This lilac cream cake is an easy recipe that captures the flavor of spring. In North Carolina, the common lilacs are bursting forth. What better way to celebrate the season than with a cream cake enhanced by the flavor of these beautiful lilacs?
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I love celebrating the seasons! And this year I celebrated a new one, lilac season.
My daughter came over with a handful of lilacs bursting with aroma and my mind began working. Is this edible and does it have medicinal properties? I shot over to the internet to verify my thoughts and yes common lilac is edible and is good for many different ailments!
My mind began working again. Could I capture this smell into a flavorful dish? Yes again!
This is how the lilac cream cake was birthed.
This cake DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! It may be simple ingredients, but it is quite flavorful and takes little time to make.
So without further adieu, let’s get started.
Ingredients you will need…
- 1 1/2 cups of cream
- 2 cups of lilacs (stems included)
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- confectioner’s sugar
Lilac Cream Cake
To start off, you need to chop up the lilacs and stems (stems are flavorful as well). Now, you’re probably thinking, shouldn’t we rinse them first? That is entirely up to you. However, I choose not to rinse mine because I feel like the pollen that may be gracing the petals will in turn be infused into the cake. For us, that means more pollen in our system to help fight allergy season. And the pollen in my backyard is as local as it gets.
Once the lilacs have been chopped, you are going to pour the cream and lilacs into a pot. Using a large spoon, stir the mixture as you heat it on medium low. When bubbles begin to form around the edges, reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
When the cream has finished simmering, strain the mixture and compost the lilacs! This yummy lilac infused cream will be used for both the cake and the icing (yeah, we’ve got icing). Set it aside for a moment while you begin mixing the dry ingredients.
Combine the sugar, flour, and baking powder in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
This is also a good time to begin preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
Now, it’s time to add the lilac infused cream! This really is the star of the show, so pour 2/3 of that cream into the bowl of dry ingredients (again, we will save the rest for the icing). Oh, and we can’t forget the eggs. Crack those babies in there as well.
You can whisk this mixture by hand or with a mixer. Either way, make sure that there are no lumps when finished.
Pour your batter into a greased pan. I use a 9″ round cake pan because it is what I have. But, if you like square cakes, go for a square pan. This is your cake. Just make sure that the pan stays around 9″. Any larger and the cake will turn into a thin cookie and we don’t want that.
Bake at 350 degrees for around 15 minutes. This is a time to shoot for, but what you’re really looking for is a golden brown top and a toothpick to come out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
While the cake is baking let’s whip up the icing. Grab the remainder of your infused cream and add confectioner’s sugar a little at a time (about a tablespoon) until it reaches icing consistency (that is a real thing…on my blog). It should be liquid enough to pour over the cake, but not too liquidy (you get my drift) to where it is like water.
Once the cake is cool, pour the icing all over the top. I encourage you to use all of the icing, because, why not? You worked hard for this cake, you deserve it!
Okay, for those of you who feel that is a bit excessive. The extra icing can be used on a number of other things, so just stash the remainder in the fridge until your creative juices flow.
This next part is optional, but I like pretty cakes. Pick some extra lilac flowers and sprinkle them over the top of the cake. There, all finished. You have successfully celebrated lilac season. Pair it with my Lilac Tea recipe and you have a winner!
If you’re looking for other ways to celebrate the seasons here are some other recipes to try…
Where I buy ingredients
I used to be an avid user of Amazon. But, in the last year through personal convictions, I have chosen to shop elsewhere. If you are looking for a store where you can find everything under one roof with good ethics, try Azure Standard. You can order everything you need online and they have local drop offs all over. It has really helped me and is so much more convenient than going to the store every week. I order everything from toothpaste to flour. Plus they carry good quality ingredients without all the junk!
Tips for a perfect cake!
- Make sure the cream doesn’t boil, but only begins to bubble around the edges.
- The cake needs to fully cool before pouring the icing on top, or the heat from the cake will melt the icing.
- Focus more on the look of the cake rather than the cooking time, you’re looking for a golden brown top and a clean toothpick when inserted into the center.
Lilac Cream Cake
This lilac cream cake is an easy recipe that captures the flavor of spring. With a handful of ingredients, this recipe is a seasonal favorite.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of cream
- 2 cups of lilacs (stems included)
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- Chop up the lilacs and stems, rinse if needed.
- Combine lilacs and stems with cream in saucepan and stir to combine.
- Heat cream mixture on medium low heat until bubbles form around the edges. Turn heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Combine dry ingredients (sugar, flour, and baking powder) and mix thoroughly.
- Once cream has finished simmering, strain out flowers.
- Add in 2/3 cup of this infused cream and eggs to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Preheat oven to 350 and pour batter into a greased pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until top is golden brown and inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- While cake is baking combine the remainder cream with confectioners sugar, adding the sugar a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Once cake has cooled, pour icing over the top.
Notes
Make sure the cream does not boil, but only begins to form small bubbles around the edges.