Eat With The Espinelis | 007
Lilac Sugar / Blackberry Lilac Cake
We have been slowly but surely settling into our new home in Birmingham. It’s been a stretching process as we’ve navigated moving house in the UK for the first time, which has been quite different than in the US, allowing another cultural learning opportunity. Moving with little ones while pregnant is also quite the challenge, and we’ve been taught the lesson of patience as we make this house into our home in this wonderful new community the Lord has brought us to (where we have truly been welcomed with open arms).
When I am feeling overwhelmed and in need of a reset, I often find myself heading outside. And as the weather has started to warm, with Spring emerging seemingly overnight, the beauty here in England can’t be ignored. Not only is it wonderful for little ones to get outside for some fresh air and sunshine, but being in God’s creation and slowing down to bask in what He has made always recenters my heart. I was looking around in our garden (what would be called a yard in the States) after we moved in when I noticed there is a beautiful lilac bush there that was just starting to bloom. I was immediately inspired to use this gift from the Lord to bring joy and beauty into our home.
I took the kids out one morning, and we clipped some lilacs together. We prepped them, got them into some water, and set them up in our home right away. Lilacs don’t last long, which to me, makes them all the more special. We then started preparing to make some lilac sugar that would be used in a cake. We did this on a morning when I had other plans to do work in our home as we are still not fully unpacked, and the daily tasks are quite daunting. Instead, I decided to put that all off and slow down with the kids. I noticed a huge difference in both mine and the children’s heart postures and overall well-being in choosing to do that, as the stress of everything was definitely being felt. I’m always reminded that all that other *stuff* will eventually get dealt with, but moments like this can pass by all too quickly.
Below is a recipe for a very simple lilac sugar, which can be used for a multitude of things such as sprinkled in your tea, mixed into cream for whipped cream, used in cakes, jams, pies, and so on, even as a sugar scrub for your skin. Lilac flowers can be found all around, and I recommend searching for local lilac and making sure it hasn’t been sprayed with any pesticides or herbicides.
I hope this inspires you to be creative with God’s wonderful creation!
Lilac Sugar
Ingredients:
▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
▢ 1/2 cup lilac flowers
Recipe:
1. Grab a glass jar; a mason jar works perfectly.
2. Pull lilac flowers off individually, making sure not to pull any of the stems or leaves with them.
3. Pour a layer of sugar on the bottom of the jar. Put a layer of flowers on top. Alternate these layers until finished.
4. Store the sugar in a cool place and shake daily. After about a week, sift the flowers out of the sugar and store them. Use it in whatever way you desire! As mentioned above, this floral sugar is wonderful in tea, jams, cakes, cream, face scrubs, cookies, etc.
Blackberry Lilac Cake
This cake was adapted from Half Baked Harvest’s blackberry lavender cake. We have made some changes, and since we had lilacs rather than lavender, we utilized that instead. It is a perfectly sweet cake with hints of lilac, making it a wonderful spring indulgence. And a great idea for serving others! Gino will be taking some of ours to a staff meeting at the church.
Ingredients:
Cake
▢ 1 cup melted butter
▢ 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
▢ 3 large eggs
▢ 2 cups granulated sugar (we use cane sugar)
▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
▢ 1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
▢ 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt
Blackberry Lilac Jam
▢ 3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
▢ ¼ cup honey
▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
▢ 1 teaspoon lilac sugar
White Chocolate Buttercream
▢ 2 sticks (about 226 grams) of salted butter at room temperature
▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
▢ 4-8 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F / 176°C. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans by lining them with parchment paper with butter over that to get the sides as well.
2. With either a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer, beat together the melted butter, yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and milk/buttermilk. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined.
3. Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and bake 30-40 minutes until the tops are set and no longer wiggly in the middle. I also check with a toothpick. Remove and let cool a few minutes then carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack, using a knife around the edge to help release. Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.
4. Make the jam. Add the blackberries, honey, lemon juice, and lilac sugar to a pot on high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, once boiling use a potato masher, fork, or back of a spoon to mash the berries. Continue to cook for 5-10 minutes or until the jam has reduced and thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool.
5. Make the buttercream. Beat the butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is nice and fluffy. Add the melted white chocolate and mix until combined.
6. Assemble the cake. You can simply make this a two-layer cake or cut each cake horizontally to create a four-layer cake. If you do cut the layers, use a serrated knife. After deciding on the number of layers, place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread either ½ or ¼ of the buttercream (depending on the number of layers) over the cake and layer with jam. Repeat with the remaining cake layers. Keep the layers light, don’t overfill too much. Frost the outside of the cake, keeping it light for a “naked” look or fully for a full frosted look. I mixed the jam with the frosting to give it a bit of color, then topped it with one more layer of frosting for a creamy look. Top with fresh blackberries, then sprinkle lilac sugar all over the top. Enjoy! Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
What’s your favorite baked good during the Spring season?
Leave your answers in the comments section!
If you enjoyed this or thought someone else would—leave a like and share on your social media.
Join the community by becoming a paid subscriber—giving you access to our full archive, exclusive content, and the ability to post comments.
If you want to give a gift or donate an annual or monthly subscription to someone, click on the buttons below.
 | A guest post by
|