LEMON & ELDERFLOWER FANTASY BLOOM CAKE

MODERATE This cake flavour is very on-trend right now – particularly now Harry and Meghan have chosen it for their wedding cake – and it’s one of my all-time favourites. The flowers require a little technical skill and the right tools, but are worth the effort. Serves 8 For the lemon & elderflower sponge 250g (9oz) butter, plus extra for greasing

250g (9oz) caster sugar 5 medium eggs, beaten 75g (2¾oz) pistachio nuts, chopped

200g (7oz) ground almonds 50g (1¾oz) ground rice or rice flour

Finely grated zest of 3 lemons and the juice of 1 1tbsp elderflower cordial 8tbsp apricot jam, warmed and sieved For the syrup 1tbsp icing sugar

Juice of ½ a lemon 2tbsp elderflower syrup For the buttercream 150g (5½oz) butter 250g (9oz) icing sugar To decorate 1kg (2lb 4oz) white sugar paste

600g (1lb 5oz) flower modelling paste

White vegetable fat such as Trex (from supermarkets)

Food colouring pastes in pink, red, orange, green and yellow

50g (1¾oz) royal icing sugar

A bunch of pointed stamens (from cake decorating shops – note these are not edible)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ fan 160°C/gas 4. Grease and line the base of the cake tins with baking parchment. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs gradually, then fold in the pistachios, almonds, ground rice or rice flour, lemon zest and juice, and elderflower cordial. Stir until mixed. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch or when a skewer emerges clean. Meanwhile, make the syrup by mixing the icing sugar, lemon juice and elderflower syrup in a jug. Pour it over the cakes while they are still warm, then leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the inside of the tins to release the cakes, then turn them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Sandwich the 2 cakes together with apricot jam, then turn the whole cake upside down so that the top surface is flat. Beat the butter and icing sugar together with 1-2tsp of boiling water, until light and creamy. Use a blob of buttercream to secure the cake to the drum, and then spread the rest of it all over the cake, including in the gap between the 2 sponges, to seal in the crumbs and give a neat shape. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

On a work surface dusted with icing sugar, knead the white sugar paste to make it more malleable and then roll it out to form a circle slightly larger than the cake and sides, to a depth of about 5mm. Lift the circle with your rolling pin and drape it over the cake. Rub over the top and sides until smooth, cutting away any excess. Attach large blooms and leaves (see step-by-step, to the right) to the cake with royal icing.