Lemon Lavender Pound Cake
This Lemon Lavender Pound Cake is soft and moist with fresh lemon, delicate culinary lavender, and a sweet lemon-lavender glaze. It’s an elegant but easy cake for brunch, afternoon tea, Mother’s Day, or spring gatherings.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 g
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (115 g)
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 60 ml
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 45 ml
- 2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender buds finely crushed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240 g
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt room temperature (120 g)
For the Glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar sifted (180 g)
- ¼ teaspoon lavender extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 2 –3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or milk plus more as needed
Optional: 1–2 drops purple food coloring
Optional: culinary lavender buds or thin strips of lemon zest for garnish
Instructions
Preheat and prepare the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving some overhang along the sides to make the cake easier to lift from the pan.
Make the lemon sugar.
- Place the granulated sugar and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Rub them together with your fingertips for about 30 seconds, until the sugar is fragrant and slightly damp from the oils in the zest.
Add the butter and oil.
- Add the softened butter and olive oil. Beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and creamy, about 2–3 minutes.
Add the eggs.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the lemon and lavender.
- Mix in the fresh lemon juice and finely crushed culinary lavender. The batter may look slightly curdled after adding the lemon juice; this is fine.
Combine the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Finish the batter.
- Add about one-third of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low just until combined. Mix in half of the Greek yogurt. Continue alternating the flour mixture and yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix only until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
Bake.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
- If the top begins browning too quickly before the center is finished, loosely tent the loaf with aluminum foil for the remainder of the baking time.
Cool.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift it from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack. Cool completely before adding the glaze.
Make the glaze.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, lavender extract, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or milk. Add additional liquid, a teaspoon at a time, until the glaze is thick but pourable.
- If desired, stir in 1–2 drops of purple food coloring.
Glaze and serve.
- Drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled cake. Garnish sparingly with culinary lavender buds or lemon zest, if desired. Allow the glaze to set before slicing.
Notes
A note about cooking with lavender:
For this recipe, be sure to use culinary lavender rather than lavender sold for crafts, fragrance, or decorating. Culinary lavender is intended for use in food and has been processed accordingly.
Lavender has a distinctive floral flavor, and a little goes a long way. Lightly crushing the buds before adding them to the batter helps release their aroma and distribute the flavor throughout the cake.
If you’re new to baking with lavender or prefer a more subtle floral flavor, you can reduce the amount slightly.
Tips for the Best Pound Cake
For the best texture and flavor, keep these simple tips in mind:
- Use room-temperature ingredients. Room-temperature butter, eggs, and Greek yogurt combine more evenly and help create a smoother batter.
- Rub the zest into the sugar. Don’t skip this step. Rubbing them together helps release the oils from the lemon zest for more citrus flavor.
- Measure the flour carefully. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping directly from the container.
- Don’t overmix. Once you begin adding the flour, mix only until everything is combined.
- Check the cake early. Ovens vary, so begin checking for doneness around the 50-minute mark.
- Cool completely before glazing. Glaze added to a warm cake will melt and run off instead of forming that pretty layer on top.
- Adjust the glaze gradually. Start with 3 tablespoons of liquid and add more only as needed until the glaze reaches a thick but pourable consistency.
Nutrition
Calories: 497kcalCarbohydrates: 73gProtein: 7gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 291mgPotassium: 73mgFiber: 1gSugar: 48gVitamin A: 457IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 84mgIron: 2mg
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