How To Make Free 00 Cake: A Violet Cakes x Vyrao Recipe

This spring, we teamed up with Violet Cakes, east London’s favourite bakery, to reimagine our citrussy, summery scent Free 00 (for liberation and sensuality) in cake form. 

Vyrao and Violet share the same belief that carefully sourced plant and flower botanicals not only smell (or taste) good, but that they also have the power to raise your vibration. Here’s the recipe for Free 00 cake – which uses the same deliciously fruity and flowery ingredients that make up the key notes of Free 00 – for you to make it at home. The ultimate spring treat, guaranteed to spark good feelings. 

Violet Cakes’ Free 00 Cake

This recipe makes one 9 inch x13 inch sheet cake. 

Ingredients

Sponge:

500g caster sugar

150g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the tin

100g sunflower/vegetable oil

4 eggs

320g whole milk

¾  teaspoon vanilla extract

500g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Zest of 2 mandarins

Jasmine soak for sponge:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 tbsp jasmine tea leaves

(You can adjust the quantities to make more or less syrup, according to preference)

Whipped cream:

2 litres double cream 

1 tbsp orange blossom water 

2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 tbsp caster sugar 

Extras

250g lemon curd 

Icing sugar, for dusting

Flowers for decoration 

Method

Preheat the oven to 150C/130C (fan) or gas mark 2. Butter a 9 inch x 13 inch cake tin and line with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and oil until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, vanilla and salt and mix until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add half of this to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add in the milk and continue mixing until fully combined. 

Now mix in the remaining flour mixture. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and mix once more. Grate in the zest of 2 mandarins and lightly fold the batter until incorporated. Pour the batter into your prepared tin and smooth the top with a palette knife or spatula. 

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back to the touch. Allow the cake to cool for 15-20 minutes, then remove it from the tin and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is baking, make your jasmine syrup. Using a 1:1 sugar to water ratio, heat these together on the stove until all sugar has dissolved. And add in the jasmine tea while the syrup is hot! Let cool completely. Strain the syrup before using. (This step can also be done the night before to save time.)

Once the cake has cooled, you can whip the cream to soft peaks, adding in the blossom water and vanilla. Bring your lemon curd to room temperature if it has been kept in the fridge. 

With the cake fully cooled and your whipped cream and lemon curd at the ready, use a long, serrated knife to slice horizontally through the center of the cake. Use an upturned cookie sheet to slide in between the layers and lift off the top layer. Slide the bottom layer off the cooling rack and onto a serving plate or cake stand. Soak both sides of the sponge with jasmine syrup.

Spread the bottom layer of sponge with a generous amount of lemon curd, and then dollop large spoonfuls of whipped cream on top. Carefully set the top layer of sponge on top of the curd/whipped cream. 

Add a small dollop of cream to the top of the cake, dust with icing sugar and top with slices of mandarin and fresh flowers to serve.