Featured on the front cover of our Summer ’18 magazine, this Courgette, Gooseberry & Elderflower Layer Cake is a taste of the summer! Floral and light, it makes for the perfect al fresco dessert or show stopper cake for afternoon tea.
SERVES 6–8
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 medium courgettes
- Finely grated zest of 1 lime
- 150g golden caster sugar
- Pinch of sea salt
- 3 eggs
- 100g rice flour
- 40g teff flour
- 60g ground almonds
- 3 tsp ground flaxseed
- Three-quarters tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Rapeseed or coconut oil for greasing
FOR THE GOOSEBERRY COMPOTE
- 250g gooseberries, topped and tailed
- 3 tbsp elderflower cordial
- 1 tsp agar flakes
- 50g golden granulated sugar
FOR THE COCONUT CHANTILLY CREAM
- 250g coconut cream, chilled
- 2 tbsp golden icing sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla paste or a vanilla pod, halved lengthways and seeds scraped out
FOR THE ELDERFLOWER CREAM
- 350g coconut cream, chilled
- 1–2 tbsp elderflower cordial
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
- 2–3 tbsp elderflower cordial
- Fresh elderflowers, if available
- For the cake, grate (but don’t peel) the courgettes coarsely. Layer the grated courgette up between double thicknesses of kitchen paper or clean tea towels and press down to extract the juice. Allow to dry for approx. 30 mins, making sure the courgette is well drained. Weigh out 275g into a bowl and add the lime zest.
- Add the sugar and salt to the eggs in a separate bowl, then whisk on a medium–high speed for 5 mins, or until pale and doubled in volume. Fold through the grated courgette using a silicone spatula until well incorporated. Sift together both flours, the ground almonds, flaxseed and bicarbonate of soda, and fold through the cake batter. Leave for 10 mins.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease 3 x 15cm round sandwich tins with rapeseed or coconut oil and line the bases with baking parchment. Divide the batter evenly between the tins and bake for 35 mins, or until browned and the tops spring back when gently pressed.
- Allow the cakes to cool still in the tins on a wire rack until just warm. Remove from the tins and cool on the rack until cold. Chill before filling.
- For the compote, place the gooseberries in a small pan with the cordial and sprinkle the agar flakes on top. Leave for 5 mins for the flakes to absorb the liquid, then heat without stirring until the mixture just comes to the boil. Add the sugar and cook gently until dissolved.
- Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins until the fruit is softened and the agar has dissolved. It will still look runny but thickens on cooling. Scrape into a bowl and cool until thickened. Cover and chill until needed.
- For the cream, mix the coconut cream and cordial together, and whisk lightly until aerated and thick. If it is too loose, chill before layering.
- To assemble, slice the top of the sponges so they are straight and remove the baking parchment from the bottom. Place the first sponge on a serving plate or cake board, and brush a little of the cordial on top. Pipe or spoon the elderflower cream in intervals on top and fill in the gaps with the gooseberry compote. Top with the next sponge, brush with cordial and top in the same way with the cream and compote.
- Place the final layer of sponge with the bottom crust side up, and brush with any remaining cordial. Pipe the remaining cream on top in large peaks and dot with the remaining compote. Decorate with elderflowers and serve.
Nourish Cakes by Marianne Stewart, published by Quadrille Publishing