Lemon Lavender Pound Cake

 

 

There are two kinds of dessert I am most likely to never turn down, and that is anything made with chocolate or lemon. Now that spring is here, I feel like my usual baking of rich chocolate desserts are being switched out for lighter, fruity ones. Since I happened to have some lemons sitting on the kitchen counter that looked kind of lonely, I decided to try a new recipe for lemon pound cake. Because honestly, is there anything more wonderful than a perfect slice of lemon pound cake? I think not. 

 

 

This weekend we stopped by Union Market in DC and found this amazing little stand, Bazaar Spices, which sell spices and herbs from all over the world. Among other things, I picked up a bunch of dried lavender that I wound up using in the pound cake. By adding a teaspoon of lavender buds to the sugar, and grinding them together in a mortar, it releases the flavor of the lavender into the sugar. It smelled amazing and added a whole new dimension to the cake.

I have tried a couple of lemon pound cake recipes in the past, and I must say this one is one of my favorites. I made a few minor changes, such as using buttermilk instead of milk, adding lemon peel when it only called for juice, and including lavender. The result is a lemon flavor that isn't overpowering, and a crust that gives a nice texture to an otherwise moist cake.

I have found that a lot of recipes call for mixing sugar and lemon juice together, and soaking the cake just as it has come out of the oven. Sometimes I find that it makes the pound cake too sticky, so if you're like me and enjoy a little crust on your pound cake, I would say, just let it be. Sift some powdered sugar on top of the cake and call it a day!

Lemon Lavender Pound Cake

altered recipe from food.com 

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon dried lavender buds

2 eggs, well beaten

1 tablespoon lemon juice

the peel from one lemon

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1 1⁄2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 cup buttermilk (milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Let stand for 10 minutes before using.)

Instructions:

1. Put the sugar and lavender in a bowl and with a mortar, grind the lavender.
2. Run the sugar through a fine sifter to get rid of any big lavender pieces.
3. Mix together 1 cup lavender sugar and butter.
4. Add eggs,1 tablespoon of lemon juice and lemon peel; mix well.
5. Add salt, flour, and baking powder to mixture.
6. Add buttermilk.
7. Bake at 325°F in a well greased loaf pan for 1 hour, or until golden brown.
8. Dust some confectioners sugar on top before serving. Enjoy!

Citronkaka med lavendel
 
113 g smör
2,5 dl socker

1 tsk torkad lavendel

2 ägg, vispade

1 msk citronjuice

skalet från en citron

1 krm salt

3,6 dl mjöl

1 tsk bakpulver

1 dl buttermilk (mjölk + 1 tsk citronjuice eller vinäger som får stå i 10 minuter innan användning)