Chocolate Lavender Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 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
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
- Bring milk and lavender to a boil in a small saucepan.
- Let steep.
- Strain.
- Discard lavender.
- Set milk aside.
- Cream butter and sugar, then add lavender milk, baking powder, salt, egg whites, and vanilla extract; stir.
- Blend in cocoa and flour.
- Pour into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake 30-35 minutes.
- Let cool.
- For Syrup:
- Combine lavender, sugar, and water in small saucepan.
- Bring to boil.
- Boil until syrup thickens.
- Cool and strain.
- Discard lavender.
- Cake Assembly:
- 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.
- Let cake soak up syrup.
- Top one layer with fudge icing, then assemble one layer on top of another; ice in more fudge. Decorate any way that's pretty. :)
RECIPE BACKSTORY
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.