Sponsored by Doves Farm

It cannot have escaped your attention that the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is fast approaching, it is in the news constantly and step outside (especially in London) and you’ll be inundated by the newly hung union jack flags everywhere you look. You also may know there has also been a competition to find a recipe to commemorate the occasion. The winner, Jenna Melvin, a copyrighter from Merseyside, created a new take on the classic British trifle, fit for a queen of course. She made the trifle with the classic elements of custard and jelly along with the addition of a lemon curd Swiss roll, a mandarin coulis and amaretti biscuits. A deliciously bright and summery take on the trifle.

Taking inspiration from this winning dessert I have come up with a simple cake that would be a perfect centre piece for any street or garden parties happening for the Jubilee, should you not want to make all the elements for the trifle. The cake element in my recipe is an amazing sponge cake made with Doves Farm Organic Oat Flour. The oat flour gives a wonderful warm and almost caramel like flavour and a perfect balance between a light sponge cake and a classic Victoria sponge. Doves Farm Organic Oat Flour also happens to be certified gluten free, making this cake a great option if you are also catering for anyone following a gluten free diet.

The cake is flavoured with lemon zest and a touch of almond extract and then layered with a lemon white chocolate buttercream and sandwiched together with zingy lemon curd. It is a simple but celebratory cake, sure to be a crowd pleaser. To decorate the cake some buttercream is piped atop the cake in a slightly random matter and then decorated with some edible flowers. It’s a perfect summer time centre piece.

You can buy Doves Farm Organic Oat Flour from www.dovesfarm.co.uk, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose & Partners

Oat Sponge Cake
150g Doves Farm Organic Oat Flour
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
200g caster sugar
6 large eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
Zest of 2 lemons
65ml olive oil

Lemon Simple Syrup
Juice of 1 lemon
50g caster sugar

Lemon White Chocolate Buttercream
3 large egg whites
240g caster sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
360g unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature
150g white chocolate, melted and cooled

To Assemble
75g lemon curd
Edible flowers, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan). Line the base of a deep 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. You can grease the base of the tin to secure the parchment in place but do not grease the sides.

Add the oat flour and salt to a bowl and whisk together to combine. Place the sugar, eggs and lemon zest into a large bowl and using an electric mixer whisk together on high speed for about 5 minutes. When the beaters are lifted from the bowl the mixture should form a thick ribbon that slowly dissolves back into the batter. Sieve over a third of the oat flour mixture and gently fold together until the flour is combined. Repeat twice more until all the flour is combined and there are no pockets of flour in the batter. Scrape about a quarter of the batter into a separate bowl and mix together with the olive oil and almond extract until the mixture is emulsified. Pour this small amount batter back into the main batter and fold together as before until the two mixtures are uniformly combined. Keep these actions as light and brief as possible to retain as much of the lightness in the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Swirl a skewer through the batter to burst any large bubbles to ensure the cake has an even texture. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until the cake has risen and domed but then settled into a flat top. A skewer inserted in the cake should also come out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and whilst the cake is still hot run a thin knife or spatula around the outside of the pan to separate the sides of the cake from the pan. Leave the cake to cool and then turn out and peel of the parchment paper.

For the syrup place the juice and sugar into a small saucepan and place over medium heat and cook until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has come to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside until needed.

For the buttercream place the egg whites, sugar and lemon zest into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and heat, whilst whisking gently, until the mixture is hot and the sugar is dissolved. If you rub the mixture between your fingers you shouldn’t feel any sugar grains and the mixture should be hot. Remove the bowl from the heat and using an electric mixture whisk on high speed until the mixture has formed a thick and glossy meringue that has cooled to room temperature, this should take about 7 minutes. Once cooled to room temperature add the butter a little at a time, whisking until combined before adding more. Once all the butter has been combined the mixture will have transformed to a buttercream texture. Switch the whisk for the beater attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Pour in the chocolate and mix briefly until combined.

To assemble, use a serrated cake slice the cake into two layers, using a cake board or similar to carefully remove the top layer of cake (this is a relatively delicate cake as it is gluten free and doesn’t contain any xanthan gum so lifting the cake layers without support is not advised). Drizzle the cake layer with some of the lemon syrup and top with a thin layer of buttercream. Spoon on the lemon curd and spread to cover most of the buttercream, leaving a border around the edge of the cake. Drizzle the cut side of the second layer of cake with some syrup and then carefully place cut side down onto the first layer. Spread the remaining buttercream, reserving a little for decoration, over the tops and sides of the cake. For decoration I take a little buttercream and pipe it in a slightly random manner over the top of the cake. To replicate the style I have done with my cake I used a small tear shaped piping tip and a small French star piping tip. Finish by decorating with a few edible flowers.

Once assembled the cake is best served within 1-2 days.