This Lemon Elderflower Cake is my copycat version of the royal wedding cake! Elderflower infused lemon cake layers with lemon curd and elderflower buttercream.

I am so excited to share this cake with you today, as it’s my version of Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake. This Lemon Elderflower Cake was heavily inspired by Claire Ptak at Violet Cakes in London, who made the actual royal wedding cake for the couple.
I found out about the flavors shortly before the wedding, and was inspired to create my own version of it. Any excuse to make a cake and try something different, right??

The cake consists of lemon infused cake layers, an elderflower syrup, lemon curd, and an elderflower Swiss meringue buttercream.
Maybe I’m living under a rock (likely) but I actually hadn’t heard of elderflower until recently. I was actually shocked to find elderflower cordial in the first grocery store I checked. Usually I’m traipsing all over the city and back to find certain ingredients, only to give up and order them online, so to see it right there on the grocery store shelf was nothing short of a miracle.

Elderflower cordial is very floral, with an almost citrusy aftertaste. It goes really well with lemon, and is just perfect for the spring/summer season.
For the lemon cake, I used the same recipe I used for my Lemon Blueberry Cake, but scaled it up for slightly thicker layers. For the lemon curd, I modified a recipe we used in pastry school (it’s SO good omg). Be sure to check out my tutorial for How to Make Lemon Curd. Those went off without a hitch, but I made a couple of mistakes working with the elderflower cordial.
Initially, I made an elderflower syrup by bringing 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar to a boil before stirring 2 Tbsp of elderflower cordial into it. This tasted delicious, but once used on the cake, the elderflower was overpowered by the lemon flavors. The cordial itself is actually already a syrup (since you’d need to dilute it to use in drinks, etc.) so I should have just used it straight up. You can choose to do it either way though.

Speaking of drinks.. as I was working on this Lemon Elderflower Cake, I found out there’s actually an elderflower liqueur too! What to do?! You know I love to booze up my cakes here and there, so I was so tempted to try this instead. A quick Google search led me to a $50 price tag though… yikes.
Nevertheless, I set out to find it. I didn’t really try that hard though: I checked one liquor store and they didn’t have it, so I decided to move on. I already had the cordial, and I didn’t need to spend money on liqueur that will literally just sit in the cabinet after (I pretty much only use it for baking).

The second issue I had with the elderflower is that, in typical Olivia fashion, I forgot to put it in the buttercream!! Thankfully, I realized this after the crumb coat, so I added it in then. There’s lemon curd between the layers instead of buttercream, so it wasn’t too bad, but STILL. I need to be more organized. I always write down the recipe, but never actually refer to it while making the frosting!
How much elderflower you add to the buttercream is really to your taste. I found it to be quite subtle, but some can find it overpowering. However much you add, be sure to do it slowly (1 Tbsp at a time) and stop if it feels like you’re affecting the texture of the buttercream. I’ve been able to add up to 1/4 cup of liquid to buttercream without affecting it, but just something to be aware of.
I waited until after the wedding to make the cake, as I wanted to see how it was decorated so I could emulate that as much as possible.
There’s a lot of mixed feelings out there about the cake, but I think it looks beautiful. I love the rustic elegance to it — the juxtaposition of the ornate gold stands with the rustic flowers and frosting.

Decorating this cake was fairly simple. It was SUCH a relief to not have to worry about perfectly smooth frosting and sharp edges. It really was one of the easier cake frosting techniques I’ve tried. To be fair though, it’s possible I totally lucked out and it just worked on the first go around. I am super pleased with the results.
I was also lucky enough to find peonies in the exact color I was looking for. In the first flower shop I went into!! High fives all around. I ended up spending $60 on peonies though, which is sort of ridiculous. Good thing I passed on the liqueur!

Overall, this Lemon Elderflower Cake turned out better than I expected, both in flavor and aesthetic. It was easy to decorate, and I think it looks stunning. I can see why Harry and Meghan chose this style and flavor combo for their special day.
Looking for more Lemon Desserts?
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Lemon Cake
- Mini Meyer Lemon Loaves
- Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
- Meyer Lemon Bundt Cake
Tips for making this Lemon Cake with Elderflower:
- I recommend not diluting the elderflower cordial for the cake layers too much (or at all), or you’ll lose the flavor.
- The amount of cordial you use in the buttercream is up to you. Only add it 1 Tbsp at a time though, and add to taste.
- If you’d like to use St. Germain instead of the elderflower cordial, I recommend making a simple syrup and adding the liqueur to that:
- Bring 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar to a boil, simmer 1 min. Remove from heat and add in 2Tbsp of St. Germain. Cool completely.
- Be sure to check out my tutorial for How to Make Lemon Curd
- Be careful about putting too much lemon curd in between the layers. This can make the cake more unstable.
- Regardless of the amount of lemon curd, you must do a dam of frosting around the perimeter of each layer to hold in the curd. This is not optional!
- You will have some curd left over which you can freeze if you like or use in another dessert.
- The buttercream recipe makes enough to fully frost the cake (if you weren’t using curd). You can freeze this as well if you have extra or just reduce the recipe slightly.
- If you use fresh (non-edible) flowers like I did, be sure to protect them from the cake (I used floral tape around the stems).
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my Flat Top Cakes post!

Lemon Elderflower Cake (Copycat Royal Wedding Cake)
Ingredients
Lemon Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest from one large lemon
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup milk room temperature
- 1/3 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed, from one medium lemon
Lemon Curd:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed, from one large lemon
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest from one large lemon
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter cubed
Elderflower Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2-4 Tbsp elderflower cordial to taste
Assembly:
- elderflower cordial/syrup
Instructions
Lemon Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 8″ cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and lemon zest until smooth. Add sugar and beat on med-high until pale and fluffy (approx 3mins).
- Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture with milk & lemon juice, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk & lemon juice). Fully incorporating after each addition.
- Spread batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
- Bake for approx. 35mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely
Lemon Curd:
- Place eggs and sugar into a small pot, whisk to combine. Add lemon juice, zest, and butter. Cook over medium-low heat whisking constantly until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
- Transfer to a glass bowl and lay plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for 3 hours to set. Makes 2 cups.
Elderflower Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a pot with 1-2″ of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or reads 160F on a candy thermometer (approx. 3mins)
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
- Add 2-4 Tbsp elderflower cordial (to taste) one Tbsp at a time whip until smooth.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Poke holes into the cake using a bamboo skewer. Brush with elderflower cordial.***
- Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top of the layer and pipe a border around the outside to hold the lemon curd in. Fill with approx 3/4 cup of lemon curd. Repeat with next layer.
- Place final layer on top and do a thin crumb coat on the cake. Chill for 20mins.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake with remaining frosting in a rustic manner. I started by spreading a generous amount of buttercream on the top and letting it overhang on the sides. Then I used a flat spatula to add buttercream to the sides of the cake and to smooth the which created a top lip with the overlapping buttercream.
- Top with fresh peonies if desired, but be sure to wrap the stems in floral tape.
Notes
** The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
*** You can dilute the cordial if you like, by adding it to some simple syrup.
Manya says
Hi Olivia
Thank you for sharing your recipe. It came out very well. I altered my recipe a bit. I didn’t have elderflower syrup so I used orange blossom syrup. And I used a bit less sugar in my cake. I also put fresh raspberries in the center.
Olivia says
Sounds delicious Manya! Glad you liked it 🙂
Tammy says
Do you have a picture after cutting into the cake? I’d love to see the inside! Is it like a sponge cake? A lot of the recipes I see are sponge.
Olivia says
Hi Tammy! There is a cut slice picture in the post.
Katelyn says
Hi! I was wondering what size and how many cake rounds you used for this cake? Also, I’m making this cake for my 1 year old daughter’s birthday. Can a one year old consume elderflower? Will the swiss buttercream hold up enough to make a rosette cake?
Olivia says
Hi Katelyn! All of the details are in the recipe — I used three 8″ pans. I’m not sure re: elderflower so I would google that to be sure. The buttercream will hold up fine as rosettes!
Alex Bargh says
Hi Olivia, I’ve just stumbled upon your recipe and I’m keen to make it for my daughters christening this weekend (I love the Royals and have needed an excuse to make a replica wedding cake!).
The christening is on Sunday – how many days can I bake it in advance so it’s still fresh? And is it best to sandwich the layers together and frost on the day it’s to be eaten, or can this be done the day prior?
Thanks! Alex 🙂 PS – I’m in New Zealand and have read the comments about the different flours. We have high grade flour and plain, no idea what the difference is but I expect its to do with gluten content. At any rate I will use high grade and hopefully it’ll work!
Olivia says
Hi Alex! The cake layers can be made in advance, cooled, wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen until you need them. Otherwise they’ll stay fresh for a day or two in the fridge (not longer as the fridge tends to dry cakes out). You can assemble the whole thing a couple days in advance! Please let me know about the flour!! So curious to figure this one out.
Shabeen says
Hi Olivia.
Just a quick question about freezing this cake..
Do u freeze after the cake is coated with elderflower cordial?
I am looking forward to making this cake soon. It looks and sounds yum 🙂
Thanks
Olivia says
Hi Shabeen! If freezing just the cake layers, add the cordial after they are thawed.
Leyla says
Fantastic recipe. I’m making this for my brother’s wedding next year. I’ve practiced a few times and found that my layers are a bit thin too. I’m in the UK and used self raising one time and plain with the baking powder the second. Does all purpose flour have anything added? I’m going to try self raising and baking powder next time I try.
Olivia says
Hi Leyla! Ugh, that is a good question. All-purpose *should* be the same as plain flour (it doesn’t have anything added to it), but it’s not and it’s not self raising. I tried baking a cake in Sydney using plain flour and it was thin and super dense. A few others have had this question to, it’s something to do with the type of flour, I just am not sure of the difference! Let me do some research and see what I can dig up.
Olivia says
Hmm, I wonder if trying bread flour would work?? https://www.cooksinfo.com/all-purpose-flour
Leyla Pattison says
Bread flour has more gluten so probably wouldn’t work. I wonder whether cake flour might work – plain flour with corn starch – plus the baking powder. When I next try the recipe I will give it a go and report back!
Olivia says
Yes, please let me know how it goes!
Janice Jones says
I have just tries making this cake as a trial for my daughters wedding next year. I used themetruc measurements. It tastes divine, the buttercream is more yellow than yours though. I wondered is it possible to freeze once completed?
Olivia says
Hi Janice! So glad you liked it. It’s possible your butter is more yellow than mine. You can try adding the tiniest bit of violet color gel to try and neutralize that. You can totally freeze it!
Judy Hamilton says
I made this cake today in preparation for a wedding shower. It came out delicious. I think think the elderflower is not strong tasting, a hit if floral. , it was light. Tasted lots of lemon. Anyways I am excited to make a shower cake this co inv weekend. Thanks for the recipe.
Olivia says
So happy to hear you liked it Judy!
Melody says
I made this cake twice and it hardly rose at all—my layers are maybe 3/4” tall and extremely firm. Not dry but pretty dense. My baking powder is new. Maybe I overbeat, but I was pretty careful. Do you know of anything else that would account for such thin layers?
Olivia says
Hi Melody! Were all your ingredients at room temperature? And are you in the UK by chance? What flour did you use?
Tamara Williams says
Hi, this cake looks beautiful! I have a question before I attempt it, how on earth do you get your swiss meringue buttercream so white? What brand of butter do you use? I am in the UK and our butter is usually quite yellow. I have tried using the palest I can find and adding a tiny hint of violet but it still comes out quite ‘creamy’ coloured. Any tips?
Olivia says
Hi Tamara! I use Natrel butter that I get from Costco and I do add a touch of violet if needed to whiten it up. It’s not pure white though still, just the slightest bit of cream color. One thing you could try is whipping your butter before adding it to the meringue to lighten it up in color. I keep meaning to try this but haven’t had a chance yet. Curious if it would work!
Dena says
I baked this cake at 350 degrees for 20 mins (because I wanted to rotate them 1/2 way through), and after 20 mins they were burnt! I can’t image they’re supposed to bake for 45 minutes. Is that a typo?? Please advise.
Olivia says
Hi Dena! Mine took about that long to bake — three 8″ cakes with baking strips on them in the oven. Did you use 8″ cake pans? Perhaps your oven runs a bit hot. They should not be burnt after 20mins!
Kara Leistyna says
I questioned the 45 min. as well and baked for 30 and mine came out very browned on the sides and dry. The cake itself, in final state, was beautiful. However, once sliced and served I found it very dry. Thoughts? Loved the elderflower (I used St. Germain). Found gorgeous camellias for the top.
Olivia says
Hi Kara! Everyone’s oven bakes a bit differently. For me, baking all 3 layers at once, it took that long. I always recommend checking the cake throughout the baking process and adjust baking time as needed. You could always add more syrup too if needed!
Summa says
Can you please tell me where i can buy the stand in QLD Australia? What is the name and brand of it as well please.
Olivia says
Hi Summa! I actually bought it at a discount store here and it didn’t have a brand listed, just a Made in India tag.
Mary says
This recipe looks much less complicated than others I have found. I need to adjust this recipe for a wedding cake of 2-10″, 2 – 8″, and 2 6″ layers. How many batches of this batter would you recommend, and what would be the baking time adjustments for the larger and smaller pans?
Olivia says
Hi Mary! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Sheridan says
I made this cake last night. It’s delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. Thank you! I can’t wait to make it again. AND try more of your recipes!
Olivia says
Thanks so much Sheridan! Happy to hear you liked it 🙂
RL says
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! How many people do you think this cake would cater for?
Olivia says
Hi there! The cake serves 16 or so, traditionally sliced.
Joy says
Why are some of the ingredients underlined
Olivia says
Hi Joy! That just means they have links that you can click on.
Joy says
Thanks for your response a good idea however I am in Australia so the brands are unfamiliar. Impressed with organic ingredients and aluminium free Baking powder..I have used the Pritican raising agent which is a mix equal quantity of bicarbonate Skoda Arrowroot and Creme of Tarta, 2 teaspoon per cup of flour
Forrest says
Your cake looks beautiful! I’m with you – I love the simplistic/rustic look with fresh flowers that Claire ptak has mastered. I would LOVE a decorating video of how to frost a cake like this – I still struggle with frosting and decorating my cakes.
Love your site and recipes – thank you!
Olivia says
Thank you!! I haven’t checked, but I wonder if Claire has a video of how to do this on her Instagram?
Martha says
Hi! no, she haven’t.. could you please show you show us how to frost the cake to get the rough look? yours look awesone.. thank you
Donna B Oliphint says
Sorry, me again. I forgot to say that I rap the filled cake pans on the counter 3 times (gets rid of large bubbles) before putting them into a 325 degree oven, and my cake layers come out flat every time.
Donna Oliphint says
Oh, wow! I, too, fell in love with the royal wedding cake and copied the design for a wedding cake I was making for a friend to feed 250-300 people. I didn’t make the lemon elderflower cake, but used a white sour cream cake recipe I have and made a plain vanilla butter cream. It was gorgeous (after the florist added the flowers) and tasted wonderful, but I couldn’t get that pretty swirled edge like you got. I thought maybe it had to do with the Swiss meringue icing consistency, so I made some for my mom’s 89th birthday cake. Still didn’t get the pretty swirled edge and thought the Swiss meringue tasted like a stick of butter. Also, it takes so long to make. I can’t possibly imagine making 16 recipes of it for the wedding cake. Would you please make a video of you icing the cake so we can see the icing technique that makes the pretty edge? Can’t wait to try the cake recipe!
Olivia says
Hi Donna! I hope you like the cake! The Swiss meringue is definitely more buttery than an American buttercream, but should not taste like you’re eating a stick of butter. Was your meringue stiff before you added the butter? If so I suspect it just needed some more whipping 🙂
Katie says
Hello!
I have a question about the Lemon Curd. Do you measure out the 1/2 cup of freshly-squeezed lemon juice? Or just use whatever you get out of one large lemon? I ask because I measured out the 1/2 cup; not only did that take over 2 lemons to get to, but my curd has stayed very runny and juicy even after 3 hours of chilling.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
(PS – the cake itself is DELICIOUS. I sampled it even though I haven’t been able to assemble it yet!)
Olivia says
Hi Katie! I measure out the 1/2 cup — for me its about 1 lemon, but maybe my lemons are much bigger than yours! Strange that the curd stayed so runny though… was it coating a spoon when you cooked it? Mine was the consistency of a pudding. Did you use butter or substitute anything? You can always try reducing the lemon juice by half and see 🙂
Katie says
You are the best for answering so quickly!
It is strange that the lemons produce such different results (I am even using a lemon juicer!), but either way: I did some curd-research and it turns out I just wasn’t heating it long enough … it coated the spoon a bit but wasn’t thick enough when I put it in the fridge to cool yet. Once I reheated it with a higher heat and a bit more patience, it was pudding-like, perfect, and delicious! 🙂
Olivia says
Yay!! Glad to hear it came together!!
Doreen Mortimer says
Hi – I live in a high altitude area (5,800 ft). What adjustments, if any, do you recommend?
Olivia says
Hi Doreen! I haven’t baked in high altitude myself, but here are some tips: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Joy says
Thanks for your recipe, it is amazing. I want to da a 3 tiered cake for my daughters 50th birthday using an 11” and and 8” and a 5” tins how much mixture do I need for the larger and smaller sizes. I want to use passion fruit curd and flavour for the middle one will I need more liquid as my mixture for your 8” was quite stiff
Olivia says
Hi Joy! So glad you like this one. Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Joy says
Thank you Olivia for your link advising about quantities per tin size it is most helpful.