Elderflower & Lemon Cake by Juliet Sear

Preheat the oven to 180'c, 160'c fan, gas mark 4. 

Mix the flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. 

Cream together the butter, sugar, cordial and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the eggs until incorporated. 

Gently mix in the flour and baking powder until just lightly mixed.

Spoon the mixture into two greased 8" cake tins. 

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until cooked and turn out onto a wire rack.

While the cakes are baking, place the lemon juice, water, elderflower cordial and sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the caster sugar has dissolved completely. 

Whilst the cakes are warm, spear in lots of holes with a skewer through the sponges and drizzle the elderflower syrup with a pastry brush to ensure it's all even over both cakes so that it soaks in. 

Make the buttercream by beating the icing sugar, butter and cordial together until very pale, fluffy and creamy. 

Layer the sponge by spreading over some buttercream and then adding some lashings of lemon curd. Sandwich together and chill for 20-30 minutes. 

To decorate this in a pretty rough iced way, it is simple. No need to crumbcoat. Just generously palette all over with a palette knife, allowing the palette marls to pattern the cake, then top with edible flowers if you wish or simple with additional lemon zest. 

If you want to decorate in the ombre style like in the picture,  watch the video for instructions, you will need a little pink food colouring to tint the icing.