in the early summer days my mom makes quite a few bottles of elderflower drink. i love it because it tastes of summer. danish summer. this summer my mom brought me two bottles to israel and i was so happy. so much that i wrote a post about it.
when we arrived in denmark in august those pretty white little flowers with their amazing smell and taste were long gone. so imagine how thrilled i was to find out that my mom had made up her own elderflower cake, available now months after the flowers are gone.
when she makes the elderflower drink she's boiling the flowers with lemon and sugar, but instead of throwing it away afterwards, she this year decided to make it into a paste in a blender with a bit of the juice. she then makes the dough for a basic carrot cake, but instaed of carrots, she adds her elderflower paste.
she froze down some of this paste and now we can enjoy a delicious elderflower cake. you can even see the shapes of the little flowers in the top crust. so delicate! (and don't get confused by the blue flower. it's just for pretty).
but she didn't take all the elderflowers. she left some behind, and they turned into dark and yummy elderberries. we took a lot down saturday, and sunday my mom made elderberry drink. right in time, so i can bring some back to israel. 
mmm.
ReplyDeleteLooks fantastic! I've never tried elderberry drink, but I've always wanted to. Is it a little tart?
Er helt enig; hyldebœrdrik er lig med dansk sommer. Ligesom hyldebœr suppe (med kold risengrød) er lig med den danske vinter :-)
ReplyDeletewhat a genial idea - i bet it tastes heavenly.
ReplyDeleteglad you are having such a wonderful time in denkmark!
mmm love your mom...
ReplyDeletemy mom made me raspberryjam and cake, that was pretty good aswell
i want to know how she gets all of the small creatures out of the flower mixture that's left over from the hyldeblomst saft. i don't think i'd dare to use mine because there are so many small "friends" in it, which i strain out, using a cheesecloth strainer when i'm making the juice.
ReplyDeletebut i know what you mean, it tastes completely of summer.
i can't believe i only just realized you're here in DK (i've been away from reading blogs for nearly a month!)...are you on your way out or do you have time for a coffee?
that cake looks so amazing. your mom is amazing. i love that she took something that would normally be thrown out, or at least turned into compost, and made something so delicious. how lovely. next summer, would she like to guest blog for me? if she won't, then maybe you would. i've only ever had elderberry jam, but now i'm dying to have the juice and the cake.
ReplyDeletegreat post, trinsch!
oops! that got posted under my husband's account. but, really it's me, cate.
ReplyDeleteOh, these pictures are beautiful!! I wonder if we have these in Colorado?
ReplyDeleteI learn so much from your blog!
ReplyDeletehuuum, looks delicious!
ReplyDeletei'm gonna try this elderflower cake too next year! i can imagine a bit how it's tasting.
ReplyDeletei think you're having a wonderfull ma, love this post:-)
yes, my mom is great :) i love staying here and be a part of the harvesting of fruits and berries, and the making of jam, drinks etc.
ReplyDeletejennifer, it's not really a tart, but not sure what a cake like that is called in english.
ida, vi plejede at få hyldebærsaften kold ovenpå den varme risengrød. og der var nogle vintre, hvor min mor insisterede på at vi drak et lille glas varm hyldebærsaft med citron hver morgen.
julochka, oh, i so wish we could have met, but i have seen on your blog that you've been a busy lady. tomorrow is my last day here and i know i will be running around the house like a headless chicken, trying to figure the logistics (i alwyas end up with 10 times what i came with!), and desperately trying to have some last minute "hygge" with the family. and you are also all the way over there in jylland, no? next time. or if yu stop by israel :)
cate, i'd be happy to collaborate with my mom on a post about all her berries and fruits, and what she's doing with them. next year...
oh, and julochka, about the little "friends" in the elderflowers. my mom said that for some reason she didn't have many this year and she decided to try and wash the flowers before hand by putting them in a big bowl of cold water to soak and then get rid of what was there. she said it didn't drain the taste out. but she can't promise that we have not been eating a few extra proteins. but if we have, they have been through longterm cooking, freezing and baking, so we should be safe :)
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. I'll try it next year. This year I forgot about the flowers and the syrup, but I didn't miss the berries and made elderberry jam for the first time. To be honest, it's not going to be a repeat. Next year, I'll just concentrate on the flowers, and will keep in mind your mom's suggestions. PS is that blue flower borage?! I didn't think it'd grow up there!
ReplyDeletehi francesca, the elderberries don't have much taste on their own. when my mom makes the drink, she cooks it with apples, preferably some sour apples, and lemons too. and still, it is actually best in the winter, hot with lemon, if you ask me. i never tried elderberry jam, but could imagine it would need something strong with it, like lemon or apples, maybe even a bit ginger. and yes, it's borage, and it does well up here :)
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