Lemon Lavender Cake

Slice of Lavender Lemon Cake on a white plate with lavender flowers alongside.

This Lemon Lavender Cake is two layers of light, moist lemon cake with a smooth and silky lavender buttercream! The textures and flavors of this beauty are a masterpiece!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 38

Chill Time 2

Total Time 3 13

Servings slices

Calories 668kcal

Author Amee

Equipment

Ingredients

Lemon Cake

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups sugar
3 Tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, at room temperature
½ teaspoon lemon oil (see note)
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
⅔ cup milk, at room temperature (I used whole milk)

Lavender Buttercream

1 ½ cups milk (I used whole)
½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 Tablespoon dried culinary lavender (see note)
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (see note)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Lemon Cake

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Be sure to only include the yellow part of the rind, and not the white pith underneath, as it is bitter. Run the mixer on low for a few minutes to allow the oils from the lemon to infuse the sugar.
1¼ cups sugar, 3 Tablespoons lemon zest
Add the butter and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, at least three minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Add the eggs one at a time, allowing the first egg to incorporate before adding the second. Add the lemon oil (see note) and lemon juice and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
2 eggs, at room temperature, ½ teaspoon lemon oil, 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the milk: with the mixer on low, gradually add half the dry ingredients, followed by the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Mix just until incorporated, taking care not to overmix.
⅔ cup milk, at room temperature
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans (a kitchen scale helps with this; see note). Bake until lightly golden on the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached, 23-25 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool at least ten minutes in the pans before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
If you'd like to make the cakes in advance, you can bake them the day before, wrap them well, and leave them on your counter to frost the next day. Storing the unfrosted cakes in the refrigerator may dry them out. For longer-term storage, make sure that the cakes are completely cool, wrap tightly, and you can freeze them for up to three months. Just thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then frost.

Lavender Buttercream

Combine the milk, heavy cream, and lavender (see note) in a small saucepan. Over medium-low heat, warm the mixture until just simmering. Remove from the heat and let cool enough that it can be placed in the refrigerator. Chill at least two hours, or up to overnight.
1 ½ cups milk, ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream, 1 Tablespoon dried culinary lavender
Once cooled, use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the lavender from the milk and cream mixture. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Add the milk and cream mixture and stir to combine.
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar, ½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt
Cook the mixture over medium heat while stirring constantly. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and whisk until the mixture has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on high speed until the bowl cools to room temperature, about 5-10 minutes.
Once the bowl has cooled to room temperature, reduce the speed to low and add the butter. Once the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla bean paste (see note) and mix to combine.
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened, 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
If not using the frosting immediately, place it in an airtight container and it will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. You'll have to take the frosting out of the fridge to warm up for it to be a spreadable/pipeable consistency. If necessary, the frosting can be re-whipped to a smooth consistency.
Frost the cooled cake layers with the buttercream, and top with lavender and lemon slices, if desired.
If you'd like to make the buttercream in advance, it will keep in an airtight container (you don't want it to absorb odors!) in the fridge for 2 weeks or in the freezer up to three months. When you pull from the fridge, place the buttercream on your counter to come to room temperature, then re-whip using the whisk attachment on your mixer. From the freezer, thaw overnight in your refrigerator, then proceed with bringing to room temperature on your counter and re-whipping.
Once the cake is frosted, I store mine in the refrigerator, where it keeps for 2-3 days. Once sliced, I'll press some plastic wrap up against the cut edges of the cake to help it from getting dry. The buttercream is quite firm straight out of the fridge, so I usually put the cake out on my counter about an hour before I want to serve it so the buttercream can warm up.
Enjoy!

Notes

Note on cake pans: This recipe is written for an 8-inch two-layer cake. I suggest using pans that are light in color to avoid overbaking the cakes (as darker pans bake the cake faster).

Note on kitchen scale: You can just eyeball it, but a scale will help to ensure you have the same amount of batter in each pan.

Note on lavender: You'll want to make sure that you're using culinary lavender, since other lavenders aren't meant to be eaten and could have been sprayed with harmful chemicals.

Note on vanilla bean paste: I love the flavor of vanilla bean paste, and the black flecks of vanilla bean in leaves in the buttercream! If you don't have vanilla bean paste or prefer not to use it, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract.

Nutrition