Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Lavender-Lemon Pound Cake

Two of my favorite things are lavender and lemon. When I saw this recipe on Savoring Time in the Kitchen, I knew I had to make it.

I've been wanting a mini bundt pan. We're making Chocolate Canneles on Chocolate With Francois in March. I don't own the molds but Sarah, our host for the month says we can use muffin tins. Wouldn't mini bundt pans be perfect? Two recipes, for sure I need the mini bundt pan. I bought this pan and I just love the different shapes. I bought mine at The Kitchen Connection and only paid $19.99.

We're lucky enough to have a Pezney's in Omaha. A few months ago, I purchased culinary lavender. I made Lavender Simple Syrup, a wonderful addition to cocktails.





This pound cake is a delightful recipe. The beautiful lemony batter is lightly scented with lavender. It doesn't have a typical pound cake texture. The texture was much more like a traditional cake. This cake was great with a small scoop of the Lemon Sorbet I made last week.

Recipe Courtesy of Monica Glass, Pastry Chef
12 miniature cake molds or cupcake molds

For the cake:

2½ cups sifted all-purpose flour*
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dried lavender, coarsely crushed or ground
¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

For the sugar glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Generously grease two 6-cup mini Bundt pans or muffin cups with butter or non-stick cooking spray and dust lightly with flour, knocking out excess. Do not preheat oven.

Sprinkle the lavender into the buttermilk and let sit for 10 minutes. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating only until incorporated after each addition. Mix in the zest, lemon juice and vanilla.

Mix in the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Beat the final addition only until smooth. Do not over mix.

Spoon the batter into each cup, filling it only ¾ full and distributing it evenly between the 12 Bundt or muffin cups. Tap each pan several times on the counter to eliminate air bubbles and level the tops. Place both pans in the cold oven and turn the oven to 325? F. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tops (which will eventually become the cake bottoms) are risen and golden. Do not open the oven until at least 30 minutes into baking so your cakes will not fall.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 30 minutes, then run a thin knife around outer edge of each cake to loosen and unmold by inverting the pan over onto a wire rack. The cakes will be right-side-up at this point.

Prepare the glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula until the glaze is smooth and of drizzling consistency. Spoon the glaze over the top of each slightly cooled cake, letting some run down unevenly on the sides. Zest the lemon over the tops of the glaze and serve.

Wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil, the cakes will keep for 3-5 days at room temperature and for up to 3 months in the freezer.

*Sift the flour, then measure for accurate results.

8 comments:

  1. Lavender, huh? I have never baked with that. Might have to give it a try. The mini pound cakes look great!

    While I have Ree's cookbook, most of the recipes I have tried I have gotten off her blog. In fact, I don't think I have used the book for a single recipe yet. :)

    And, the future post...I wanted something other than chocolate for dessert and figured I would make my SMS recipe early, just to eat it! :D

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  2. Wow, lemon AND lavender. I'm with you - that sounds delicious! Now I need mini bundt tins ;-)

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  3. I've honestly never tried lavendar in a dish. It intrigues me though. Plus it helps that purple is my favorite color and therefore I harbor a huge affinity for any food that happens to come in a lavendar hue. Thanks for peeking my interest!

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  4. I have never worked with lavendar. I just keep thinking of Grandma's bathroom whenever I imagine it in a recipe....LOL! I promise to overcome that and try something with lavendar.

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  5. So glad you made this! I did a post on a lavender caramel sauce and added a link to Susan's recipe. I have been meaning to try it and just haven't gotten around to it! So pleased to hear how good it was.
    I put some lavender in a gin bottle and put it in the freezer. Think it will make wonderful G & T's.

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  6. Lavender and lemon are such a great combination! These little cakes look delicious.

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  7. Um, this looks and sounds fantastic. I have never baked with lavender and I am nothing short of intrigued!!

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  8. I'm so happy you liked them! Serving them with lemon sorbet was a great idea.

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