An edible bonnet for Easter Sunday dessert

Sweet Treats with Erin Fox

This refreshing elderflower and lime cake is the perfect dessert for Easter Sunday after all the chocolate eggs. Iced like an Easter bonnet, it makes a brilliant centre piece for the Easter Sunday dinner table.

Equipment:

  • One 8 inch hemisphere cake tin or a bowl measuring the same width
  • Baking parchment
  • One round cake board measuring 12 inches
  • Ingredients:
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 200g unsalted butter softened
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp elderflower cordial
  • 4 eggs lightly beaten

Buttercream:

  • 150g unsalted butter softened
  • 200g icing sugar
  • Juice of one lime
  • 1 tbsp elderflower cordial
  • To ice the cake:
  • 900g ready to roll sugar paste
  • Food colouring gel in bluebell

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Grease the cake tin extremely well and place on a baking tray.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and place to the side.

In another bowl, beat the butter with the lime zest and the sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs along with two tablespoons of the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the rest of the flour and finally the elderflower cordial and pour the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a wooden skewer emerges clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Leave to cool, then wrap it in cling film and give it a spell in the fridge for one hour. This will make the cake easier to trim later.

While the cake is chilling in the fridge, ice the board and make the buttercream. Roll out the sugar paste and colour with the gel. Knead and roll until the colour is even. Break off half of the sugarpaste and put the other half in a polythene bag. Place the board on an icing turn table, dust with icing sugar and sprinkle over a little water. Roll out the sugar paste again and cover the board, smoothing with your hands. Trim the excess sugarpaste with a knife. Wrap a ribbon round the side of the board and pin in place or secure with some edible glue.

To make the buttercream, beat the butter and icing sugar in a bowl for five minutes. Gradually add the elderflower cordial and lime.

Once the cake has cooled, place it flat on the icing turn table spread the buttercream all over the top and sides with a palette knife. Roll out the remaining sugar paste and cover the cake, smoothing the sides with your hands. Trim away the excess sugar paste. With the palette knife, gently lift the cake onto the iced board. Wrap a ribbon around the base of the cake and tie into a bow. Just before serving the cake, tuck some spring flowers such as daffodils, crocuses and primroses into the ribbon.