Serves 8Lavender Honey Cake
Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis
If you’re tired of plain old vanilla, this lavender honey cake is a delicious way to step up your dessert game. The honey’s light citrus notes followed by a slight floral element work really well with the lavender and lemon. The semolina adds a nice texture that makes this cake a little more substantial than usual. Plus, it only has one layer, so it’s totally doable if you’re not an expert baker. Instead of icing the cake all over, each slice is served with a big dollop of vanilla cream, so no decorating necessary!
Just make sure that you make the lavender syrup first and cool it completely. If it’s still hot, you run the risk of cooking the eggs. Make sure all of your wet ingredients are room temperature so they incorporate correctly.
Lavender Honey Cake
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INGREDIENTS:
- Lavender Syrup
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 tablespoons dried lavender
- ⅓ cup sugar
- Cake
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup semolina
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried lavender chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest from 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup orange blossom honey
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice from ½ lemon
- ⅓ cup lavender syrup
- Vanilla Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 vanilla pod seeds scraped out and pod reserved for another use
- 1 tablespoon orange blossom honey
INSTRUCTIONS:
- The honey's light citrus notes followed by a slight floral element work really well with the lavender and lemon.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch-round baking pan. Cut a circle of parchment to line the bottom of the pan and butter the parchment. Set aside.
For the syrup:
- Add the water, lavender, and sugar to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 4 minutes or until reduced by half. Turn off the heat and steep for 3 minutes. Strain and allow to cool to room temperature.
For the cake:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, semolina, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lavender. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, vanilla, coconut oil, honey, eggs, lemon juice, and cooled lavender syrup.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together using a rubber spatula until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
For the vanilla cream:
- Place the heavy cream, vanilla seeds, and honey in a large bowl. Using a handheld mixer, beat on high for about 3 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of cake with a dollop of the vanilla cream.
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