Oh, I adore to cook. It makes me feel so mindless in a worthwhile way. Truman Capote
Every now and then, the body and soul requires a bit of soothing. The lifestyle we lead today is filled with hectic activity, a ton of interaction, and overdosed social media and electronic devices. In a world that never sleeps, with continuous flow of information from all corners it can easily take a big toll on us.
An occasional detox from life-as-we-know-it would be a kind gesture. Our minds work constantly, furiously and unforgivingly, particularly for those in the creative field. The brain is racing on overdrive, and sometimes we can be too exhausted to even fall asleep.
This reason has been one of the major forces for me escaping to the kitchen. There is something therapeutic wherein your mind is forced to not think about anything but the recipe in front of you, stirring the simmering pot of sauce, or carefully watching the caramel to not burn.
One of the most calming ingredients, and may I say beautiful too, is lavender. Lavender has amazing soothing properties – its’ beauty does not only exist on the surface! And when lavender pairs with lemon – you will be instantly transported to a secret garden in Provence.
This lemon and lavender cake is a simple one, made with a homemade lavender and lemon zest sugar. Each step will have you smiling because the fragrance of the lavender will lighten up your soul.
Despite not being a fan of frosting, I find it essential here – simply because it makes the cake look so darned good. You will want to just sit and stare at it.
I am not a fan of food colouring and don’t have any – so I used a few crushed blueberries to add the purple tinge to the frosting, but by all means, if you have, use a gorgeous purple hued food dye.
Lavender: Sattvic Foods
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The Recipe
Serves Serves: 6 | Prep Time: 40 mins | Cook Time: 25 mins
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter, soft
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp dried lavender
- ½ vanilla pod
- 3 eggs
- 200 ml yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Lavender frosting:
- ½ cup butter at room temperature
- 2 ½ cups icing sugar
- 1 tsp dried lavender, chopped
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ vanilla pod
- 1 tbsp milk or cream
- 1 drop Purple Food Coloring or blueberry crush (optional)
- fresh or dried lavender, for garnish (optional)
- lemon zest, for garnish
Instructions
- For the cake:
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In a mixer, gently pulse the sugar, lemon zest, lavender and seeds from half the vanilla pod until lavender is broken down. (You can do this step beforehand).
- In a large bowl, cream the butter until fluffy.
- Gradually add the sugar and whisk until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
- Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until each is fully incorporated.
- Alternate three times between the yogurt and dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Add the lemon juice and gently stir with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake 25 minutes at 180°C.
- Cool in the loaf pan for 10-15 minutes before removing.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- For the lavender frosting:
- Beat the butter until creamy.
- Gradually add the icing sugar, lavender, zest and vanilla pod seeds.
- Add the milk or cream for desired consistency. Add more milk or sugar depending on the thickness.
- Frost the cake and garnish with some lavender buds and lemon zest.
- Serve with a pot of tea.
- NOTES: You can make the lavender-lemon-vanilla sugar beforehand and store. You can make a bigger batch and store to add in other baked products like shortbread cookies.
- Make this cake in a loaf tin or round tin.
