Lemon and Elderflower Cake Recipe (Vegan Friendly)

This sweet floral elderflower lemon tea cake is the perfect cake for spring! The simple lemon cake base is infused with delicate and heady elderflower blossoms, soaked with an elderflower lemon and honey syrup and finally topped with a sweet elderflower infused glaze. Bake it as a rustic and simple loaf cake for teatime or use the recipe it to make a beautiful special tiered celebration cake decorated with edible flowers.

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The Best Cake for Spring

I’ve been stalking elderberry bushes all spring waiting for the delicate florets to bloom, and at last the time is here! I love foraging for elderflower to make my homemade elderflower cordial, a sweet syrup used to flavor cocktails or lemonade. Elderflower is one of my favourite flavours. It has a unique delicate floral flavor reminiscent of spring and pairs wonderfully with lemon flavored things. I wanted to try infusing the lacy white blooms into a tea cake and (after watching every season of GBBO – who’s with me???) it seemed like the perfect marriage for a lemon drizzle cake. (Hopefully Mary Berry would be proud!)

To extract their flavor, I infused elderflowers into non-dairy milk before adding it to the cake batter and the subtle floral flavor comes through nicely in the final result. I wanted elderflower to come through with every element of the cake so it is brushed with a elderflower syrup made with elderflower tea, lemon and honey while it is still warm from the oven to soak up all of that spring flavor. Once the cake is cooled, it is drizzled with an elderflower lemon glaze. My number one (6yo) taster gave his approval and we finished the last tiny pieces this morning with our tea. I guess I need to go foraging again!

A Cake Fit for Royalty

Elderflower lemon is the the same flavor that was used to make the the royal wedding cake for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. This lemon elderflower cake recipe is a simple tea cake version made with fresh elderflowers. It’s dairy-free and egg-free and can be made vegan-friendly by swapping honey with another sweetener. You can use elderflower cordial or elderflower liqueur in place of fresh flowers to make this cake any time of the year. It’s an easy and perfect cake to make for teatime or a light dessert with the taste of springtime.

What Are Elderflowers?

Elderflowers are the edible flowers of the elderberry plant, Sambucus canadensis. The flowers bloom between late spring and early summer in lacy clusters of tiny blossoms that are often white but sometimes pink. They have a delicate floral flavor and scent and have been used in culinary preparations dating back to the Roman Empire, most commonly to flavor dinks like elderflower champagne, elderflower liqueur, and elderflower syrup or cordial.

How to Identify Elderflowers

Elderberry bushes grow in temperate to subtropical regions around the world. In the northeast US, elderflowers start blooming in June to early July. Here on Nantucket, they are in season from early to mid-July. The dark purple berries of elderberry plants ripen in late summer and are widely used in both culinary and medicinal applications. Elderberry syrup is used as a common cold remedy and is often taken as a preventative to boost immunity throughout cold and flu season.

Elderberry leaves are dark green and pinnate with normally 5-9 leaflets arranged oppositely on each leaf stem. Correctly identifying their leaves is very important when foraging for elderflowers or elderberries as other non-edible and poisonous plants have similar-looking flower clusters. Whenever you are foraging for wild edible plants it is imperative to be 100% sure of the plant’s identification. Always check multiple reference guides and ask a local expert to confirm the plant if you can.

Main Ingredients

Elderflowers – This recipe calls for fresh elderflowers to infuse into the moist sponge, syrup and glaze. You will only need a few large elderflower heads. The green stems of elderflower heads contain some toxins so make sure to pick off the tiny flowers and discard as mush of the green stems as possible. A few stems are ok. Since elderflowers are in season for only a short time each year, you can use elderflower cordial (aka elderflower syrup or squash) or elderflower liqueur like St. Germaine to impart the elderflower flavor into the cake batter, syrup and confectioner’s glaze. Substitutions: If you can’t find fresh elderflowers try infusing the cake with another edible flower/herb such as chamomile, lemon balm or lemon verbena, which will all pair well with the lemon flavour. 

Milk – This vegan-friendly cake calls for non-dairy milk but can be made with regular milk if you prefer. Use any thin unsweetened non-dairy milk such as unsweetened soy milk, almond milk or oat milk. Thick creamy milks like coconut milk or cashew milk are too creamy and heavy for the cake.

Flour – Plain all-purpose flours creates a light fluffy crumb structure. Substitutions: Swap some or all of the all-purpose flour with soft white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour to make a whole grain version. Use a 1-1 gluten free flour mix such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour to make a gluten free elderflower cake.

Sugar – Use regular granulated sugar or caster sugar to sweeten the cake without adding any competing flavors to let the delicate elderflower flavour come through. Substitutions: You can also use an unrefined sugar such as whole cane sugar or panela, maple sugar, or coconut palm sugar to sweeten the cake but just be aware that unrefined sugars will impart their flavors to the cake.

Leavening Agents – A combination of baking soda (aka bicarb soda) and double acting baking powder give the loaf cake its fluffy rise and airy ender crumb.

Honey – Honey has a sweet floral flavor that lends itself nicely tot he sweet floral flavor of elderflowers. Use a light colored wildflower honey for the best pairing with elderflower. Raw local spring honey will give you the best results. Substitutions: Swap honey with another thick viscous sweetener like maple syrup, agave nectar, or golden syrup to make vegan-friendly version of this teacake.

Oil – Cakes made with oil are more moist and tender when compared to cakes made with butter, so I usually reach for oil when creating a new cake recipe from scratch. Use a neutral tasting oil like extra-light olive oil, avocado. oil, canola oil, grape seed oil, or any type of vegetable oil you like. You can also use extra-virgin olive oil to add a rich fruity and earthy depth of flavor to this simple cake.

Lemon – Lemon is traditionally paired with elderflower and they are a match made in heaven. The bright tangy and sour citrus notes of fresh lemon zest and lemon juice pair perfectly with elderflowers. Use any fresh whole sour lemons or try Meyer lemons or Amalfi lemons for a mild and sweet lemon flavor.

Vanilla – A touch of vanilla brings out the sweet flavor of desserts and it works well in this cake. Use a dash of vanilla extract to give a light vanilla flavor that won’t overpower the other flavors.

Powdered Sugar – Powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar is the base ingredient for the elderflower lemon glaze. When mixed with the elderflower lemon syrup it creates a perfectly pourable and thick white glaze to drizzle over the top and down the sides of the cake.

Edible Flowers – To make this simple lemon cake extra special decorate the top of the cake with sweet little elderflower flower clusters or other fresh edible flowers such as chamomile flowers as shown in the photos. se any green herbs like mint, lemon balm or lemon verbena to add a touch of edible greenery to the cake decorations.

How to Make Elderflower Drizzle Cake

Step 1: Infuse elderflowers into milk

First preheat the oven and grease a loaf pan. Alternatively you can make this in an 8 inch cake pan.

Bring the milk and elderflower blossoms to scalding temperature which is the point just before it starts to boil in a small saucepan. You will see steam rise and bubble start to form at the edges of the pan. Watch it closely and remove the saucepan from the heat before it boils. Cover the saucepan and let the flowers steep in milk for 5 minutes.

Strain the elderflower milk mixture through a fine mesh strainer. You will only need 120 g or 1/2 cup of the infused milk mixture for the cake batter. The recipe card calls for slightly more milk to start with to account for any evaporation while the milk comes up to a boil so you may have a bit more or less than you need. If you have less than needed, just add more milk to the infusion.

Step 2: Make the cake batter

While the milk steeps, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the elderflower infused milk, honey, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients mixture and stir them together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until they are just combined into a smooth batter.

Step 3: Bake the cake

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared loaf pan and scrape down the sides of the bowl to get all of the batter out. Spread and smooth out the batter into an even layer with the rubber spatula or an offset spatula.

Bake the cake until it is golden brown with a slightly domed top, it comes away from the sides of the cake tin, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes then run a butter knife along the sides to loosen the cake from the pan. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack.

Step 4: Make elderflower syrup

Make the elderflower syrup while the cake is baking. Pick elderflower blossoms off of one large flower head and add them to a heat-safe vessel or mug. Pour about 1/4 cup of boiling water over the flowers, cover it, and let the elderflower tea infusion steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea through a fine sieve and discard the flowers.

Add honey and lemon juice to the elderflower tea to make the elderflower lemon drizzle mixture. Reserve half of this syrup to make the glaze.

Brush the syrup over the whole cake with a pastry brush while it is still warm from the oven. This will ensure the syrup soaks into the cake fully.

Step 5: Make lemon elderflower glaze

Whisk together the reserved syrup with confectioner’s sugar to make the smooth glossy lemon elderflower glaze.

Drizzle glaze over the top of the cake once it has cooled completely. Optionally garnish the cake with grated lemon zest, fresh elderflowers or other edible flowers such as chamomile flowers before the glaze has set.

Transfer the cake to a serving plate and slice it with a serrated knife to serve.

Storage

Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or refrigerate it for up to 4 days.

The cake can be made ahead and brushed with the syrup while it’s still warm, then cooled to room temperature on a wire rack, wrapped and frozen unfrosted in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

Variations

• Special Occasion Cake: The delicious cake recipe and be scaled up and baked in round or square cake pans to make a tiered cake. Instead of decorating it with the simple lemon glaze, frost the cake with fluffy elderflower buttercream and use my tangy lemon curd as the filling. My Swiss meringue buttercream recipe would be excellent and to flavor it simply add a splash of elderflower cordial or elderflower liqueur to the buttercream frosting.
• Other Edible Flowers: Try infusing the cake with other edible flowers or herbs such as chamomile, lemon balm or lemon verbena if you can’t source elderflowers.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• Weigh the ingredients: I always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh ingredients when baking. It is the most accurate way to bake and ensures that you will get the correct results from any recipe.
• Use a thermometer: Because all ovens are different it is always a good idea to use an oven thermometer so you know the accurate oven temperature. They are inexpensive and widely available.
• Make ahead: The cake can be made ahead and brushed with the syrup while it’s still warm, then cooled to room temperature on a wire rack, wrapped and frozen unfrosted in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

Recipe FAQs

More Edible Flower Recipes

• Elderflower Cordial
• Strawberry Elderflower Gin Smash
• Dairy-Free Lilac Panna Cotta Recipe
• Lilac Syrup
• DIY Rose Water Recipe
• Rose Simple Syrup {Video}
• Wild Violet Recipes

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