A delicious mixture of summer and autumn

This cake mingles the flavours of summer and autumn with the sweet geranium and the blackberries. You can omit the sweet geranium if you’re not keen on the flavour and grate some lemon zest into the cake batter instead. You will need:

  • 225g unsalted butter
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 4 eggs lightly beaten

For the syrup:

  • 150g caster sugar
  • 150ml water
  • 6 large sweet geranium leaves torn
  • Juice of half a lemon

For the buttercream:

  • 200g unsalted butter softened
  • 200g icing sugar
  • 4 tablespoons blackberry jam
  • 4 sweet geranium leaves
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • 3 x 15cm cake tins or 2 x 20cm cake tins greased and lined with baking parchment.

Medium heat

Make the syrup in advance to allow the flavours to infuse. Place the sugar in a pan with the water and geranium leaves over a medium heat. When the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Leave to cool.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease and line the cake tins. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy. 

Add two tablespoons of the flour to the butter and sugar mixture then gradually add the eggs a little bit at a time, beating well after each addition. Gently fold in the rest of the flour and divide the batter between the prepared tins. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer emerges clean.

While the cakes are baking, make a start on the buttercream. Gently heat the blackberry jam in a saucepan with the geranium leaves. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Leave aside to cool.

When the cakes are out of the oven, prick the tops with a wooden skewer and then brush over the geranium syrup. Leave the cakes in their tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. 

Meanwhile, finish preparing the buttercream. Strain the blackberry jam and geranium mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Beat the butter and icing sugar together for five minutes on a high speed. Stir in the jam and beat again until everything is incorporated. 

Trim the tops off the cake and layer with the buttercream. Using a spatula, spread the rest of the buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Dip the spatula in hot water and then smooth the icing all around. Use the remaining buttercream to pipe rosettes around the top of the cake and top each rosette with a blackberry.