Garden flower Cake

For the month of love, we need something sweet. 

I thought of making this cake after seeing the edible flowers in the supermarket. They were so cute and I couldn't resist buying it. 

The edible flowers are flowers that can be consumed safely, so they are safe to place directly on my cake too. And I named my cake "Garden Flower Cake" as they look like wildflowers, haha.

The cake is a  Joconde sponge, rich with almond flavor, not butter. I chose it to match with rich Italian meringue buttercream. To add freshness to this rich cake, I used passion fruit jam as the filling, the tanginess of the jam cuts down the richness of the cake, and buttercream, you can use marmalade, lemon curd, or other tangy taste jam. 

Italian meringue buttercream is the perfect choice for this cake, it's easy to make, and it has a white color that make the flowers stand out and look beautiful.

Garden flower Cake

Makes 12 cm. cake

Cake batter

30 g ............................. Unsalted butter

80 g ............................. Almond powder

80 g ............................. Icing sugar

40 g ............................. Egg white

1/8 tsp ......................... Salt

100 g ........................... Egg 

25 g ............................. Cake flour

2 g ............................... Baking powder

Italian meringue buttercream

1 tbsp ............................ Water

72 g  ............................. Granulated sugar (A)

60 g .............................  Egg white

14 g .............................  Granulated sugar (B)

180 g ............................. Unsalted butter (soft)

1/2 tsp .......................... Vanilla Extract

1/8 tsp .......................... Salt

100 g ............................. Passion fruit jam (50g+50g)

....................................... Edible flowers

Preheat the oven to 170℃.

Line a 12 cm round pan with baking paper.

Melt the butter in the microwave and let it cool slightly.

Sift almond powder, icing sugar, and salt into a bowl.

Pour the egg white into the bowl.

Mix to combine.

Pour egg into the bowl and beat with a hand mixer until light in color.

Sift cake flour and baking powder into the bowl. 

Pour melted butter into the bowl.

Fold to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Lightly tap the pan to remove large air bubbles.

Bake for 40-45 minutes in the the170℃ preheated oven.

After baking, tap the pan on the counter.

Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely before using.

Put the water and sugar (A) in a saucepan and place over medium heat.

Boil the syrup until it reaches 115℃.

While boiling the syrup, beat the egg whites until foamy, add the sugar (B), and whip until soft peaks form.

Slowly pour the hot syrup into the meringue (beating constantly).

Continue beating until cool.

Gradually add the butter to the meringue bowl and beat to combine. Add the vanilla extract and salt to the bowl and beat to combine.

Use a spatula to mix the butter (this will remove some air from the buttercream).

Slice the cake into 3 pieces.

Pipe the buttercream on the rim of the cake. Spread 50 g of passion fruit jam in the center.

Place another slice of the cake and repeat the process.

Place the last slice of the cake on top. 

Cover the cake with buttercream.

Pipe the buttercream on top.

Decorate with edible flowers.

Garden flower Cake