Chamomile Cake with Honey Crème Fraîche ~ TheCakeSliceBakers

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” C.S. Lewis

With the delicate flavor of chamomile, a beautiful crumb, and a honey-flavored crème fraîche

frosting, this cake is sure to be a favorite and have everyone asking for another slice.

Is it just me or does it feel like time is dragging on oh so slowly, but also moving at record speed that makes it hard to believe that it is almost June? It must be some weird effect of having to continue to Stay-at-Home/Work-from-Home and then social distance when we have no choice but to venture out for necessities.  Time becomes a hard concept when every day seems the same. Thank goodness for baking!

The Cake Slice Bakers continue to bake from The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. I have really enjoyed the cakes we are baking from this book. I have found them easy to make, not overly sweet (which I love), and packed with great flavor. There are great photos to accompany the recipes and I appreciate that this is a cookbook that says open when you have turned to the page you want to read - sometimes it is the little things.

Our choices for May 2020 were Chamomile Cake with Honey Crème Fraîche, Rhubarb, Rose & Almond Cake, and Hibiscus Buttermilk Cake.  These all sound like delicious cakes but my choice was dictated by the ingredients I had on hand thanks to COVID-19, and I chose the Chamomile Cake with Honey Crème Fraîche.

I know I keep repeating it each time I talk about a cake from this cookbook, but this cake was so easy to make.  As in previous bakes, I made the cake the day before and then just frosted it when I was ready.  Although the recipe calls for a stand mixer you could easily make this with a hand mixer, or if you have been working out at home to keep busy, by all means just use a whisk. I did reverse the order of the preparation a little bit because I thought it would save time to have the tea steeping whilst I measured out the other ingredients, but do whatever works best for you. Crème fraîche isn't an ingredient I have worked with very often as it tends to be expensive here.  However, I really scored big time when Costco decided to offer it for a short time and I purchased two tubs. I had no idea it could whip up so light and fluffy, and it really made a nice tart contrast to the sweet cake.  Once I run out of my supply of crème fraîche I will try making my own (if I can find buttermilk - it's always a hit or a miss finding ingredients here).

Chamomile Cake with Honey Crème Fraîche
Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

Cake ~

• 190g (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
• 8g (½ tablespoon) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 180ml (⅔ cup) milk
• 25g (5 tablespoons) dried chamomile flowers or 6 tea bags, plus more to decorate
• 10ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
• 115g (½ cup) butter
• 200g (1 cup) superfine sugar
• 2 eggs

Crème Fraîche Frosting ~

• 200ml (¾ cup) crème fraîche
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) honey

Preparation

Cake ~

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉).
2. Spray two round 20cm (8-inch) cake pans with baking spray, and line with parchment paper.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, healt the milk, chamomile, and vanilla and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the milk is hot to the touch but not boiling.
5. Remove milk from the heat, cover, and let the milk steep and cool for 20 minutes.
6. Once the milk is cool, strain the flowers or discard the tea bags.
7. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
8. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
9. Add half of the flour and beat briefly until just combined.
10. Pour in the milk, followed by the rest of the flour, and beat for a few seconds until you have a smooth batter.
11. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
12. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Crème Fraîche Frosting ~

1. Add the crème fraîche and honey to a bowl, and whiskfor about 1 minute until it thickens to soft peaks.
2. Sandwich the cakes together with a thin layer of crème fraîche and add a thicker layer on top.
3. Sprinkle some dried chamomile flowers on top, if desired.

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for May 2020 were ~


Chamomile Cake with Honey Crème Fraîche

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Amandie Bakes
• A Little Bit of All Right
• Sweet Sensations
• Camille Cooks

Rhubarb, Rose & Almond Cake

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• A Day in the Life on the Farm

Hibiscus Buttermilk Cake

• Making Miracles
• Oven Delights
• Karen's Kitchen Stories