on top and repeat procedure also with the third layer. Place the fourth layer on top. Then take the buttercream to create a so called crumb coat, which means to frost the cake thinnly. This is a semi-naked cake, you will still see the cake through the forsting. Chill at least for half an hour. If you have some cream left, apply afterwards as this will help to have fewer crumbs in your frosting. For the chocolate drip melt the chocolate with the butter on low either on the stove top or the microwave, wait a few minutes for the chocolate to get a little thicker. Take the chilled cake out and create the drips first, I simply use a spoon for this, then fill the top with chocolate. Let harden. Slice some fresh strawberries in half and decoarte cake with them.
Strawberry Elderflower Cake
Ingredients
Instructions
P.S.: If you are interested in further strawberry recipes, how about (from left to right):
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