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Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

stoli lemonade and elderflower eton mess victoria sponge

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… school fetes, village shows, tea parties, picnics on manicured lawns… the sudden rain showers, the thwack of red ball against cricket bat, the scream of children as they dash into the ice-cold sea, the clink of ice in a long cool glass of something cold and sharp… the drunken wasps addicted to jam sandwiches, the intoxicating aroma of hot barbecue coals… these are the epitome of every British Summer and other than a decent cup of tea, the one thing that ties all these together is a classic victoria sponge cake and now that it is officially British Summer Time there is no excuse to dust of the sponge tins and bake a cake or two, even if it’s just to get back into the swing of making them so they’re ready for any local baking competitions that may be lurking in the not-too-distant future…

stoli lemonade and elderflower eton mess victoria sponge 
this is a naughty little twist on the classic which I think adds a wonderful fresh zingyness to the proceedings and is inspired by this glorious cake on Chocolate Log Blog which quite frankly should be against the law and of course a classic Stoli Vodka and Lemonade, the perfect refreshing drink for the sunshine…

i’m using the traditional weigh the eggs method where you weigh the three eggs in their shells and then use equal measures of sugar butter and flour

for the sponge
3 large free-range eggs
225g caster sugar
225g butter – soft
225g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the glaze
3 tablespoons Stoli vodka
the juice of one lemon

for the filling
350ml double cream
2 small pre-bought meringue nests – crushed
3 tablespoons lemon curd
the juice and zest of 2 lemons
2 or 3 teaspoons of elderflower cordial according to taste

pre-heat the oven to 160C and grease and line 2 7inch loose-bottom cake tins

in a large bowl beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy then add one egg and beat in, followed by a third of the flour and beat in, then the second egg, more flour and so on until the eggs and flour are all gone, add the vanilla, beat again and then divide the batter into the two tins and bake for 25 mins until golden and risen

set aside on a wire rack to cool but leave in the cake tins

whilst the cakes are in the oven mix together the glaze ingredients and pop in the microwave for 3 mins until the sugar has dissolved

once the cakes are out of the oven but still in the cake tins, drizzle over the glaze, then set aside to cool completely, removing the cakes from the tins after about 10 mins

make the filling by beating the cream until thick, then gently fold in the lemon curd and crushed meringue, juice and zest of the lemons, then slather this all over the bottom layer of the cake, place the top layer on top and dust with icing sugar before serving…

…the good people at Stoli Vodka are working their way around the capital in the most gorgeous little converted citroen van delivering iced Stoli Lemonade to the masses, it’s in Covent Garden this weekend and if you can track the van down over the next few weeks you must try a glorious cocktail.  Failing that here’s a little recipe from Stoli to me to all of you out there to help you prepare the perfect serve…

i’m entering this delicious lemon and eldeflower cake into the tea time treats bloggers challenge, hosted by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage as the theme for this month is flowers… i’m also being really cheeky and entering it into the alphabakes challenge hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker who’s letter this month is D… my name is Dominic after-all and I did make this cake…

eat and of course, enjoy!

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Comments

  1. Karen S Booth says

    This is GLORIOUS Dom! It epitomises all that is wonderful about a British summer with a naughty little secret – I LIKE it! FAB entry for Tea Time Treats and you can make this for me next time I see you! Karen

  3. Baking Addict says

    omg what a lush cake!! I remember you entered the first round of D alphabakes with the same idea – made by Dom! As the cake is so gorgeous we'll accept it 😉 Thanks for entering alphabakes.

  4. Baking Addict says

    omg what a lush cake! Love lemon in cakes and this is a great twist on a classic victoria sponge. If I recall the last round of D Alphabakes we had a cake made by Dom too but as it's so gorgeous, we'll accept it 😉 Thanks for entering AlphaBakes.

  7. bellini says

    Replace the cricket with another sport and you have perfectly described summer here as well Dom. Growing up in a British family from Scunthorpe we had various Victoria sponges throughout the year.

  8. Maggie says

    Your cake has just come down my email – joy of joys:) This is the best cake I have seen in ages, it's 'a proper cake'!!! Fabulous.

  11. Kate@whatkatebaked says

    I'm reading your wonderfully evocative descriptions of the British summer time lounging in the sun in the park, the roses at their best, the newspaper full of reviews of Wimbledon starting tomorrow having just polished off a tub of strawberries! I'm just missing a slice of this glorious cake…

  17. Choclette says

    Ooh what a stonker! That sponge looks sublime and the filling … well! The sun is out here, so I think I need a slice my way please and a glass or two of that cocktail.

  22. Shu Han says

    Damn that is one HELL if a cake. I love the classic, but this beats the original version hands down. Elderflower ftw.