Lilac Cake
Lilacs are one of my favourite flowers, providing gorgeous colour and a sweet floral fragrance from May through June. This moist Fresh Spring Lilac Lemon Cake is fluffy, tangy, and so easy to make from scratch. Extremely seasonal and limited edition, every bite is cherished. This flavourful cake bursts with floral and zesty lemon notes, and the easy optional buttercream topping adds a round of deliciousness. I topped a slice of cake with a generous pouring of syrup made from lilacs and violets, that is great to have in the refrigerator this time of year. It takes 10 minutes to make and you can add the syrup to drinks and pancakes, it is my toddlers favourite.
Lilacs, which are part of the olive family, which are totally edible with the most gorgeous fragrance. If you have the opportunity, spend a beautiful day hand-plucking each individual flower from their stem and soaking them in a bath of cream to let the flowers infuse into a floral milk for this cake. This precious liquid can then be turned into creamy and dreamy lattes, buttercreams, and even lilac ice cream.
Ingredients:
184 grams buttermilk or heavy cream
85 grams butter, softened to room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
240 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
200 grams (1cup) granulated sugar
1/3 cup freshly picked lilac petals*
2 teaspoons baking powder
zest and juice from two lemons
½ teaspoon salt
rhubarb (optional)
Directions
To prepare lilac petals for your cake: remove the small white or purple petals from the small green sepals that hold them to the branch.
Preheat the oven to 176 C. Add butter and flour to a loaf pan. Make lilac infused milk by combining your buttermilk or heavy cream with your fresh lilac in a small saucepan over low heat for ten minutes. Turn off heat and let it cool as you continue on with next steps.
Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer or stand mixer. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the batter is light and fluffy; stir in the lemon zest, juice, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the creamed butter sugar mixture alternately with the lilac cream until well blended and pour the batter into the prepared pan. As an optional part: press in long thin pieces of rhubarb into the cake batter for a seasonal flavour.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Let cool in the pan a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool.
Once cool, make the butter cream and dollop some on top and garnish with lilac petals. I also served a piece of cake with homemade lilac syrup for an extra touch of sweetness.
Make the butter cream
HOW TO MAKE SMALL-BATCH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING, no measurements needed
Add a dollop (room temperature) butter to the bowl
Add powdered sugar (maybe about 1-2 dl) and mix.
Add a drop of milk and vanilla extract.
Continue to mix until light and fluffy.
If the consistency is too too thick, add more milk and if it is too loose, add sugar.
