LEMON BLUEBERRY LAVENDER CAKE
Lemon Blueberry Lavender Cake
Y’all gon get this lavender by any means necessary! There’s sooo much of it in the garden this year.
Yield: 2 x 9-inch cake pans or 4 x 6 inch cake pans
PREP IT!
For Lavender Syrup:
¾ cups Water
¾ cups Sugar, granulated
2 tablespoons Lavender flowers, dried, culinary grade
Lemon Blueberry Lavender Cake:
2 large Lemons, fresh (zested and juiced [4 tablespoons Lemon juice])
1½ cups (300 grams) Sugar, granulated
2 cups (240 grams) Flour, cake
2 teaspoon Baking powder
½ teaspoon Baking soda
¼ teaspoon Sea salt, fine
2 sticks Butter, salted (room temperature)
4 large Egg yolks (room temperature)
2 large Eggs, whole (room temperature)
¼ cup Lavender syrup (recipe above)
2 teaspoons Lemon bakery emulsion
10 drops Yellow food coloring
¼ cup Heavy cream
2 cups Blueberries, fresh
For Lavender Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1½ cup (3 sticks) Butter, salted (room temperature)
1½ teaspoons Lemon bakery emulsion
¼ teaspoon Salt
3 cups Powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Lavender syrup (recipe above)
½ large Lemons, fresh (zested and juiced [1 tablespoon Lemon juice])
2 tablespoons Sweetened condensed milk
10 drops Yellow food coloring
For Filling, Garnish, and Assembly:
¼ cup Lavender syrup, for soaking each cake layer (recipe above)
½ cup Lemon curd, store bought
½ large Lemons, fresh, zested
8-12 Blueberries, fresh
4 sprigs Lavender, fresh or dried
MAKE IT!
For Lavender Syrup:
In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar fully dissolves.
Remove from heat and stir in the dried lavender flowers. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes. The lavender should smell floral and soft, not overly perfumy. Don’t walk away too long or it’ll start tasting like soap and sadness.
While the lavender steeps, place butterfly pea flowers in a small bowl or cup and pour over the hot water. Let steep for 7 minutes until the water turns a deep blue-purple color. Stir in the lemon juice and watch the color shift into a vibrant violet.
Strain the lavender syrup through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth into a large bowl or pitcher. Discard the lavender flowers. Cool and store refrigerated in an airtight container.
For Lemon Blueberry Lavender Cake:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare 2 round 9-inch cake pans or 4 round 6-inch cake pans by spreading a thin layer of butter and a thin dusting of flour along the inside of the pan and setting aside.
In a small bowl or jar, stir together sugar and lemon zest. Allow to sit for at least 3 hours so flavors can infuse into the sugar.
Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Add butter and infused sugar to a bowl. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together, on high, until mixture is light and fluffy for about 10-15 minutes.
Add egg yolks, whole eggs, lavender syrup, lemon emulsion, and yellow food coloring, incorporating into butter and sugar mixture with mixer on low.
With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the flour mixture and the heavy cream until a batter forms. Gently fold in blueberries.
Pour batter, split evenly, into the prepared cake pans. You can use an ice cream scoop to portion out the batter into the different pans, so it is evenly distributed. Gently shake the pans from side to side to even out the batter and pop any air bubbles. Don’t bang it on the table or counter.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.
Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. Remove cakes by running a knife along the edge of the pan to loosen. Flip out onto a plate and allow cakes to cool completely.
For Lavender Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
Place butter, lemon emulsion, and salt in a stand mixer or mix with a hand mixer. Whip until creamy, airy, and lighter in color (about 10 minutes). Add in powdered sugar, lavender syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, and yellow food coloring until well incorporated and smooth.
Transfer frosting to a gallon size zip top bag.
For Assembly:
Once cake is completely cooled, cut a small hole in the corner of the gallon zip top bag and place a small dollop of frosting in the middle of the plate you will store the cake on. Line the edges of the plate with 4-5 strips of parchment paper that can be easily pulled out from underneath the cake layers once frosting and decorating is complete.
Drizzle each layer of cake with remaining lavender syrup distributed evenly amongst each layer.
Place the first cake layer onto the center of the plate over the dollop. The dollop helps to adhere the cake to the plate.
Pipe and spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cake. Pipe a circle of frosting along the top edge of the cake layer.
Fill the inside of the circle with 2-4 tablespoons of lemon curd. Refrigerate this layer if needed to firm up the frosting before proceeding.
Place the second cake layer on top of the lemon curd filling. Pipe and spread a thick layer of frosting on top of the cake. Let the frosting fall over the sides of the cake. Pipe and spread additional frosting on the sides of the cake as need. Pipe 8-12 dollops of frosting on top of the cake. Top each dollop with a blueberry. Garnish top of cake with lemon zest and lavender flowers. Refrigerate to firm up the frosting.
Gently remove the parchment paper strips from the sides of the cake, one at a time, being sure to catch all the excess frosting on the parchment. This should result in a relatively clean looking finished cake.
Keep cake refrigerated. Allow cake to come to room temperature before enjoying!! This cake also freezes well.
