Lavender Vanilla Bean Cake

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It was one of those summer afternoons where the sun beats down and the air swells with heat. A few years ago I was settling into a new apartment, unpacking the expectations and hopes of a recent college graduate. It was the earnest love of a new experience that lead me to the city of Montreal and the promise of the unfamiliar that rooted me. My heart and mind were open and waiting.

The summer heat quickly crept through the cracks in the doors and windows, overwhelming the small space with oppressive warmth. When the sweat began to bead on my forehead, I escaped outdoors for the hint of a breeze. During summer, the streets of Montreal are filled with colorful stoops and the fierce spirit of potted plants in bloom. While I thought the center of such a large city would be all brick and concrete, I was surprised by the amount of life, growing and thriving, to be found.

Back indoors, cheeks red from my walk, my roommate treated me to a glass of homemade lemonade to cool me down. A neighbor had gifted her a bundle of dried lavender and she used the buds to infuse the latest batch. Lavender lemonade. I was hesitant at first. The scent of lavender reminds me of soap and summer meadows, not sweet refreshments. However, I was in the market for new experiences and, though small, this would be one of the first. After I took a sip of the pale drink, my opinion changed. The subtle tones of lavender felt the perfect match for lemon's tart disposition. I finished the glass and wished for more.

Though I have hundreds of memories from those first few months on my own, this one has gripped me closely. Perhaps it was the heat or simply the beginning of a new adventure, but that cold glass of lemonade remains one of the fondest.

Since my first introduction to both flora and food, I have become smitten with the combination. I am often searching for new ways to combine herbs and floral scents with my favorite desserts. The key to baking with flowers or herbs is to keep it subtle—too much and it quickly becomes overpowering. Chocolate cupcakes infused with lavender buds and peaches cooked down with thyme are a couple of my recent favorites. And, as always, recreating that memorable lavender lemonade.

Until this point, I enjoyed buds and blossoms primarily for their bold colors, soft lines, and honeyed aromas, but it had not occurred to me just how delicate they could become in food. The subtle aromas, the muted tones, the calmness they brought to a flavor storm of complexity—it was beautiful.

It opened a new door to how I perceive and interact with food.

This Lavender Vanilla Bean Cake rests at the intersection between my love for sweet scents and sweet eats. The milk in the batter is infused with lavender, adding a delicate tone that is neither too perfumed nor overwhelming. Both floral individually, the flavor of lavender compliments the vanilla bean well, but together they create a combination that is gentle, yet surprising.

One Year Ago: Cherry Almond Crumble, Nutella Espresso Rolls, and Brownie Cookies
Two Years Ago: Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes, Cherry Almond Granola, and Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Three Years Ago: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread, and Cinnamon Raisin Baked French Toast
Four Years Ago: Blueberry Lime Panna Cotta and Grilled Peaches

Lavender Vanilla Bean Cake

Yields double layer 9-inch cake

4 teaspoons dried culinary lavender
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) milk
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups (280 grams) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup (75 grams) vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups (300 grams) cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease 9-inch cake pans and set aside.

Using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, crush the lavender to release the oils.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk until just boiling. Stir in the lavender, cover and remove from heat. Allow it to steep for at least 30 minutes. Strain out lavender.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Gradually add in the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the lavender infused milk, stirring until batter is uniform and smooth.

Divide batter between cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool to room temperature before frosting.

 

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

1 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups (312 grams) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or the seeds from 1 vanilla bean)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and beat to combine, scraping down the bowl if necessary. Mix in the vanilla bean paste, salt, and milk. If frosting is too soft, add more powdered sugar until it reaches a spreadable consistency. Likewise, if the frosting is too stiff, add a touch of milk or cream until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

To assemble, place the cooled bottom cake layer on a serving platter. Spread a layer of buttercream on top before placing the second layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting along the top and edges.

Cookie Dough Cake

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Cookie Dough Cake

Cookie Dough Cake
Cookie Dough Cake

My mother used to warn me to keep my fingers out of the mixing bowl. There are raw eggs, she'd say while playfully slapping my hand away with a spatula. You'll get sick. Even though she had my best interest at heart, I wasn't very good at listening. When her back was turned, I'd swipe a finger through the brownie batter or pinch off a piece of cookie dough, quickly hiding the evidence between my lips. The taste of the raw dough from my favorite cookies and cake outweighed the warnings my mother gave, each and every time.

(Sorry, mom.)

Cookie Dough Cake
Cookie Dough Cake

After eating raw batter for the better part of 25 years (and having yet to get sick), I cannot say my habit of licking the spatula clean has gotten much better. However, I am a bit more careful about the batter I choose to eat. When I'm craving a bit of cookie dough, I'll make a batch without eggs so I can sneak as much as I'd like.

A few years ago, I slipped a little cookie dough into a batch of cupcakes that was headed to the oven. The result was unique, but no less delicious than the sum of its parts. The memory of those long ago cupcakes were the inspiration for this cake. Real cookie dough is cut into small pieces and spread throughout the batter. As the cake itself tastes like cookie batter, the finished product becomes a texture playground, alternating between light cake and dense cookie dough. It's a fun, sweet cake that begs for a glass of milk.

Cookie Dough Cake
Cookie Dough Cake

As a side note, I'll be taking a break from blogging for the next month to deal with medical issues, move across state lines, and begin a new job. With so much going on all at once, I need to step away from the kitchen and concentrate on other things for awhile. Even though I'll be gone, I won't let this space go quiet. I have asked a handful of my favorite bloggers to share their own recipes with you. Each week you'll meet a new face and have the opportunity to try out a sweet treat or savory dish.

I have a feeling you'll fall in love with their words and photography as I did.

Cookie Dough Cake

This Cookie Dough Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream is where chocolate chip cookies meet cake. The cake is made with brown sugar to give it the taste of cookie batter. Small pieces of cookie dough are mixed into the batter, giving the cake a unique texture that's somewhere between a cake and cookie dough. While the cake is more dense than usual from the cookie dough, it has the undeniable taste and texture of sneaking a finger full of batter from the bowl. While the brown sugar frosting is optional, it can work as a nice complement to the cake when spread in a thin layer.

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Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

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Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

Somewhere between the gentle rolling hills and foggy mists of England, I fell in love with black tea. After moving to the United Kingdom for a few months, surrounded by a new culture and colorful accent, afternoon tea seemed like a very British tradition to experience. Up until this point, I had never been much of a tea drinker, perhaps only stealing a cup of chai when my mother set the teapot to boil, but I still felt like I would grow to enjoy it.

Originating from a nation of coffee drinkers, tea sounded like a fresh, bright alternative to the acidic touch of a rudimentary coffee maker.

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

I remember my first trip to a British supermarket well. I paced up and down the aisles with an unusual level of fascination with the food lining the shelves. When I reached the tea section, I needed to take a moment to look over the vast display, feeling overwhelmed with choosing a place to begin my tea journey. I looked over different boxes in earnest, but with no concept of the difference between Earl Grey and Rooibos or English and Irish breakfast tea, it all felt as foreign to me as the new country I was in. I eventually snatched a box of PG Tips off the shelf, gambling with my future in tea.

Since that very first cup, brewed hot and fresh in my small dorm kitchen, I have not been able to turn back since. Black tea had utterly captured my heart.

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

Even now, I much prefer a mug of black tea to a mug of black coffee. On the weekends, when the morning is slow and responsibilities have been forgotten, I boil the water and brew the tea, adding a splash of milk and a drizzle of honey. You could, in many ways, call it my drink of choice.

Last weekend, while sipping a mug of tea and watching a winter storm turn the world white outside my window, I envisioned the flavors of my cup of tea as a slice of cake. Staying warm in my apartment, I started up the oven and turned my faint imaginings into a reality, creating a lovely little cake for two. My boyfriend, a strong believer in the powers of a good cup of coffee, fought me for the final piece. I think that speaks more about this cake than anything else.

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream

Black Tea Cake with Honey Buttercream is a cup of tea turned into a slice of cake. The black tea cake is made by pouring the contents of three tea bags into warmed milk and allowing it to brew before adding the milk into the cake batter, tea leaves and all. The batter takes on a wonderful color, with specks of tea leaves to add a unique twist. After baking, the cake is topped with a honey buttercream that keeps the flavor without so much of the sweetness. The cake and buttercream taste just as their namesake, giving the classic cup of tea a new life. Tea lovers, this cake is just for you.

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