White Lilac Nostalgia Recipe
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Here & NowWhite Lilac Nostalgia Recipe
Uploaded by
Here & NowW H I T E L I L A C N O STA L G I A
MAKES One 4 layer cake • SERVES 10 to 12
One of my earliest memories is of the smell of lilacs, and sunshine glinting through their heart-
shaped leaves as my stroller was pushed to and fro to encourage the ever-resisted (and now
longed-for) afternoon nap. Individual lilac blossoms are exquisite. Crystallized with lavender
sugar and embedded in white chocolate buttercream, they make magnificent cake decorations.
The pale pink of Raspberry Mousseline Buttercream against the pale-yellow cake provides
a harmony of color and flavor. This cake makes an ideal centerpiece for a Mother’s Day party.
One of the loveliest surprises I’ve ever experienced was when Patricia Hampl—
Hampl—who my
late friend and favorite author Pat Conroy once described as the author who “writes the
w
described this cake
best memoirs of any writer in the English language”—described cake in her memoir
The Florist’s Daughter.. She wrote: “The Lilac Nostalgia stood at attention, its lavender
ro
medallions fastened like so many medals for valor on its soldier chest. A cake in dress uniform,
in service to a sweetness worth fighting for.”
PLAN AHEAD The cake can be assembled 1 day ahead.
or
M
It can be frozen without the lilacs for 2 months.
SERVE Room temperature. Cut with a thin, sharp knife.
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CAKE COMPONENTS
• 1 recipe
ecipe White Velvet Butter Cake (page 30), layers split in half horizontally
• ½ recipe Raspberry Mousseline Buttercream (page 389), tinted with 3 drops of red
illi
food color
• 1 recipe
ecipe Crème Ivoire (page 414)
W
• Crystallized
stallized or Gum Paste Lilacs (page 568)
N O N - C H O C O L AT E C A K E S
Method for Assembling the Cake
1. Spread a dab of the mousseline on a 9 inch cardboard round.
2. Stack the cake layers on top of each other, sandwiching each with ¾ cup of the
mousseline (one-third of the mousseline in between each layer).
3. Chill the cake for 10 minutes.
4. Frost with the crème ivoire.
5. Decorate the sides and top with the crystallized lilacs. If necessary, make a tiny hole
in the frosting with a thin wooden skewer before inserting a lilac.
6. The cake can be held at cool room temperature until the following day.
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