Baking with lavender

Our latest baking adventure involved dried lavender, which K brought back from Dean and Deluca in New York.  None of us had ever used lavender in any type of cooking before so we scoured the internet for inspiration.  It turns out that lavender is actually used in tons of recipes including salads, breads, cakes and even with meat.  Most recipes seem to use lavender syrup, dried lavender or lavender sugar (a store bought mixture of sugar and dried lavender)- all of which have a sweet, citrusy scent with floral notes.  We decided that a lemony cake would be the perfect complement to the lavender’s citrus scent. The result was delicate and addictive at the same time.

This recipe was actually intended for a very large bundt pan but we decided to use loaf pans instead.  The aroma that filled the kitchen while this cake was baking was incredible!

Lemon Lavender Cake
[adapted from Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook]

You’ll need the following ingredients:

For the batter:

• 1 tbsp dried lavender
• 4 cups plain flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 225 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
• 5 eggs
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup plain yogurt

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender

Preheat the oven to 325F. Oil two medium loaf pans.

Preparing the batter

1. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda,and salt into a large bowl. Add in the dried lavender. Toss with your hands and set aside.

2. Combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 5 to 8 minutes. The mixture will become smooth and pale in color. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is fully mixed into the butter before adding another. After the last egg is incorporated, slowly add the lemon juice and mix for 1 more minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 seconds to make sure all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

3. Alternately add small amounts of the flour mixture and the yogurt to the batter, mixing with a wooden spoon just until all dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter, taking care not to overmix. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans, filling two thirds of each pan. Bake on center rack of oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Check the center of the cakes with a skewer. It will come out clean when the cakes are finished. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes.

4. Loosen the sides of the cakes with a sharp knife. Place serving plate, upside down, on the top of the cooled loaf pan and invert the pan to remove the cakes. Let cakes cool completely.

Glazing the cake
Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl, then add lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix with a spoon until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cooled cake and top with reserved dried lavender.