Friday, February 12, 2010

Lavender-Lemon Pound Cakes and Happy Valentine's Day!


Wishing all of my blogging friends and readers a very Happy Valentine's Day and weekend! Thank you all for your friendship and kindness and I wish you all the very best in return!


This recipe for Lavender Pound Cakes was first shared by my friend, Mimi at In The Middle of Nowhere a couple of years ago on another cooking forum. They are delicious and I hope you try them! Topped with a strawberry 'heart' they are a delicious treat for Valentine's Day.  Even better if you have the silicone heart molds :)


Lavender-Lemon Pound Cakes with Lemon Glaze
Recipe Courtesy of Monica Glass, Pastry Chef
Printable Recipe

12 miniature cake molds or cupcake molds

For the cake:

2½ cups sifted all-purpose flour*
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dried lavender, coarsely crushed or ground
¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature

For the sugar glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Generously grease two 6-cup mini Bundt pans or muffin cups with butter or non-stick cooking spray and dust lightly with flour, knocking out excess. Do not preheat oven.

Sprinkle the lavender into the buttermilk and let sit for 10 minutes. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating only until incorporated after each addition. Mix in the zest, lemon juice and vanilla.

Mix in the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Beat the final addition only until smooth. Do not over mix.

Spoon the batter into each cup, filling it only ¾ full and distributing it evenly between the 12 Bundt or muffin cups. Tap each pan several times on the counter to eliminate air bubbles and level the tops. Place both pans in the cold oven and turn the oven to 325? F. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tops (which will eventually become the cake bottoms) are risen and golden. Do not open the oven until at least 30 minutes into baking so your cakes will not fall.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 30 minutes, then run a thin knife around outer edge of each cake to loosen and unmold by inverting the pan over onto a wire rack. The cakes will be right-side-up at this point.

Prepare the glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula until the glaze is smooth and of drizzling consistency. Spoon the glaze over the top of each slightly cooled cake, letting some run down unevenly on the sides. Zest the lemon over the tops of the glaze and serve.

Wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil, the cakes will keep for 3-5 days at room temperature and for up to 3 months in the freezer.

*Sift the flour, then measure for accurate results.

24 comments:

  1. Let me be the first to wish you a wonderful trip..safe travels!
    The cake looks delicious!

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  2. Susan, those are my favorite cakes but no one in the house will eat them, so I only make them about once a year for one of my friends to share with me.
    Looks like you are headed to the southwest...have a safe wonderful trip!

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  3. Hope you have a fabulous trip- you will be missed. These cakes are favorites of my book club. You've made them look so appealing
    xoxo Pattie

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  4. The little cakes are just too pretty to eat :) I wish I was going to enjoy that view as well - have a wonderful vacation!

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  5. Thank you for your friendship and kindness~ Have a ball:) A golf ball and a real ball..your little cakes are so pretty..as well as ur studio/potting shed....that's how I see it:)
    Happy Valentine's Nana.

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  6. Those little lavender-lemon cakes look like they'd go perfectly with a nice hot cup of tea. I wish I could reach into my computer and take one (or two) Have a wonderful time on your warm, tropical vacation!

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  7. Lavender and lemon.... too good to be true! Great combination and the cakes look adorable Happy Valentine's Day!

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  8. Those little cakes are making me so hungry, they look delicious and so pretty with the strawberry hearts. Have a wonderful vacation, Kathy.

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  9. Ciao Susan!! deliziosi questi dolcetti!! buona vacanza!!! un abbraccio!!! ciao ciao!

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  10. Happy V-Day to you too sweetie! I hope you and the hubs have an excellent vacation.

    These little cakes look delicious! I love a good pound cake...

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  11. I think one of the best things about living in the snow belt is that we can leave it! I'll have to drive over to Sparta this spring and do a What's Inside on one of our local Lavender farms! Lavender is something that not many people use so far... IT is quite unique!

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  12. Susan, what a lovely post ... a special Valentine's wish, a tasty-sounding recipe, and two unique views and extremes of weather. It's not like you didn't have anything else to do today. ;)

    What a fantastic time of year to travel away from the midwest. Safe travels and have a wonderful trip.

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  13. Your cakes sound delicious and so does the vacation. Have a wonderful time!

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  14. Susan, what lovely little cakes, and full of flavors I love. Not sure my Valentine would eat them, but if I can freeze them, I can make them for me! Have a wonderful time!

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  15. Have a wonderful break and enjoy the sunshine, Susan. Your lovely little poundcake looks so delish and the glaze make them perfect.

    Safe travels.

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  16. These look delicious. I have dried lavender, so these go on my list to make.

    Hope vacation was wonderful, looks very pretty.

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  17. Lovely recipe Susan! And I actually have some dried lavender.
    Have a wonderful vacation, it looks divine!

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  18. These look so pretty and delicious-what a fun dessert to make, I will certainly be giving these a try!

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  19. That's a great trade :) Hope you're having some fun in the sun, and thatyou manage to get a lot of shoppin gin there, too!

    Your cakes look fabulous!

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  20. The only thing more splendid than those Lavender-Lemon Pound Cakes is the view you & your hubby have been sharing while enjoying your vacation. What a great way to savor February.

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  21. Purtroppo non capisco molto quello che è scritto, ma sono rimasta affascinata dalle foto...sono una meraviglia!!!

    ciao Morena

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  22. Hello Susan~We had a lovely Valentines...my son, daughter in-love and their friend came home (with 2 dogs) for the three day weekend.We had a lovely Valentines...my son, daughter in-love and their friend came in from Seattle (with 2 dogs) for the three day weekend. They participated in a 18 mile bike ride in Oregon on Valentines day. The weather has been unusually sunny and pretty dry for the most part, which we've embraced with open arms.
    We saw the strangest thing on V-day. A house fully lit in Christmas lights all the way down to the row of candy canes. Now that's one fierce dedication to Christmas, lol!
    Looks like you and I were on the same (baking) wave length with little cakes for V-day. I made petit fours to resemble conversation heart candies.

    Sweet wishes,
    Sara

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  23. I'm glad you had a lovely vacation! You deserved it.

    I have to admit, I actually like both Arctic and Tropical settings. And of course, I never turn down cake, so I'll swipe a few of those delicious cakelets from you.

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