Wildflower Cake

This stunning celebration cake is decorated with pressed, edible wildflowers!

From Valentine’s Day dinner all the way through to Christmas party treats, you can add edible flowers to your kitchen creations all-year round. To help you navigate the best blooms to cook and bake with in every season, here are Rowse’s top 12 edible flowers you should be using in the kitchen.

Prep time: 60 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Serves 15

Ingredients

For the sponge:

• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g soft brown sugar
• 300g golden caster sugar
• 500g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 150g Greek or natural yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 200g white chocolate, melted
• 5 tbsp Rowse Oxfordshire Runny Honey

For the frosting:

• 700g icing sugar, sifted
• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g soft cream cheese
• 100g Rowse Oxfordshire Runny Honey
• 2-3 tbsp whole milk

For the garnish:

• Dried edible wildflowers

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 170C fan/190C and prepare three 20cm deep round cake tins by greasing and lining with baking parchment.
2. In a tabletop mixer or a large mixing bowl with electric whisks, beat together the butter and 200g golden caster sugar for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
3. In another large bowl add the egg whites and whisk until you have soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining 100g of golden caster sugar and whisk until glossy and stiff peaks form.
4. In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks with the soft brown sugar and whisk until thickened and doubled in size. Sift the flour into a bowl with the baking powder. Add the egg yolk mixture, followed by the flour and baking powder, to the butter mixture in 3 stages, and beat to combine fully. Pour in the yoghurt, vanilla, white chocolate and Rowse Oxfordshire Runny Honey, then whip for 1 more minute. Lastly, fold through the egg whites until smooth and fully combined.
5. Evenly transfer to baking tins and level out the tops. Pop in the oven for 30-35 minutes until starting to turn golden on top. A skewer inserted through the middle should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes before taking out and transferring on to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the frosting, beat the butter in a tabletop mixer or a large mixing bowl with an electric whisk for 2-3 minutes until creamy and pale. Gradually add the icing sugar a third at a time until fully combined, adding 2-3 tbsp milk to loosen. Add the Rowse Oxfordshire Runny Honey and soft cream cheese, then whip again for 30 seconds until creamy and thick.
7. To assemble the cake, trim the tops to level them out. Pop one of the cakes onto a cake board or stand and layer with some of the frosting, continue with another cake and layer of frosting and finish with the final cake on top. With a thin layer of frosting cover the whole cake in a crumb coat and leave to chill for 30 mins. With the remaining frosting, cover the whole cake and smooth it out with a palette knife. Leave to chill for a further 30 mins.
8. Finally, decorate your finished cake by sticking the edible wildflowers in a beautiful pattern to the frosting. You can also add other edible decorations like sugar bees, birthday candles, or just keep it simple. Then serve and enjoy!

Recipe from:  Rowse Honey