a recipe

Hello friends! I recently went to a dance, hosted by dear friends of mine! Amidst the swinging, skipping, stepping, swishing of skirts and mopping of brows ~ we ate a marvelous dinner together. Among the many delicious desserts was this cake that turned out delightfully well! 

I doubled this recipe and stacked the cakes. Next time I may make vanilla buttercream and make a filling to go between layers, but this simple cake had the perfect balance of lavender to lemon. 

::CAKE:: 

• ½ cup butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup organic cane sugar
• ¾ cup blanched almond flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 egg whites
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• The zest of two lemons
• ½ cup flour (I used gluten-free mix from Costco)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

::GLAZE::

• The juice of the same two lemons ;) 
• 2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender (amazon sells it here) 
• Boil this together, let steep 5 - 7 minutes and then cool.
• Then stir in 1 cup powdered sugar.

::INSTRUCTIONS::

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8 inch square pan or shaped silicone pan, depending what you have!
2. Cream the butter and ½ cup of sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating until the mixture is pale and fluffy, another 3-4 minutes. Add the vanilla, almond extract, and lemon zest and beat just until combined. Fold in almond flour.
3. Beat the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl on medium high speed until foamy, then add the cream of tartar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Sift the cake flour and baking powder into a small bowl.
5. Fold in ⅓ of the egg whites, then ⅓ of the flour mixture. Repeat with the remaining egg whites and flour. Be very careful not to over-stir.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
7. Bake for about 25  minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake. 
8. Remove the cake from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake and the place top side up on a cake platter.
9. Poke some small holes around the top of the cake with a toothpick to allow the glaze to fully absorb.
10. To make the glaze: Combine the lemon juice and lavender flours in a small saucepan or microwaveable dish, bring to a boil, remove and let steep for 5ish minutes. You can strain the lavender flowers if you so choose, but I think they taste wonderful and look lovely!
11. Pour the glaze over the cake and let the cake sit for at least 40 minutes before serving.
12. Decorate with fresh berries if you like!
13. Better shared with friends. ;)

A happy week to you all!

~K~