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Hibiscus Lemon Cake

Fluffy and tender lemon cake filled with a sweet and sour hibiscus jam and frosted with a creamy vanilla buttercream. A bright and beautiful recipe that is perfect for the season of summer.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Decorating Time 20 minutes
Course Brunch, Cake, Dessert, Sweet tooth, tea time
Cuisine American, British
Servings 6 people

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls
  • Electric beater
  • Rubber spatula
  • Sauce pot
  • Offset spatula/butter knife

Ingredients
  

Lemon Cake

  • 2 lemons zest
  • 250 gm castor sugar
  • 250 gm butter
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 250 gm flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 lemon juice

Hibiscus Jam

  • 30 gm dried hibiscus flowers
  • 500 ml water
  • 300 gm sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp corn flour

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  • 115 gm Butter soft
  • 300 gm Icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 drop almond extract

Instructions
 

Lemon cake -

  • To make the cake we preheat the oven to 170℃ and line a 2, 7 inch round cake tins by brushing it with butter and adding baking paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl add the castor sugar, lemon zest and rub together with your fingers for a couple of minutes.
  • Add the butter and beat with an electric beater until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well between each egg. Add the vanilla and beat again.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt into a sieve and sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Beat well until its all combined. Add the lemon juice and fold together, scraping the sides and mixing well.
  • Divide the batter into the baking tins and bake for 35-40 mins until risen and a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Let them cool completely before decorating. You can do this cake ahead of time, wrap in cling wrap and set in the fridge overnight.

Hibiscus jam -

  • In a saucepan, combine the hibiscus flowers, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar 2 cups of water. Let it come to a boil and take it off the heat.
  • Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, At this point, add stir the corn flour in water in a small bowl and pour into the jam, stirring.
  • Depending on your preference for the jam texture, you may blend half of the mixture or all of it or leave it chunky.

Vanilla buttercream -

  • We start by beating the butter in a large bowl until creamy, pale and fluffy. Add in the icing sugar in 2 parts beating well between each part.
  • Add the vanilla, almond extract and beat again. Once combined add the whipping cram and beat again. Set aside.

Assembly -

  • Place one of the lemon layer cakes on a plate. Add a little vanilla butter cream and spread it out to the edges - you could pipe an border around the edge as well but I keep it rustic.
  • Add the hibiscus jam into the center and top with the second lemon layer cake. Top with more buttercream and use a little of the jam to create a marbled effect on the outside. Let the cake sit for 1 hour before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • I like adding toasted almonds on top of the cake for a crunch but it is optional as the cake is delicious without it.
  • I also like mixing the jam into the buttercream to create a more unified colored frosting before decorating. But I also like making this a rustic cake.