– Click here for this recipe in Dutch -> Vlierbloesem cake met chocolade ganache –
It’s been a while since I made this cake for a meeting of the LA Cake Club. I wanted to keep it really simple and was thinking about making a Dutch apple pie, but it started to itch so I popped in to the kitchen to experiment with new recipes.
Even before being pregnancy, I loved drinking elderflower lemonade, but with the lack of cocktails nowadays I enjoy a glass of sparkling water with elderflower syrup even more!
So why not make elderflower cake? That flavor is doing so well in the spring, so I was sure to use it in a cake!
But I had to add something else… at first I was first thinking of a thick chocolate-truffle layer on the top, but at the last minute I switched to a moist two-tier cake with whipped chocolate ganache in between.
And since the next edition of the LA Cake Club is almost taking place again, it was about time that I had to share this recipe for elderflower cake with chocolate ganache with you!
So let’s bake this weekend!
The perfect cake for a Sunday in Spring: elderflower cake with whipped chocolate ganache!
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (8oz) butter, softened
- 1 heaping cup caster sugar
- zest and juice 1 lemon (divided)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup & 2 Tbsp flour, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup elderflower syrup (Ikea or European/swedish store)
- 2 tbsp cane sugar or sugar crystals
- 10 oz dark chocolate
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F. Grease the sides of an 8 inch round spring form with butter and line the base with parchment paper.
- Place the butter, sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of the stand mixer. Use the whisk to beat the butter and sugar together until they are pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, whisking well between additions.
- Sift over the flour and baking powder, then gently fold in using a rubber spatula. Spoon into the prepared tin, level the surface and bake for 45-50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 mins.
- Squeeze the lemon juice, (remove the bits!) and stir in the cordial. Use a fine skewer to prick the cake all over, pour over the syrup then sprinkle over the sugar - it should sink in but leave a crunchy crust. Leave to cool completely, before removing the cake from the tin.
- As soon as you put the cake in the oven, start with the chocolate ganache:
- Chop the chocolate and place in a large bowl.
- Pour the heavy cream in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, don’t stir! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 3 minutes.
- Remove the plastic wrap and stir the ganache until homogenous. Cover again with plastic wrap, only this time you let the plastic touch the chocolate to prevent condensation.
- Stir the ganache every 30 minutes until it has thickened to a pipeable consistency, this takes a few hours. To help it speed up, I placed the bowl in the fridge in the end.
- Place the ganache in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the whisk to whip the ganache on medium speed until airy and fluffy.
- Right before serving, slice the cake so you end up with two layers. Place the bottom layer on a cake stand. Spread the ganache on top of this layer, use an offset spatula to make it even.
- Place the top layer on top of the ganache and serve immediately, or store in the fridge until serving. (in that case, let the cake sit for 15 minutes before slicing).
Notes
It's quite hard to find elderflower syrup in the US. I buy mine at Ikea or a European/Swedish store in LA. If you can find elderflowers, you can also make your own syrup! Check this article of The Huffington Post on how to do that.
For the whipped chocolate ganache I used The Little Epicurean's recipe
Enjoy!
[…] Click here for this recipe in English -> Elderflower cake with whipped chocolate ganache […]
I love elderflower and cannot wait to try this. I’ll drink a St. Germain cocktail for you, to go with it! Thanks.