Lemon and lavender cake

Baking for a special occasion? Why not try something a little bit different, with this light and refreshing lemon and lavender cake. 

Preparation time

20 minutes 

Cooking time

1 hour

Serves

6

Ingredients

For the cake

250g butter

250g natural yoghurt

2 eggs

1 ½ cups flour

3/4 cups sugar

2 tsp dried lavender       

1 vanilla bean (split and scraped for its seeds)

1 lemon (finely grated for lemon zest and squeezed for lemon juice)

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cream of tartar

A generous pinch of salt

For the icing

1 cup icing sugar

2 tbsp milk

1 lemon (finely grated for lemon zest [to decorate] and squeezed for lemon juice)

2 tsp dried lavender to sprinkle to decorate

Method

• Heat the oven to 180°C (fan forced) and grease and line a 8½ x 4½ inch cake tin.
• Process the sugar, lavender, and vanilla bean seeds in a food processor to make ‘lavender sugar’.
• Beat the butter and lavender sugar until light and fluffy (for at least five minutes), then add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the yoghurt.    
• Sift the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and gradually pour in your wet mixture, stirring as you go, being careful not to overwork the batter.
• Add the lemon juice and zest.
• Pour the mixture into the pre-prepared tin and bake in the oven for 55 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool.
• Mix the icing sugar and milk with a dash of lemon juice. Glaze the cake and sprinkle it with the dried lavender and grated lemon to decorate.
• Enjoy!

Image credit: Annie Spratt