• Cake:
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp. dried lavender
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6 egg whites
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Syrup:
• 1/3 cup dried lavender
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups water

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2. Bring milk and lavender to a boil in a small saucepan.
3. Let steep.
4. Strain.
5. Discard lavender.
6. Set milk aside.
7. Cream butter and sugar, then add lavender milk, baking powder, salt, egg whites, and vanilla extract; stir.
8. Blend in cocoa and flour.
9. Pour into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake 30-35 minutes.
10. Let cool.
11. For Syrup:
12. Combine lavender, sugar, and water in small saucepan.
13. Bring to boil.
14. Boil until syrup thickens.
15. Cool and strain.
16. Discard lavender.
17. Cake Assembly:
18. Level each cake by carving off extra on top. With a pastry brush (or spoon) coat each layer with 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup lavender syrup.
19. Let cake soak up syrup.
20. Top one layer with fudge icing, then assemble one layer on top of another; ice in more fudge. Decorate any way that's pretty. :)

Adapted from RedVelvetCafe.com Backstory: Lavender is awesome. Chocolate is awesome. This cake smells heavenly when it's baking--like calming flowers with an edge of chocolatey sweetness. I gave it to the girl that used to live at my house, and she said it was the best cake she'd ever tasted.