Every year we celebrate my spring-born daughter with some rendition of a “flower fairy” birthday party. This is a cake that has consistently been perfect year after year. 

Like any recipe you can make this the easy way, or the more fiddly, beautiful way. I let my mood on any given day dictate what it will be. For an easy, one-layer cake, you can simply make this in a 10-inch cast iron skillet and serve it straight out of the pan. If this is for a flower fairy birthday, it is imperative that it is two layers, no exceptions! So I use two 8-inch springform pans. 

Chamomile-Honey Cake with Fresh Strawberries and Spring Blossoms 

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons dried chamomile blossoms or 1/4 cup fresh chamomile blossoms
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 cups fine almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Zest of one small lemon
• 1 cup whipping cream slightly chilled
• 3 teaspoons fine sugar
• 1 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• Fresh edible spring flowers to garnish such as borage blossoms, chamomile blossoms, dandelion petals, or violets (to name a few!)

Instructions

• Start by making the chamomile tea: Steep the chamomile flowers in 12 ounces of freshly boiled water for 8 minutes—you want to make sure the tea is strong, but not bitter. Strain and then transfer 1/4 cup of the tea to a bowl or measuring cup and whisk in 3 heaping tablespoons of honey to make a chamomile-honey syrup. Set aside. (You can enjoy the remaining cup of tea while you are waiting for your cake to bake!)
• Heat your oven to 325ºF (176ºC). Grease your pan(s) of choice with butter or lard and lightly sprinkle almond flour over the bottom of the pan. You can use parchment paper if desired, but I have had good results without it.
• In a mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, vanilla, olive oil, and zest.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Add the mixture to your pan(s) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until done. (You do not want the batter to wiggle when you shake the pan).
• Remove cake from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Remove from springform pans if you are going for a double decker cake. In a chilled metal mixing bowl, add the chilled whipping cream and whisk until the cream just begins to stiffen up. Add the sugar and whisk until it looks like whipped cream.
• To assemble the layer cake, make sure the cake is fully cooled. Drizzle 1/2 of the chamomile-honey syrup over the cake and add a small layer of whipped cream. Put on the next layer and drizzle with the rest of the chamomile-honey syrup.* Top with the rest of the whipped cream and strawberries and garnish with your fresh spring flowers.
• * If you’re making a simple, single-layer cake, simply drizzle the chamomile-honey syrup over the cake in the pan, top with fresh whipped cream, fresh sliced strawberries, and spring flowers.

Notes

Another flavor combination to try:

Lilac-Honey Cake with Blueberries 

Use fresh lilac blossoms in place of chamomile and blueberries in place of the strawberries, and garnish with lilac blossoms!

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