Summer time with lemon and chamomile cake. If you have beautiful chamomile flowers popping up in your garden, this is the best thing to make- the cake is all summer in a bite! I know its too hot right now for baking but this is sorta kinda worth it!
Sometimes you want a drop of lemon and honey to just ease in the day, and that’s really what this is, a familiar favourite but as a cake. Chamomile is known to help calm the body, and the lemon pairs really well with that subtle flavour giving it a bright a fresh touch. Definitely a summer favourite, this decadent and comforting combination of floral and citrus is a must try for teatime enthusiasts.
Lemon and Chamomile Cake:
- Lemon cake: fluffy cake made with fresh lemon perfect for the season. The cake pan used for the cake is from Fat Daddio’s.
- Chamomile syrup: Sweet and herby chamomile simple syrup for soaking the cake to give it that extra floral notes in your cake. You can swap the fresh chamomile for dried up chamomile flowers. Use the chamomile simple syrup in your cocktails for a summery drink. If you are looking to grow your own Chamomile, check out seeds from from West Coast Seeds.
- Lemon Crème fraîche: Sweet, light lemon scented Crème fraîche cream for the cake.
- Lemon and Chamomile curd: Home made lemon curd infused with fresh chamomile to add a light floral essence. Top the cake with the lemon creme fraiche and swirl in dollops of lemon and chamomile curd and it just finishes the cake! Your favourite summer cake right here…
Lemon and Chamomile I am sorry but this combination is what we need all summer long.
Lemon and Chamomile Cake
Lemon cake with chamomile soak with lemon Crème fraîche and lemon chamomile curd
Ingredients
Chamomile syrup
- 2 tsp Dried Chamomile flower handful of fresh chamomile flowers
- 100 gm Granulated Sugar ½ cup
- 180 ml Water ¾ cup
Chamomile- Lemon Curd
- 4 L Egg Yolks
- 1 L Egg
- 120 ml Lemon juice
- 80 gm Salted Butter ¾ stick
- 100 gm Granulated Sugar
- 2 tsp Lemon zest
- 2 tsp Dried Chamomile flower handful of fresh chamomile flowers
Lemon Cake (1 -7" x 3")
- 175 gm Granulated Sugar ¾ cup sugar
- 2-3 tsp Lemon Zest
- 120 gm Salted Butter 1 stick
- 60 ml Vegetable/ canola oil ¼ cup
- 4 L Eggs
- 60 gm Curd / Plain Yogurt ¼ cup
- 240 gm Cake flour 2 cups
- 2 tsp Baking powder
Lemon Crème Fraîche Cream
- 125 ml Heavy/ Whipping Cream ½ cup
- 240 ml Crème Fraîche 1 cup
- 50 gm Icing sugar 3½ tbsp
- 1 tsp Lemon zest
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
Chamomile syrup
In a small pan, add all sugar and water. Let it boil and remove from heat and add the flowers. Let the flowers simmer in the sugar syrup for 30 mins to overnight.
Strain the flowers and store the syrup in a clean air tight container.
Chamomile- Lemon Curd
Add all ingredients in a metal or a glass bowl. On a pan with simmering water, place the bowl with the ingredients and whisk slowly.
Keep whisking gently until the curd starts to thicken. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the simmering water.
Once the curd starts to thicken, remove from heat. Alternatively you can also check with a thermometer to see if its reached 170°F / 75°C.
Strain it to remove the chamomile flowers, lemon zest or egg white bits that may have been slightly cooked in case the water was too hot or the bowl touched the water.
Store it in a bottle until needed for the cake, the curd can be stored in the refrigerator for upto 3 weeks.
Lemon Cake (1 -7" x 2")
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Grease and line the cake tin with parchment.
Add the lemon zest and the sugar in a bowl and mix together with the tips of your fingers. This helps spread and infuse the lemony flavor to the most.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add the butter, oil and the lemon zest sugar. Cream the butter and sugar until light, pale and fluffy.
Add and beat one egg at a time. Add the milk and vanilla extract into the bowl.
Add the yogurt. Sift in the cake flour and baking powder. Make sure the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients are fully incorporated.
Pour the batter into a 7" cake pan. (This batter will make 2 x 6" cakes for a smaller layer cake. However you might want to double up on the creme fraiche cream. )
Bake for about 40 mins. Check with a wooden skewer to see if the cake is baked (if the skewer comes out wet the cake needs a few more minutes.
Once the cake is baked, remove it from the baking tin and transfer it to the serving plate.
Lemon Crème Fraîche Cream
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, add the whipping cream. As its whipping on low medium, add the creme fraiche. Let it whip for another 30 seconds.
Add the icing sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Whisk on medium speed until it's all soft and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes. Chill the cream in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
Assembly
While the cake is hot, poke many holes with a wooden/ metal skewer. Pour the chamomile syrup generously and let it soak up the cake. Alternatively, you can pour warm syrup on a room temperature cake.
After the syrup is soaked by the cake and the cake is in back to room temperature or fridge temperature. Add dollops of Lemon Crème Fraîche Cream on the cake. Smoothen with an offset spatula.
Add dollops of lemon - chamomile curd on the Lemon Crème Fraîche Cream and using a knife or a skewer swirl the curd in the cream.
Garnish with fresh chamomile flowers or lemon curls.
Serving suggestion: extrrra dollops of lemon and chamomile curd on the slice of cake! Enjoy!
Can’t get enough of summer floral baking?
Here’s more ideas to try:
Happy Baking and Happy Summer
xx