Lemon Lavender Cake, the real deal.

Remember the lemon lavender cake I blogged about two weeks ago? That was my attempt of recreating the one we have at Macrina Bakery & Cafe in Seattle last September. Apparently, the recipe can be found in the one of the Macrina cookbooks. Unfortunately, I have no luck locating it in Barnes & Noble or Borders. Being a smart consumer (ahem), I am not going to make a purchase through Amazon without having a glimpse of the layout and contents of the cookbook.

So, I sent out an "SOS" asking for help on the Cookinglight Bulletin Board. Within an hour, I got the recipe from two members, Felice and Dorothy. Their response meant a world to me, and I could not describe how grateful I felt towards their effort in providing me the recipe. For that, I decided to bake the cake the next day, even though I have just finished making another dessert. I think I could always give some to our friends.

The taste of the cake reminded me of the one I have in Seattle, simply delicious! I omitted the glaze to cut down on the overall sweetness of the cake. Apart from that, its texture was as fine as the one we ate at Macrina. According to the owner Leslie Mackie, the lemon lavender coffee cake is an adaptation of their popular Lemon sour cherries coffee cake. The dried tart cherries is swapped with one tablespoon of dried lavender. I am going to give the famed recipe a try one day, but meanwhile, the lemon lavender coffee cake taste heavenly with a cup of honey lemon tea!

If lemon + lavender is your cup of tea, do give this recipe a try. The smell of lavender while the cake is baking in the oven is the best aromatherapy I could ask for! Of course if you stay in Seattle, you can always get your fix at Macrina Bakery & Cafe.


Lemon Lavender Coffee Cake
adapted from Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook via Felice.

For the batter
1 tbsp dried lavender (swap 1½ cups dried tart cherries for lemon-sour cherries coffee cake)
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
5 eggs
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt ( I used sour cream)

For the glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried lavender

Preheat the oven to 325F. Oil a 12-cup bundt pan.

Preparing the batter
(If making lemon sour cherries coffee cake:Place dried cherries in a medium bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let soak and plump for 10 minutes, then drain thoroughly and check for pits.)

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda,and salt into a large bowl. Add in the dried lavender. Toss with your hands and set aside.

Combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 5 to 8 minutes. The mixture will become smooth and pale in color. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is fully mixed into the butter before adding another. After the last egg is incorporated, slowly add the lemon juice and mix for 1 more minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 seconds to make sure all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

Alternately add small amounts of the flour mixture and the yogurt to the batter, mixing with a wooden spoon just until all dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter.(If making the sour cherries cake: Set aside 10 to 12 cherries for garnish and gently fold the remainder into the batter, taking care not to overmix.) Pour batter into prepared bundt pan, filling two thirds of the pan. Bake on center rack of oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Check the center of the coffee cake with a skewer. It will come out clean when the cake is finished. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes.

Loosen the sides of the cake with a sharp knife. Place serving plate, upside down, on the top of the cooled bundt pan and invert the pan to remove the cake. Let cake cool completely.

Glazing the cake
Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl, then add lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix with a spoon until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cooled coffee cake and top with reserved dried lavender (or plumped cherries).

Note: I used a 10-cups bundt pan, there's some leftover batter that was enough to make 3 cupcakes.

The cake is so good...even lion wants a slice.

Disclosure: Ok, these playmobils are OCT's. They are lying around, so I decided to borrow them as props. Sometime I wonder if OCT is my husband or my son?!

OCT: "You missed the sword!"