Lemon Berry Shortcake with Pressed Edible Flowers

Pressed Viola edible flowers have had lots of interest overseas, and now, with the launch of our eBay shop, you can shop our produce internationally! Head to our eBay shop to purchase pressed and dried edible flowers internationally.

Yvonne, from June Cakes and Desserts was part of our first international shipping trials. And now, having safely received some of our pressed and dried edible flowers all the way over in Malaysia, Yvonne is a regular customer! Yvonne creates flawless celebration cakes and cupcakes and has provided us with a recipe. Check out her Lemon Berry Shortcake recipe below, and don’t forget to share your creations and tag June Cakes and Desserts and Nurtured in Norfolk on Instagram, as well as on Facebook.

Lemon Berry Shortcake garnished with Pressed Viola Edible Flowers

Sponge Cake Ingredients: 

• 3 Large eggs, at room temperature
• 110g White caster sugar
• 50g Unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 70g Cake flour, or low protein flour
• 1 Tbsp Cornflour
• 1/4 Tsp Baking powder
• Pinch of salt

Method: 

1. Cut three round 6 inch baking paper and grease only the bottom of three 6 inch cake tins with oil or baking spray. Do not grease the sides of the cake tins. Place baking paper into the bottom of the tins.
2. Preheat the oven to 150℃/300℉.
3. Sieve cake flour (or low protein flour), cornflour and baking powder into a bowl. Set aside.
4. Place eggs, salt and white caster sugar into a large stainless steel mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. Whip with an electric hand held mixer or stand mixer on high speed for 11 minutes (if you are using an electric hand held mixer, beat for 1-2 minutes longer). The mixture should be pale in colour and thick.
5. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in melted butter and dry ingredients from step 3. Be careful not to overfold. Stop folding as soon as all traces of the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the batter.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tins evenly and bake for 20-22 minutes or until cake skewer comes out clean.
7. Cool the cakes in the cake tins for 5 minutes. Use an offset spatula to run around the edges of the cake to loosen them from the sides of the cake tin. Flip them over onto the cooling rack and immediately remove the baking paper from the cake.
8. Let the cakes cool completely. You can keep the cakes in an airtight container before assembling. You can also make the sponge cakes the day before assembling the cake.

Lemon Curd Ingredients:

• Juice of one lemon
• 2 Large eggs
• 50g White caster sugar
• 15g Unsalted butter
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Using a rind grater, grate the lemon zest into a bowl. Keep this aside. You will need this later.
2. Add lemon juice, eggs, white caster sugar and salt into a small pot or saucepan. Whisk gently to mix all the ingredients.
3. Heat over low heat and keep whisking to avoid scrambling the eggs. Once the mixture has thickened slightly, add in butter.
4. Once the butter has melted, keep whisking for another minute. The curd should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and strain over a sieve into a bowl.
5. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Whipped Cream Ingredients:

• 450g Heavy whipping cream
• Lemon zest
• 80g Icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla bean paste (optional)

Method:

1. Place whipping cream, lemon zest, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste (if using) into a large stainless steel mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl. Whip with an electric hand held mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over-whip as the mixture will curdle.
2. Keep in mind to only prepare the whipped cream right before assembling the cake.

Assembling the Cake

Decoration Ingredients: 

• 1/2 Cup of milk (full cream, skim or low fat, whichever you prefer)
• 1/2 Cup each of fresh blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and kiwi berries (feel free to use any berries that are in season)
• Nurtured in Norfolk Pressed Violas
• Nurtured in Norfolk Pressed Baby Violas
• Edible leaf gold sheets or flakes (optional)
• 8 Inch cake board or cake plate

Method:

1. Wash all berries and gently pat dry using a paper towel.
2. Place a dollop of whipped cream on a cake board or cake plate and place a layer of sponge cake on it. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the cake layer with milk. Be generous with the milk, you’d want the sponge to be lightly soaked in milk.
3. Add a generous amount of whipped cream on the sponge and with the help of an offset spatula, spread the cream into an even layer. Add one-third of the lemon curd and spread out evenly and arrange some berries on top. Gently push the berries into the whipped cream and lemon curd.
4. Repeat step 3 on the second layer of sponge cake.
5. After assembling the last layer of sponge cake, brush the sponge with milk.
6. Using an offset spatula, frost the sides and the top of the cake. Smooth out the top and sides using a metal or acrylic cake scraper. A cake turntable or lazy Susan would be helpful to smooth out the frosting. However, if you do not have one, a rustic textured cake looks just as beautiful.
7. Add remaining lemon curd and assemble the remaining berries on top of the cake. To finish off the decorations, add pressed viola edible flowers, and baby pressed viola flowers. For an elegant touch, add a few pieces of edible gold flakes.
8. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Store any remaining cake in an airtight container and it is recommended to consume the cake within 2 days. Enjoy!

Tips:

1. You can easily double this recipe to make a larger 8 inch cake. Just adjust the baking time of the sponge cake to 30 – 35 minutes.
2. You can also substitute lemon with any citrus fruit.
3. Any type of berries would work with this recipe. Just use what is in season and what you love.
4. If you’d like a boozy version of this recipe, substitute the milk with champagne or limoncello.

*Please note* It is only possible to shop our dried and pressed edible flowers internationally, not our fresh produce. This is due to the shelf life of our fresh items. Our pressed and dried edible flowers have a shelf life of 6 months.

Our eBay shop includes all the favourite edible flowers – including Dried Rose Petals, Dried Mixed Flowers, Pressed Primula, Pressed Rose Petals, Pressed Paradise flowers, and of course – Pressed Viola edible flowers!