#GBBO | BOTANICAL WEEK | CUCUMBER, LEMON AND ELDERFLOWER (PAN)CAKE

I think this is quite possibly my worst bake to date, hence the hilarious title.

I'm surprised to note that this cake looks a lot bigger in the photos, so please don't think I'm just being modest or overly self-deprecating; in real life, this cake is pretty flat, but helped significantly by the buttercream icing. It's amazing what good lighting and a good camera angle can do for a photo isn't it?!

WEEK 6: BOTANICAL WEEK
SHOWSTOPPER CHALLENGE: THREE TIER FLOWER CAKE

Okay, so first things first, this cake is quite clearly not three tiers, but I was running short on time and daylight last weekend (as per usual) and so one tier will just have to do for now.

One, very, flat tier. This is the part I have no explanation for; I have literally, no idea how it happened! Whenever I've made sponge cakes in the past, there's been no problem. My self-proclaimed speciality is lemon drizzle cake, and the only difference is the cucumber, so I can only assume that's what the issue has been with this bake.

The recipe I used was found here on Pinterest, and as you can see, the inspiration looks vastly different to mine! The recipe itself is actually super simple to make, although I clearly didn't do a very good job of it myself. Might have been improved if I'd used a food processor to puree the cucumber instead of a blender, as I had to add a little extra water in addition to the lemon juice, to get the cucumber to do pretty much anything useful.

The cucumber adds a really interesting element to this cake. I have to be honest, and admit that I wasn't sure about putting cucumber into a cake, but I'd previously made a courgette lemon drizzle cake and that was a roaring success. Perhaps not surprisingly, I'm quite the fan. I'm now wondering what else I can add cucumber to... any suggestions? 

As much as I've enjoyed the hint of cucumber, my absolute favourite element of the cake is the elderflower icing. Buttercream icing is so straightforward, which is clearly a big plus in my book - I'm sure you'll have realised by now that I am a lazy baker, and so any shortcuts I can take, chances are I will. I'll remind you at this point that you're reading the blog post of a girl who buys lazy (pre-minced) garlic, as if it's actually that hard to peel and crush/mince your own...

Despite the way it looks, this cake tastes delicious, but clearly you'll have to just trust me on that one. I am someone who is a huge fan of cucumber in my gin (Hendrick's) and tonic, and also a lover of elderflower cordial, so this is right up my street. The cake manages to be both incredibly fresh, but also perfectly sweet and fruity. If both of those things are a tick in a box to you, this may be a recipe you need to try. 

If you do happen to try it, I'd really love to see a photo of your finished product; hopefully you'll have better results than I did!!

Thank you, as always.

LAURA