This Lemon Lavender Layer Cake is a sweet teatime treat. It’s easy to make, yet pretty enough to serve for a special occasion.
Happy Spring! It seems that the season has finally settled in to stay for a while here in East Tennessee. Winter’s chill is gone and the venerable camellia bush tree in our yard is heavy with pink blooms. However, spring has always been unpredictable here. We may yet have a Dogwood Winter (snow in April!). But for now the warm weather and colors of spring have inspired my mood and appetite.
Lemon Lavender Layer Cake is – yes – inspired by spring’s new blooms, but also by a set of thrifted china my mother gifted to me. I’m so grateful for her generosity, and happy to add new (old!) china to my collection. But I wasn’t sure about the colors. Pink and purple together is something my 10 year old self would have adored. And I’m pretty sure this china is from the big ’80s. Maybe I felt I’d outgrown those hues a little? Ultimately (as you can see) I decided to embrace them, and to create a cake to match the sweetness and color palette. Now, I just love those dishes! The pattern is retired, but has a few pieces if you’re looking to add to your granny-chic collection.
A light touch of lavender.
The lavender flavor in this cake is so lovely and mild. It’s quick-steeped in the wet ingredients, and some buds are added to the dry mixture. Combined with the lemony-citrus notes, the end result leans more toward Earl Grey tea flavor than anything. When using lavender, the last thing you want is for your baked goods to taste like granny’s soap. I think even those with some lavender ambivalence, may find this a delicious flavor combination.
3 abundant layers.
The batter bakes up in three 8-inch cake pans. I developed the batter to make three hearty rounds that don’t puff up much in the oven. No leveling means less cake waste (and I’m all for that!). If your cakes puff a little in their centers, lay a paper towel on top of them while they are still warm in the pans. Press the puffed center down gently before turning the cakes out to cool completely.
Billowy, light, buttercream.
Swiss meringue buttercream also lends lightness, as it is less sweet than American buttercream. If you’ve never made it before, it can seem intimidating. Just know, before you start, that during mixing the frosting goes through several ugly stages before it becomes beautiful, billowy buttercream. (See my how-to video in post.)
Lavender flavors and hues.
Flavor the buttercream with a little lemon extract and a touch of . This creates an extra layer of flavor that matches the cake’s interior. Fill and coat the cake with a crumb coat of the frosting. I almost liked this as a ‘naked cake’ (sidebar: I wrote for Food Network on the subject). I love the cake layers peeking through, but ultimately decided for a more substantial coat.
Tint the remaining frosting a rosy color. Because of the inherent pale yellow that lives in buttercream, mixing colors can be a challenge! So add a little gel color at a time as you go. I managed to create this color using red, purple, and fuchsia gel food colors. See the recipe notes to simplify mixing hues.
Decorate!
I used gum paste flowers that were already made up, and leftover, from a wedding cake I made last year. I don’t have a tutorial for them today (maybe soon!) but you could simplify things by using organic rose petals as a garnish. Or, consider supporting a wonderful Etsy maker and purchase some .
To one side, pipe leftover frosting mounds in a half-moon shape. Add some berries, flowers, petals – whatever inspires you! I added a sprinkle of culinary lavender buds on top.
I’m already planning to make this cake a second time, perhaps for Mother’s Day. It fits so many occasions! It would even make an appropriate Easter cake. The flavors are spot-on to convey the lightness of spring.
If you’re like me, and have the opinion that no tea party is complete with out madeleines, you can whip up a batch using . Omit the orange peel and add a little lemon extract, and 1/2 teaspoon of lavender buds to the batter. They are so lovely alongside this cake.
Lemon Lavender Layer Cake
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Equipment
- Fine mesh sieve
- microplane or citrus zester
- 8 inch cake pans, 3
- disposable piping bag
Ingredients
Lemon lavender cake layers
Swiss meringue buttercream
Decors
Instructions
Lemon lavender cake layers
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and fine grain sea salt. Stir in the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons dried culinary lavender buds.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Scrape down the bowl and beat again until consistent.
- To the cooled lavender milk, add the lemon juice. Stir to combine. The mixture will curdle; this is normal and supposed to happen. Add the zest and lemon extract. Mix well.
- Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture alternately with the wet ingredients; begin and end with flour.
Swiss meringue buttercream
- Place a saucepan filled 1/3 full of water over medium heat. Bring to a simmer.
- In a large stainless-steel bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over the simmering water and cook while whisking intermittently. Cook until the mixture is hot (110°F) and you can no longer feel sugar granules when the mixture is rubbed between your finger and thumb. Transfer the hot mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed for 10 minutes or until a thick, shiny meringue forms that holds stiff peaks. The bowl should feel cool to the touch. If it doesn’t, refrigerate the meringue in the bowl for 10 minutes. Return the bowl to the mixer and swap the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment.
- Beat the room temperature butter into the meringue one cube at a time on medium-low speed, waiting to add the next cube when the previous cube disappears. The batter will deflate with the butter addition, and may even look curdled (if the butter was the slightest bit cold this happens), but this is normal. When all of the butter is added, beat the mixture on high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the lemon and lavender extracts and salt.
Assembly
- Place a cake layer on a cake plate or cake board. Top with 1 cup of the buttercream; spread evenly. Top with a second cake layer. Add another cup of buttercream and spread evenly. Top with the remaining cake layer. Cover the entire cake with a crumb coat of frosting, and chill until firm, about 15 to 20 minutes.
