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Lemon Elderflower Cake!
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This stunning Lemon Elderflower Drip Cake features three layers of light, lemon-and-elderflower infused sponge soaked in a sweet elderflower drizzle, layered with tangy jam or lemon curd, and wrapped in a fluffy elderflower buttercream. Topped with a silky white chocolate ganache drip, fresh berries, and lemon slices, it takes 15 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to bake.
Notes from The Patisserie
Elderflower is one of my absolute favorite flavors in the world. While we usually enjoy it in drinks, turning it into a beautiful three-layer celebration cake is a total dream. It is fresh, summery, and completely showstopping.
Combining the bright punch of lemon with the delicate, floral sweetness of elderflower creates a classic flavor pairing that is completely refreshing. When baking with elderflower cordial, you are introducing extra liquid directly into your cake batter and buttercream. To keep your sponges from becoming heavy, the cordial is folded in at the very end of mixing alongside fresh lemon zest, allowing the cake to bake up light, fluffy, and evenly grained.
The secret to keeping a large three-layer cake soft and fresh for days is the cordial-infused drizzle. Pouring this sweet mixture over the sponges while they are still piping hot inside their tins allows the liquid to soak deep into the center. If you wait until the cakes cool down, the drizzle will simply sit on top, making the crust sticky while leaving the inside dry.
Balancing the elderflower flavours
I have made a few elderflower cakes in practice for all of this, but mixing it with a dash of lemon is the best. You can easily just use elderflower if you want, and leave out the lemon zest in the cake, but I adore the combinations of flavours. I use one of the bottlegreen elderflower cordials, but there are so many out there that taste wonderful. Its just such a fresh spring flavour.
I decided to use the elderflower cordial in the sponge, along with the lemon zest, and then make it even more elderflower by adding in some elderflower drizzle (rather than lemon drizzle) and elderflower buttercream.
Mastering the drizzle
The drizzle is basically the same as how a lemon drizzle would behave, because you mix the cordial with some caster sugar. I always use a touch of sugar in my drizzles as I prefer it to just drizzling over the cordial (or lemon) on its own, but thats up to you.
I feel the drizzle keeps the cake wonderfully moist and it gives it an extra kick of flavour. Drizzles really are the best things when it comes to keeping cakes fresh, and I use them quite often when I want to make a cake last, but with something like this its all about the flavour.
You could try a flavoured elderflower cordial, or stick to a lemon drizzle, but I feel in this particular cake using a lemon drizzle would be a tad overpowering as elderflower is so delicate.
Smoothing the perfect buttercream
To get that flawless, smooth finish on the outside of your cake, a metal scraper or cake smoother is a complete lifesaver. When coating the cake, slather a thin layer of buttercream over the top and sides first to lock in any stray crumbs, this is your crumb coat. After a quick 10-minute chill in the fridge, apply a slightly thicker layer of buttercream and use your scraper to glide around the edges for a clean, professional look.
I went for the elderflower buttercream as I thought it would be wonderful. Buttercream itself is sweet, but in a way adding in the elderflower cordial increases and decreases the sweetness. I don’t personally find cordial that sweet, but I know some people do. Its just as I have said before such a pleasant flavour. You just need to make a usual buttercream, and use the cordial to loosen it instead of water or milk.
FAQs
What kind of elderflower cordial should I use?
Any high-quality, concentrated elderflower cordial works beautifully in this recipe (such as Bottlegreen or Belvoir). Avoid using a pre-diluted elderflower drink, as it won’t have enough flavour and will add too much extra water to your batter and frosting.
Can I use lemon curd instead of blackberry jam between the layers?
Absolutely! Both options are delicious. Blackberry jam adds a stunning pop of deep color and a lovely summer-berry sweetness, while lemon curd leans into the zesty, bright citrus side of the cake. You can even mix and match between the different layers!
How can I scale this down to make a smaller version?
If you want a slightly smaller cake, you can reduce the ingredients to 300g of butter, sugar, and self-raising flour, 6 medium eggs, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and 75ml of cordial. This will make slightly thinner layers that might take an extra 5 minutes in the oven. Just use two-thirds of the buttercream and decoration amounts to finish it off.
Why is my white chocolate drip running too far down the cake?
This usually happens if the ganache is still too hot or if the cake itself is at room temperature. For the best results, make sure your cake has been chilling in the fridge for at least 15 to 20 minutes before applying the drip. The cold buttercream will naturally slow down and stop the chocolate drips in their tracks.
Lemon Elderflower Cake!
A three-layer lemon & elderflower cake with an elderflower drizzle, blackberry jam, and elderflower buttercream.
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Servings: 15 Slices
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 400 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 400 g caster sugar
- 400 g self raising flour
- 8 medium eggs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 100 ml elderflower cordial
- zest of 1 lemon
Elderflower Drizzle
- 125 g caster sugar
- 150 ml elderflower cordial
Elderflower Buttercream
- 400 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 800 g icing sugar
- 100 ml elderflower cordial
Decorations
- 150 g white chocolate
- 50 ml double cream
- lemon slices
- blackberries
- lemon curd or blackberry jam
Instructions
For the Cake!
- Heat the oven to 180ºc / 160ºc fan and line three 20cm/8inch cake tins with baking parchment – leave to the side.
- In a stand mixer, beat together the unsalted butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the flour, eggs, baking powder and beat again briefly until combined – try not to overbeat!
- Add in the elderflower cordial and lemon zest, and mix in.
- Divide the mixture between the three tins and smooth it over – bake for 25-30minutes until the cakes are golden and when the cake springs back (skewer should also come out clean)
For the Drizzle!
- Whisk together the sugar and elderflower cordial.
- Once the cakes are baked, drizzle over the cordial mix, and leave the cake to cool in the tin.
For the Buttercream!
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is smooth and loose and then beat in the icing sugar 1/3 at a time until its fully combined. Keep beating the buttercream for 5-6 minutes on a medium speed so it starts to get fluffier and lighter.
- Add in the elderflower cordial and beat again for 3-4 minutes. If its too stiff, add a bit more cordial in, but you want it to be relatively stiff to not slip off the cake!
For the Decoration!
- Once the cakes are cooled, put the first layer on the serving plate spread some of the buttercream onto the top of the first layer, spread over a little lemon curd, add the second cake on top, and then top again with some of buttercream, lemon curd or blackberry jam, and then add the final sponge layer.
- Only use about 2 tbsp of buttercream per layer so that you have enough to decorate with!
- With the leftover buttercream, as you can see, I covered the sides (and top) too! Do a first layer of around the edge and top using a large metal scraper and refriergate for 10 minutes. Repeat again with a slightly thicker layer of buttercream.
- I slather it on all over using an off-set spatula, and then run the metal scraper round till its smooth. The more you put on, the thicker it’ll be as because you are making it smooth, more comes off than you realise with smoothing it over.
- Melt the white chocolate carefully with the double cream to make a ganache. Using a disposable piping bags, pipe it round the edge of the cake, edging over slight bits to create the drip. You don’t need to use too much per drip as it’ll drop quite far down by itself!
- Leave the chocolate to set a bit, and pipe on any extra buttercream, add some lemon slices, and some blackberries if you wish!
Notes
- I seriously recommend using a metal scraper for the decoration of the buttercream, and the disposable piping bags for the drip… I wouldn’t be anywhere without them.
- This cake will last in an airtight container for 3 days.
Storage and freezing
Thanks to the incredible moisture from the elderflower cordial drizzle, this cake stays beautifully soft, moist, and flavourful for up to 3 days when kept in an airtight container or a covered cake box at room temperature. Keep it out of the fridge once decorated, as the cold air can dry out the sponge cake crumbs.
If you want to prepare ahead, the fully cooled, drizzled sponge layers can be wrapped tightly in a double layer of cling film and frozen for up to 3 months. Simply let them thaw out completely on your kitchen counter overnight before mixing up your fresh buttercream and assembling.
Related recipes
If you loved the elegant, fresh, and fruity combinations of this celebration cake, there are so many more fantastic recipes to explore on the blog. Lean into the classic tea-party tradition with my traditional Victoria Sponge Cake, bake up a bright and simple weekday treat with a classic Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake, or enjoy a fun, crunchy texture with my popular Lemon & Poppyseed Cupcake.
I make the cake and it was on the eggy side – do you think the eggs should be weighed – also the elderflower cordial seem to be too much liquid – do you adjust this usually.
thank you Shaz
Ah yes, this sounds like too much egg so weigh in shells! And no, I always use that amount of elderflower!
Hi Jane, I’m thinking of using this recipe for my grandson’s christening cake, would it be okay covered in fondant and as a 2 tier?
Yes absolutely, though I would recommend chilling it first! Hope this helps! x
Hi
Jane
This recipe looks fantastic. I am making a three tiered wedding cake for a friend next month, and the bottom cake (12 inch) will be lemon-I’d like to use this recipe. How would I make 2 x 12 inch lemon cake layers from this? Thank you.
Hi Jane
I love this recipe and have made it twice before! I was wondering would it work as just a lemon cake by swapping the elderflower cordial with lemon juice? Also doing the Same with the buttercream? I Love your book by the way 🙂
Hi – id like to use this recipe to make a wedding cake. Will this recipe freeze well? And if so would you freeze before or after the drizzle stage of the recipe?
Hey, ahhh this is so exciting! yes it will freeze but freeze after the drizzle x
I’ve chickened out and not used all of the elderflower drizzle as it seems a lot. Are we meant to drizzle over the full 150ml?
Do you chill the cake before adding the white choc drip?
Hey, you can do to make it easier yes!x
Hi Jane,
Absolutely love this recipe I’ve made it for two people’s birthday’s already. I want to make it again but as a Lemon Drizzle cake for an 80th. The lady loves Lemon Drizzle but I want it to look special. What would I need to change on this recipe?
Hey! Thank you so much! have a lemon drizzle cake recipe so i would advise using that! I hope she loves it xx
Hi Jane,
Can’t wait to try this! I tried your raspberry and white chocolate muffins and they were delicious!
If I want to turn this into a loaf cake or lemon cupcakes, how much elderflower cordial do I use?
Thanks
You could half the entire recipe to make 12-14 cupcakes quite easily! x
Hiya! Would you adjust the sponge recipe at all if not using any elderflower? I don’t want it to become dry but don’t want to use any elderflower x
No, you can just leave it out x
What would I do differently for a 9inch cake tin?
Hi, I’m excited to attempt this! Was just wondering if I could use elderflower gin rather than cordial?
I would say it would be best to use it for the drizzle as you would get enough ‘gin’ flavour from that – I wouldn’t use gin for all of the bits personally! x
Hi Jane!
Love your blog, it seems to be the only website I go on lately! I’m wanting to do this cake but as a two layer 7” sponge and usually I would divide the ingredients by the size of the tin in the recipe then multiply by the size I want to use (if that makes any sense haha) and I was wondering if there was an easier/more straight forward way to alter the measurements?
Many thanks! X
Hey!! Ahh thank you! I actually use this website – you can either just input the tin sizes to see the difference, or input all of the ingredients! http://www.cakebaker1.co.uk/apps-for-bakers/baking-tin-size-conversion-calculator/
Superb recipe and cake as always from my go to baking site
Hi, what sized piping nozzle did you use? Thanks
Hi Jane I made this cake once before as a practice (have to make it again for a 50th) and it was delicious! I intentionally put very little lemon curd as it was a trial but I just wondering how much lemon curd you would recommend using per layer?
I usually use a few tbsps per layer, but generally anything works as long as it doesn’t over flow! x