Lemon-Lavender Cake

Submitted by Bonnie G #2

"Another recipe I found on the William-Sonoma site that sounds great. Love lemon and have a lot of lavender that I grow so thought this would be pretty as well as yummy. Can't wait to try it out, but will save it here with all my recipes until I can get to it. If you make it, be sure your lavender is pesticide-free, probably the safest bet is to use it from your own garden or that of a friends. Edited to add forgotten flour in recipe - thanks Elisa for pointing it out! Finally made this and glad I did - I did make the frosting to thick instead of dripping down the sides and next time I'll be sure and do that. I added an extra half tsp. of Lemon Oil just to intensify the lemon flavor (we love Lemon in this house) and it was nice. A tart taste with just a hint of lavender with a texture that seemed almost layered, it's a small cake and the texture is heavier than most "cake" recipes I've tried, what I'd think of as a tea-cake - but we really liked it. I used lavender flowers right out of the garden and have to admit only used a 1/2 cup of ground almonds as I was tired of grinding."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Yields: 1 cake
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 1 teaspoon lavender leaves, fresh & finely chopped, pesticide-free, I'll used dried (or 8 sprigs fresh lavender flowers)
• 1 1⁄4 cups superfine sugar
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 2 lemons, zest of
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 eggs
• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1⁄2 cup blanched almond, ground
• 1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice

• FROSTING

• 1 1⁄2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1⁄4 cup lemon juice (or as needed, about 1/2 large lemon)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350, Generously butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. To make cake, strip flowers from lavender sprigs. Place in food processor and add superfine sugar, butter, lemon zest and salt. Process until pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
3. Transfer to large bowl. Add eggs one at a time, alternating with one-fourth of the flour, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition.
4. Gently stir in ground almonds and lemon juice.
5. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Reduce overn temperature to 325 and bake until a skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
8. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan and turn cake out onto a rack.
9. Place right side up and let cool.
10. Meanwhile, make icing: Sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Using wooden spoon, stir in the lemon juice, few drops at a time. Icing should be thick but spreadable. If it is too stiff, add a little more lemon juice.
11. Using a knife and dipping it in hot water if it becomes to sticky, spread icing over the cooled cake, making sure that it drips down the sides. Let stand until icing is set, about 1 hour. Decorate with fresh lavender flowers if desired. The cake will keep, stored in an airtight container without the flower garnish, for up to 3 days.