Lemon Lavender Cake

Lemon and Lavender

Lemon and lavender.  What a fantastic flavor pairing.  I first fell in love with the combination when I had a lemon lavender cupcake from the Silos Baking Co down in Waco, Texas.  My mom was helping me move home from graduate school, road trip style.  Waco wasn’t necessarily on the way, but we decided to make a detour to the land of all things Chip and Joanna Gaines and Magnolia Farms.  The bakery used to be the flower shop that Chip would go to buy Jo roses when they were dating.  Now the building serves cupcakes, cookies, and other sweet treats everyday to a multitude of guests looking to experience the magic of the Silos.

The Cake

I made this cake for yet another movie night.  My friend and her older sisters and I have started a mini tradition of having a chick-flick movie night once a week.  This week we’re watching “Mama Mia”.  Since I like baking for gatherings, movie nights are a great excuse to bring a treat.  Every time I come over, my friend’s brother-in-law never fails to ask if I’ve brought cake lol.

I had a difficult time deciding how I wanted to incorporate the lavender into this cake.  Going back and forth between putting dried lavender in the cake batter itself, or just making a lemon cake with lavender filling, I ultimately decided on the second choice, the lemon cake with lemon frosting and lavender filling.  I really liked the lemon cake batter and didn’t want to completely overwhelm that flavor with lavender.

For the frosting, I made a general base frosting out of butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar.  I then removed 1/3 of the frosting and put it in a separate bowl to make the lavender filling.  To the 2/3 of the frosting mixture, I added a few Tablespoons of lemon juice and an extra cup of powdered sugar; and to the 1/3 of the mixture, I added a bit of lavender extract and a touch of light purple food coloring.

Happy Baking!

Blessings on your home and table,                                                                                                                  ~Natalie

Lemon Lavender Cake

Serves 12

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 4 egg whites + 2 whole eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest (about one small lemon)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 9 cups powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoons lavender extract
• purple food coloring

Directions:

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper circles.
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar for four minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sour cream.
5. Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl.
6. Beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture followed by the buttermilk.  Then add the remaining flour mixture, beating just until incorporated.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting*:

1. In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until light and creamy.  Beat in pinch of salt.
2. Beat in 8 cups powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
3. Remove 1/3 of the frosting and place in a separate bowl.
4. Add lemon juice to the bowl containing 2/3 of the frosting.  Then mix in remaining cup of powdered sugar.
5. Add lavender extract to the bowl containing 1/3 of the frosting.  Add desired amount of purple food coloring.

Assembly:

1. Level tops of the cakes using a large serrated knife or a cake leveler.
2. Pipe a ring of lemon frosting along the outer edge of the first layer.  Frost the middle of this space with lavender frosting.  Repeat this step one more time for the next layer.
3. Once your third layer is stacked, frost and decorate the top of the cake.  If you opt not to make this a naked cake, frost the sides as well.
4. Decorate the top of your cake with the remaining lavender frosting.  Garnish with dried cooking lavender and lemon slices.

*This frosting recipe makes enough for a naked cake (no frosting on the sides) with a little extra frosting to spare.  If you want to make enough to frost the entire cake, I would recommend multiplying the frosting recipe by 1.5.

 

For more cake recipes, check out my white chocolate cheesecake with strawberries!