Lemon Lavender Cake is a great addition to any sunny celebration from Mother’s Day to Labor Day. The acidity of lemon and the floral notes of lavender pair perfectly with this delicate cake.
Lavender is an underrated herb in the culinary world. It’s not just for fragrances and soaps; It’s a lovely, floral flavor that blends beautifully with lemon. This Lemon Lavender Cake is bright and floral. If the perfect summer day had a flavor, this would be it.
The tart lemon and the sweetness of the cake play on each other as with any classic sweet and tart lemon dessert. But the subtle amount of lavender adds a whole new dimension. It’s just enough to add herbaceous undertones that transport you to blooming fields of lavender instead of a mind-blowing soap shop. The cake is fluffy and tangy and feels as natural as a glass of lemonade on a bright day.
A simple buttery cake with lemon and dried lavender
This Lemon Lavender Cake is as easy to make as a butter cake, but flavored with fresh lemons and dried lavender. First pour the sugar with the lemon zest and the dried culinary lavender. I find the quickest and easiest way to do this is to blitz them all together in a food processor.
Then, using a mixer, beat the butter, infused sugar, and oil until almost tripled in volume. I like to use both butter and oil for cakes: butter gives the best flavor and oil makes a moister cake. Add the eggs one at a time. Then alternately add the dry ingredients with the milk and lemon juice. Divide the batter evenly between two cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Baking with lavender
Lavender is a beautiful and underused aroma in cooking and baking. It has a relaxing floral scent and, in the right amount, a floral flavor that can be reminiscent of mint or rosemary. Lavender is powerful and a little goes a long way; If you add too much it will taste soapy.
To use lavender in baking, you can either steep liquid ingredients or grind them into powder and add them directly to the batter. For this cake I chose to grind the lavender.
When using lemon zest, I generally like to combine the finely grated zest with the sugar to infuse with the zest’s essential oils. So I did essentially the same thing here and combined it in one step by blitzing the sugar, zest, and lavender in the food processor. It’s quicker than heating the milk to pull the lavender in and waiting for it to cool, and there’s less risk of over-flavoring the batter.
How to frost a layer cake
Assembling and frosting a cake has a reputation for being difficult and scary. But I think of it as the fun (and sometimes messy) step that turns a cake into a cake cake. Here are a few tips for a smooth experience and embracing bugs:
- Make sure the cakes are completely cool before the frosting, otherwise the frosting will melt and your layers will slide around.
- I love my offset putty knife for the amount of control it offers when frosting cakes. but You can also use a spoon, a large butter knifeor the straight edge of a rubber spatula.
- A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that seals the cake and traps loose crumbs so the final layer of frosting doesn’t have red specks of crumbs in the outer layer of white frosting.
- Cool the cake in the refrigerator to set the crumb layer before adding the final layer of frosting.
- If you’re struggling to get perfectly smooth sides, embrace the look Decorate the cake with swirls, swoops, or waves instead.
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Prepare Lemon Lavender Cake ahead of time
It’s easy to prep sections of this cake ahead of time and assemble closer to serving time. After baking, allow the cake layers to cool completely, wrap in plastic and store at room temperature overnight or freeze for longer storage. The cake bases can be frozen for up to 3 months.
You can also make the frosting ahead of time and save it for later. Cover the glaze tightly and store in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the frosting in the fridge, then beat on medium speed for a few seconds until silky. Adding another tablespoon of milk may help if it’s too thick.
More cake recipes to enjoy this season!
- Lemon Bundt Cake
- Coconut cake with lemon curd and vanilla buttercream
- Key Lime Cake
- Whole clementine cakes
- Jam Pound Cake
Lemon Lavender Cake
ingredients
For the lemon lavender cake layers
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3 cups (360G) all purpose flour
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2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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2 cups (400G) sugar
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2 tablespoon Lemon peel (from about 4 lemons)
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1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender
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1/2 cup (113G) unsalted butterroom temperature
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1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
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4 Big Eggsroom temperature
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice
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1 Cup whole milk
For the lemon buttercream frosting
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1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butterroom temperature
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6 cups (680G) powdered sugar
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1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk
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1 tablespoon lemon extract
method
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
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Prepare the pans:
Grease 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with butter. Line the pans with parchment paper and grease the parchment. Dust the bottom and sides of the pans with flour and tap out excess flour.
How to line cake pans with parchmentCONTINUE READING:
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Combine the dry ingredients:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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Pour sugar:
In the bowl of a food processor, place the sugar, lemon zest, and dried lavender. Process the sugar mixture until the lavender is finely ground and the zest and lavender are dispersed in the sugar, 1-3 minutes.
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Beat butter, oil and sugar:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a mixer attachment, or in a large mixing bowl fitted with a hand mixer, beat the butter, vegetable oil and lemon lavender sugar on medium-high speed until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. The mixture will have doubled or nearly tripled in volume.
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Add eggs and vanilla:
Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until fully mixed. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Stir in vanilla extract.
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Combine the wet and the dry:
Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Pour in the milk and lemon juice and continue to mix on low speed until well combined.
Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. It’s okay if there are a few lumps, you don’t want to over-mix the batter. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl between additions to ensure the batter mixes evenly.
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Bake the Lemon Lavender Cake Layers:
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. The edges of the cake will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and the center of the cake should spring back when you gently poke it with your finger.
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Cool the cakes:
Allow the cakes to cool in the molds for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
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Beat the butter for the frosting:
Prepare Glaze: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and silky, about 2 minutes.
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Add powdered sugar, milk and lemon extract:
Add the powdered sugar, half the milk and lemon extract and continue beating on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
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Assemble cake:
Place one of the cake layers, right side up, on a large plate or 10-inch cardboard cake round. Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread a thick layer of icing, 1/2 to 1 cup, evenly over the layer. Top with the remaining cake layer placed upside down so the top of the cake is smooth and flat. Check that the cake layers are centered and that the top of the cake is level. Adjust this carefully.
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Apply crumb coat:
Using an offset spatula or the straight edge of a large butter knife, spread a generous amount of icing over the top and sides of the cake. Use the spatula to spread the icing in a thin, even layer. You should be able to see the cake through the frosting.
Simple tip!
This thin layer of icing is called the crumb layer and it helps catch any loose crumbs on the outside of the cake, preventing annoying cake crumbs from getting caught in the last layer of frosting.
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Cool the cake and frosting:
Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes for the icing to set. Cover the bowl with the frosting.
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Frosting on the cake:
Take the cake out of the fridge. Stir the frosting a few times to smooth it out again.
Spread a generous amount of frosting over the top and sides of the cake as before, leaving a thicker layer of frosting this time. Use the offset spatula, large spoon, or the back of a butter knife to smooth down the sides.
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Storage:
Cake will keep on the counter in a cake saver for up to 4 days. Cake slices can be stored on a plate covered with plastic wrap for up to 4 days.
When storing leftover cakes with missing slices, I like to cover the exposed cake layers with a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper to keep them from drying out.
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| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 643 | calories |
| 32g | Fat |
| 87g | carbohydrates |
| 5g | protein |
