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Lilac Honey Cake

Lilac Honey Cake is a traditional British recipe (based on a Welsh original) for a cake flavoured with honey and lilac blossoms. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Lilac Honey Cake.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

40 minutes

Total Time:

55 minutes

Serves:

8–10

Rating:

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesMilk RecipesBaking RecipesCake RecipesBritish Recipes

Honey cakes have been a feature of Welsh cookery for generations. Here, the traditional cake is adapted to include edible lilac blossoms in the batter with more lilac flowers used as a garnish to decorate. Note that though the flowers are edible and very tasty, the stems that they're attached to are bitter so you will need to pinch the flowers free from any stem pieces before using in this recipe.

Ingredients:

115g (1/2 cup) salted butter, softened
50g (1/4 cup) sugar
15g (1/2 cup) lilac blossoms, picked free of any stems
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
300g (2 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tbsp baking powder
125ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
125ml (1/2 cup) honey

For the Icing (frosting):
100g icing (confectioner's) sugar
a little lemon juice
more lilac flowers to decorate

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 175°C (350C). Grease and flour a 20cm diameter cake tin (preferably springform).

Sift together the flour and baking powder into a bowl. In another bowl whisk together the honey and buttermilk.

Cream together the butter, sugar and lilac blossoms until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, to this mixture one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition. Finally beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and honey mixture. Once all the ingredients have been combined and the batter is smooth turn into the prepared cake tin.

Transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely.

Once the cake is cold, sift the icing sugar into a bowl then work in just enough lemon juice to give a spreadable icing. Spread this over the top of the cake and decorate the edge with a line of lilac flowers. Allow the icing to set before slicing into wedges and serving.