Luscious Lemon Lavender Cake. Bright lemony cake with a hints of lavender.
Did August even happen? I’m not sure where it went as I sit here pondering that we are now in September. We have about 20’ish days left of summer but last night it got down to 41 degrees which makes for a chilly morning. I’ve even switched the iced coffee for the hot coffee. 
I couldn’t resist doing one more summery inspired recipe. I have seen lemon and lavender make its rounds and I was curious. Isn’t lavender a flower after all? At first thought I imagined perfume tainted cake but thousands of folks can’t be wrong right? My imagination must be out of wack, well it always has been but thats a whole post in itself and I’ll spare you 😉 .
None of the stores in my area (small town USA) carries food grade lavender buds. However my grocery store had Lavender Extract Paste. Of course I took the bait, it was so pretty in the package and the box said “gourmet” so it must be good right?
So off I went, I started with the cake adding the lemon zest, this is exciting stuff for me because lemon zest = happiness. Now the lavender box had instructions on how to substitute for vanilla but I found I needed a much greater quantity than suggested. Next the swiss meringue buttercream, now there is no lemon in the buttercream, I let the lavender have full flavor control here.
The result was perfect for my first experience with lavender and I couldn’t be happier. The best way I can describe it is a wonderfully bright lemony cake with a delightful hint of lavender. The lavender is not over powering or strong in this cake but just right. The lavender is not perfume like at all (like I originally feared) but rather a nice light floral flavor. Combined with the lemon its a nice sophisticated cake. 
If you have been wanting to experiment with lavender but weren’t sure how, this Luscious Lemon Lavender Cake is a great way to get your feet wet.
Enjoy!
Stacey
Here are some of the products I used to make this cake. They may be helpful to you as well or just to take a look.
Taylor and Colledge Lavender Extract Paste – this is how I was able to introduce the lavender flavor into this cake/frosting. It is a very delicate flavored extract that does not over do it.
Wilton Food Colorings – This box includes a variety of colors that I use often. For this recipe I used Wilton Violet coloring.
King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour – I use King Arthur products regularly including the is flour
Please note some of the links above are affiliate links which means if you purchase from the link I get a small commission. I use these products and stand behind them which is why I chose to tell you about them. Thank you for your support.
FORGOT TO PIN IT? Here you go! Thanks. Yum
Luscious Lemon Lavender Cake
Ingredients
- CAKE:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 Tbsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter room temp
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 4 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp Lavender Paste
- 1 cup milk
- BUTTERCREAM:
- 5 eggs whites
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 4 sticks butter or 2 cups room temp, cut into Tbsp size chunks.
- 1 Tbsp lavender Paste
- Violet food coloring
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease and flour 2- 7" pans, set aside
- CAKE:
- In medium bowl add the flour, salt, baking powder, stir, set aside.
- In bowl of mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the eggs 2 at a time, continue mixing.
- Add in the lavender extract and lemon zest, continue mixing.
- With mixer on low add the flour mixture and milk by alternating each. Mix until fully combined.
- Pour into prepared cake pans.
- Bake 49 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool completely.
- BUTTERCREAM:
- In medium sauce pan add the egg whites and sugar.
- On medium heat you are going to whisk egg mixture until sugar is completely dissolved (you can test it by rubbing a small amount between your fingers to test it, it should be completely smooth).
- Transfer to mixing bowl and with whisk attachment whisk on high until stiff peaks form and mixture is cooled.
- On low speed add the butter one piece at a time. Mix until well combined.
- Switch to paddle attachment, add lavender and food coloring, mix until smooth and glossy.
- ASSEMBLY:
- Cut each cake horizontally so you have a total of 4 layers.
- Put a small dollop of frosting on cake board/cake plate so the cake sticks.
- Put on the first layer, Cover tope with frosting, repeat with remaining three cake layers.
- Decorate as desired with buttercream, lemon slices and yellow sprinkles.
- Refrigerate until ready to eat.
This is an absolutely stunningly gorgeous cake. The combination flavour of lemon and lavender must taste heavenly. I would love to try out this recipe, I just hope that the baking store near me keeps lavender paste. Thank you for a beautiful recipe.
Have a great weekend!
Hi Ashika! Thank you! I feel you, my stores near me don’t always stock the unique items. Take care.
Gorgeous! This is a real beauty. I love, love, love lemon!!! But can you believe I have never used lavender in cooking? I have to say I’m not even certain if I’ve eaten food with lavender before! I guess I’d better expand my horizons!
Hi Kathy, Thanks!! I love lemon everything to. Until now lavender wasn’t a staple in my cupboard either. It was a good find and try worth keeping. Take care.
The cake itself is so gorgeous looking Stacey! And the flavors are lovely! Have been seeing lavender all over Instagram in the last few months..This cake is a perfect way to incorporate it. The lavender buttercream sounds divine!
Hi Deepika! Thank you, the flavors are lovely for sure and I think a little sophisticated to 😉 . Take care.
This cake is so totally gorgeous, Stacey! I’d have a hard time slicing into that beauty. But I’d find a way 🙂
Thanks Kelsie! I always feel bad cutting into a cake and then get over it real fast 😉 . Take care.
This cake is gorgeous, Stacey. I would definitely have the same fear of the extract turning out “perfumey” but now that you’ve done the hard work for me, if I can ever get my hands on some lavender flavouring this cake will be my first try! I’m so glad you are still doing summer recipes! I’m not ready to let go!
Hi Katherine! Thank you! Not quite ready for Fall yet either though I have started thinking of apples. Take care.
I just love the cakes you share! They’re always so beautiful and make me wish I lived closer so that I could share in a piece and a hot cup of coffee! Pinned!
Hi Annie! What a nice compliment, thank you. That would be so much fun 🙂 . Take care.
Hi! I have fresh culinary lavender and I was wondering if you know how much I should use instead of the paste?
Hi Haley! Thank you so much for the question. Can you believe it though, I have never used fresh lavender myself so I don’t feel comfortable guessing. The paste itself is potent so I do believe the measurements would not be the same. I would suggest checking on some other lavender cake recipes to get an idea, that way you will at least be in the proper range and your cake will turn out tasty 😉 . Take care.
I have lavender extract not paste. How should I substitute in recipe
Hello, I have not personally used extract so I cannot answer with certainty. I would check the packaging to see if it offers a recommendation of measurement. If that is of no assistance I would start on the lesser side, maybe 2 tsp. If it is not as powerful of a flavor as you want you can always put the extract in the frosting as well to help boost it. Happy baking. Take care.
I baked this cake tonight, and reduced the cooking time to 30 mins. I think if I would have baked it for the 49 minutes it would have been charcoal 😊
Hi Carmen, so glad you made this cake 🙂 . Thanks for sharing your experience, I’m glad you checked on the cakes in time lol. Happy Baking! Take care.
Hi Stacey, would this cake be suitable for a 3 tier wedding cake? If so, approx how many cups of batter does this make?
Thanks
Hi Jerrie. I think this cake would work well for a 3 tiered cake, it has a nice structure to it. This recipe makes approx 6 cups of batter. Thanks for the inquiry, happy baking :-). Take care.
Thanks Stacey, I plan to trial this recipe this week and would like some advice regarding measurements/weight. I’ve looked at many conversion charts and while most list a cup of sugar as 200 grams and 1 cup of butter as 2 sticks/226 grams, the wt of a cup of flour varies from anything from 115gr to 150 gr. Could you please provide the weight for the sugar, butter and flour used here as cup and spoon measures are different in Australia.
Thanks
Hi Jerrie, so this was an interesting experiment 😉 . Before I proceed I should mention that I have an electronic kitchen scale not a baking scale specifically. Here go the numbers – Butter (1 cup) was between 224 – 229 grams (even though the package said 226g for 1 cup), it seems that each stick differs slightly in weight, I mixed and matched between 4 sticks on the scale and got a different# each time but it was never under 224g and never over 229g. Sugar – 192 grams. 1 cup spooned and leveled cake flour was 116 grams. Hope this helps!! Take care 🙂
Am I missing something? I see the ingredient list says 4T lemon zest, but no where in the recipe does it say to add it. That’s a lot of lemon zest. It does go into the cake batter, correct?
Hi Cathy! So happy you are interested in making this cake. Yes, it is 4Tbsp lemon zest. And you are correct I forgot to add it to the instructions, so sorry. The 4Tbsp lemon zest all goes into the cake batter at the same time as the lavender paste. I have updated the recipe in the post as well. Happy baking. Take care 😉 .
Hey, I can’t get hold of the lavender paste in time, it’ll take 6 weeks to get to the UK.
Can I use a lavender extract by another company instead of the paste?
Hi Cathy, 6 weeks is a long time to wait for anything 😉 . You can use lavender extract, though I cannot recommend measurements as I have not used it myself. I would see if the packaging offers some suggestions and go from there. Happy baking! Take care.
Hello!
Trying to recreate our wedding cake that was lemon lavender. I have lavender extract, but not in paste form. Can I still use that or does it need to be paste?
Hi Karen, yes, you can use lavender extract. With this cake you wouldn’t need to change any other ingredient amounts if you switch to extract. I’ll be honest, I am not sure how the measurements compare to that of the paste. So I would add a little at a time to the batter and taste after each addition. Happy baking! 🙂