Lemony Lavender Buttermilk Cake

Serves 12 to 14

For the cake

2 teaspoons organic lavender buds
2 cups + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup salted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

For the lemon drizzle

2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cups icing sugar

For the topping

1 tablespoon cane sugar
1 teaspoon organic lavender buds
1 lemon, zested into long strips
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Lavender sprigs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease every nook and cranny of a 9-inch springform pan.

If you have never worked with lavender, don’t worry. I’ve learned that essential oils infuse better if you blend them with sugar, so blend the lavender buds with 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a coffee mill or grinder.

To make the cake, in a mixing bowl, mix together the ground lavender-sugar blend, flour, baking powder, and salt.

Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups of sugar and beat until pale and fluffy. With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and mix. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on medium speed for a couple of minutes, just to combine. Add the buttermilk in one addition, beating until mixed in. Add the rest of the flour mixture. Mix for 1 full minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as required.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the centre rack of the oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cake is pulling slightly away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before releasing from the pan.

To make the lemon drizzle, in a medium bowl, use a fork to whisk the buttermilk and lemon juice with the icing sugar. Place the cooled cake on a serving plate and pour the lemon drizzle overtop the cake, letting it travel down the sides.

To make the topping, grind the cane sugar and lavender buds in a coffee mill or grinder. Transfer to a small bowl and mix with the strips of lemon and lemon juice. Toss everything around a bit with your hand and place the lemon strips on top of the cake or on individually cut pieces. Add a few lavender sprigs for a delightful finish.

Excerpted from Rocky Mountain Cooking by Katie Mitzel. Copyright © 2019 Katie Mitzel. Food photography by Shallon Cunningham. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.