Brown Butter Fiori di Sicilia Cake with Pink Grapefruit & Bay Leaf

Brown butter Fiori di Sicilia sponge, grapefruit cake soak, pink grapefruit curd filling, and bay leaf infused Swiss meringue buttercream to finish. The transition to summer in cake form.

Now that it’s consistently too hot to wear long sleeves outside, I have to acknowledge summer’s eminence. Despite my hatred of hot weather, most water sports, and general estival fare, this cake bears a summer flavor profile I very much enjoyed.

The base of this cake is a brown butter Fiori di Sicilia sponge. I used my Vanilla Bean Sponge recipe as the foundation for this cake, but browned the butter. By adding an additional tablespoon of buttermilk, I was able to create a moist, flavorful sponge despite the moisture loss from browning the butter. Fiori di Sicilia, if you are unfamiliar, is an Italian baking extract that translates to “flowers of Sicily”. This is a smooth citrus and floral extract that’s taste resembles a well rounded combination of orange, lemon, almond, rose, and vanilla. Any speciality bakeshop and many online retailers will have this extract. I used this one. This cake can still be made by supplementing a few different extracts in place of the Fiori di Sicilia (I’ve detailed my recommended substitutions below) but I do recommend using the real deal for maximum flavor.

For the filling, I chose a pink grapefruit curd. Any citrus curd will work perfectly here if you do not like, do not have, or cannot consume grapefruit. The grapefruit is tart and bright which stands up against the sweet nuttiness of the sponge, but also complements the Fiori di Sicilia. I opted to keep the curd very soft for a runnier texture however, if you prefer a thicker curd, cook it a bit longer and chill it very thoroughly (at least several hours/overnight) before assembling.

The frosting for this cake is a bay leaf infused Swiss meringue buttercream. This uses my usual Swiss Meringue Buttercream with the addition of a few bay leaves during the cooking process which are then removed before whipping. The bay adds an extremely subtle earthy note, that plays off the brown butter and citrus very well.

I’ve decorated this cake with additional pink grapefruit curd, dried calendula, mandarins, mandarin leaves, golden berries, and edible flower petals. This cake, as with all butter based cakes, is best served at room temperature. Happy baking!