Okay guys, Spring is actually here now. It’s going to stay for real this time, trust me. No more surprise 30 degree weather!

My little garden has begun to grow, and it’s filled with fresh herbs and tasty things to eat, including my little lavender plant!

I’ve never baked with lavender before, so this recipe was a first for me! A few tips for lavender virgins:

Lavender is very strong. If too much is used, lavender leaves a soapy taste in the mouth and its way too floral-tasting.

Please wash your herbs and plants from your own garden if you’re going to use it in any cooking or baking!

You will need

For 24 cakes

Lemons – 2, zested and sliced thin

Water – 2 cups

Sugar- 8 oz.

Corn Syrup – 3 1/2 oz.

Cake Flour – 3 1/4 cup

Salt – 1/2 tsp.

Baking Soda – 1/4 tsp.

Butter – 8 oz.

Sugar – 3 cup

Eggs- 6, beaten

Sour Cream- 1 cup

Lemon Juice- 2 TB

Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp.

Almond Extract- 1/4 tsp.

Whole Milk- 1 cup

Powdered Sugar- 3 cup

Fresh Lavender- 1 Sprig, leaves removed

You will also need

Pot

Slotted Spoon

Cooling Rack

Two Sheet Pans

Wax Paper

Knife

Two Bowls

Mixer with Paddle Attachment

Sifter

Whisk

Mini Bundt Silicone Molds

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Small Sandwich Bag and Scissors

For the Cake

For the candied lemons, zest the lemons and set zest aside. Slice the lemons into thin slices. Try to get 24. In a pot over high heat, combine the water, sugar and corn syrup. Rotate the pot to make sure the water covered all of the sugar. Cook until the sugar and syrup is dissolved and boiling. Reduce sugar-water to a simmer, and place each lemon slice carefully in the water. Without touching the lemon slices, let them simmer for about ten minutes or until the slices become translucent. Use a slotted spoon to individually scoop each lemon slice out of the water and place on a cooling rack standing over a sheet tray or some other surface to catch any water drippings. Allow the candied lemon to fully cool. In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, salt, baking soda, and the lemon zest. Quickly whisk together and set aside. In a mixer, use a paddle attachment to whip your butter until it is light, fluffy and airy. Mix in the second amount of sugar on a low speed. Pour in the beaten eggs about one at a time while the mixer is still on low. Combine the flour mix and the sour cream into the butter mix by alternating back and forth. Flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix on low until batter is combined. Place one slice of cooled candied lemon in each mini bundt mold. Use a small scoop or spoon to ladle batter into each mold, about 3/4 full. Place the mini bundt molds on a sheet tray. Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper over the molds, then place another sheet tray facing the same way on top. This keeps the pound cakes from rising too high. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. When done, release cakes onto a cooling rack.

For the Lavender Frosting

In a pot, combine the milk and lavender over medium heat. Without stirring, bring milk to an easy simmer. Do not go over a simmer! Simmer lavender for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and cover with a lid. Allow the lavender to steep for another five minutes. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Gently pour and whisk lavender milk into the powdered sugar until you create a thick but liquidy frosting. You may not need to use all of the milk! You can always add additional powdered sugar if need be. Whisk until smooth and uniform. Pour frosting into a small sandwich bag. Close the bag, and use scissors to cut a small tip off one corner. Use the bag to squeeze icing onto your cooled mini pound cakes.

Serve your little lemon cake babies after a family dinner. Perhaps after a long night of grilling on the patio 🙂

Hey! I do cool food things! I recently renamed my Instagram handle, but it features all my food adventures and all the pretty pictures from my recipes!

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