Prosecco O'Clock

Prosecco and elderflower cake

Ingredients: 

• 400g margarine or softened butter 
• 400g caster sugar 
• 8 free range eggs 
• 450g self raising flour 
• 60 ml elderflower cordial 
• 60 ml prosecco 
• 1 tsp vanilla 

• 500g softened butter 
• 1 kg icing sugar 
• pink gel food colouring (or any other colour of your choice)

Dripping icing: 

• 2 free range egg whites 
• 200g icing sugar

Method: 

Making the cakes: 

Firstly, preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius, and line four 8" cake tins with baking paper. 

Next place the margarine/butter into a bowl or mixer with the sugar and mix until they are completely combined and are of a creamy consistency.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition to ensure that they are fully incorporated into the mixture. 

Once all of the eggs have been added and thoroughly mixed, add the elderflower and prosecco slowly into the mixture, mixing thoroughly to prevent the mixture from curdling. 

Finally, add the sifted flour and fold this in, in a figure of eight action, making sure to scrape the bottom until it is mixed throughout. 

Place the batter into the prepared cake tins, and place on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to touch. 

Buttercream: 

Meanwhile, place the softened butter into a bowl and mix for a couple of minutes till it becomes light in colour. 

Next gradually add in the sifted icing sugar and a teaspoon of elderflower cordial, mixing until it becomes a pipable consistency. If the buttercream is too thick, add a drop of milk to loosen the mixture. However, be careful not to add too much liquid to a buttercream as it may curdle. 

Keep 1/3 of the buttercream to fill the cake layers. With the other 2/3 add a small amount of gel food colouring and mix well. 

Once the cakes are fully cooked, place on a wire cooling rack until completely cool. 

Constructing the cake: 

Next place the bottom layer of cake onto a cake board and secure with a small amount of buttercream. Add two tablespoons of the white buttercream that you prepared onto the cake layer and smooth over. Repeat this step until all layers are stacked. 

Using the most of the left over white buttercream 'crumb' the outside of the cake. To do this, cover the whole of the outside of the cake in a thin layer of the icing using a palette knife at a 90 degree angle. Place the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes to harden the icing slightly.  

Once your crumb coating is complete, place the coloured icing into a piping bag and cover the whole of the cake in the icing. I do this by piping lines all around the outside of the cake and on top. To smooth over use a palette knife and an icing scraper at a 90 degree angle. (This may take a little time and practice to perfect.)

Dripping icing & decoration:

To make the dripping icing, place the egg whites and icing sugar and mix well until of a thick consistency. Place the icing into a piping bag with the end snipped off to create a small hole, and move slowly around the outside of the cake putting more pressure on the areas you would like the icing to drip. 

Finally, using any left over buttercream pipe small swirls on the top of the cake, which you can finally place your Macarons and strawberries onto. (To create these swirls I used a Wilton 2D nozzle). 

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make this classy show stopper. Happy Baking!