Lavender Lemon Cake
Lavender Butter Cake (7″, 3-layer)
Ingredients:
1 cup (227g, or 2 sticks or 1/2 lb) unsalted butter, unsalted
1 3/4 cups sugar
6 egg whites (or 220g liquid egg whites)
1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons dried culinary lavender
1 1/4 cup whole milk (room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method:
Add 3 tablespoons of dried culinary lavender to whole milk, cover, and refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours). Strain milk into clean bowl/glass.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour three – 7″ round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper and grease and flour parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add egg whites gradually, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the lemon extract, and beat until combined.
Stir vanilla into lavender milk, and with the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula. If possible, weigh your filled pans to ensure they are equal. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan gently. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the freezer for about 30 minutes, to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.
Lavender Frosting
Ingredients:
1 lb butter (4 sticks or 2 cups) at room temperature
5 cups icing sugar (confectioners’ or powdered)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup whipping (35% fat) cream
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
A few drops of lavender food colour (or equal parts blue and red)
Method:
Add 1 teaspoon of dried culinary lavender to 1/4 cup whole milk, cover, and refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours). Strain into clean bowl/glass.
In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the icing sugar and butter and beat on low speed for about 1 minute. Add vanilla and beat on low until well combined. Add whipping cream, lavender milk, and food colouring (if using), and beat on med-high speed for another minutes, until light and fluffy. Best used right away.
Enough to crumb coat and frost 7″ or 8″ cake.
Lemon Curd filling from Martha Stewart.
Tips & Tricks for Splitting Cakes:
1. Always start with a cold cake: refrigerate for about 2 hours or freeze for about 30 minutes
2. With a good quality serrated knife (I only use my favourite Mac 10 1/2″ serrated bread knife–this thing is insanely sharp), trim any doming off the top of each layer.
3. Measure the height of your layer with a ruler, then create a score line on the halfway mark all the way around the outside of the cake.
4. Lower yourself to almost eye-level to the cake. With a gentle sawing motion, slowly move the knife gradually towards the centre of the cake, then turn cake 1/4 turn, and repeat until you have cut through the entire layer.
credit to http://sweetapolita.com/2011/03/a-slice-of-summer-lavender-lemon-cake/
Lavender Butter Cake (7″, 3-layer)
Ingredients:
1 cup (227g, or 2 sticks or 1/2 lb) unsalted butter, unsalted
1 3/4 cups sugar
6 egg whites (or 220g liquid egg whites)
1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons dried culinary lavender
1 1/4 cup whole milk (room temperature)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method:
Add 3 tablespoons of dried culinary lavender to whole milk, cover, and refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours). Strain milk into clean bowl/glass.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour three – 7″ round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper and grease and flour parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add egg whites gradually, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the lemon extract, and beat until combined.
Stir vanilla into lavender milk, and with the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula. If possible, weigh your filled pans to ensure they are equal. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan gently. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the freezer for about 30 minutes, to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.
Lavender Frosting
Ingredients:
1 lb butter (4 sticks or 2 cups) at room temperature
5 cups icing sugar (confectioners’ or powdered)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup whipping (35% fat) cream
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon dried culinary lavender
A few drops of lavender food colour (or equal parts blue and red)
Method:
Add 1 teaspoon of dried culinary lavender to 1/4 cup whole milk, cover, and refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours). Strain into clean bowl/glass.
In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the icing sugar and butter and beat on low speed for about 1 minute. Add vanilla and beat on low until well combined. Add whipping cream, lavender milk, and food colouring (if using), and beat on med-high speed for another minutes, until light and fluffy. Best used right away.
Enough to crumb coat and frost 7″ or 8″ cake.
Lemon Curd filling from Martha Stewart.
Tips & Tricks for Splitting Cakes:
1. Always start with a cold cake: refrigerate for about 2 hours or freeze for about 30 minutes
2. With a good quality serrated knife (I only use my favourite Mac 10 1/2″ serrated bread knife–this thing is insanely sharp), trim any doming off the top of each layer.
3. Measure the height of your layer with a ruler, then create a score line on the halfway mark all the way around the outside of the cake.
4. Lower yourself to almost eye-level to the cake. With a gentle sawing motion, slowly move the knife gradually towards the centre of the cake, then turn cake 1/4 turn, and repeat until you have cut through the entire layer.
credit to http://sweetapolita.com/2011/03/a-slice-of-summer-lavender-lemon-cake/