Lemon Lavender Pound Cake

     Have you ever spotted a recipe online that the image of the dish or even the description made you want to try it? We're pretty sure that many of us have been there at least once or twice. Well we decided to go forth and try one of these recipes so you don't have to risk your kitchen. This one was originally posted by the blog Today's Nest for their Treat of the Week segment in April 2014. 

Lemon Lavender Pound Cake
For the cake:
1 cup self rising flour / 175g
3/4 cup sugar / 150g
11 tablespoons unsalted butter / 150g , at room temperature
3 eggs, beaten
zest of two lemons
1 teaspoon lavender
pinch salt
For the icing:
juice of one lemon
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar / 170g

The method:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
Sift flour and set aside. Add sugar and butter to a mixing bowl and beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs, zest, lavender, and salt. Beat until well combined. 
Add flour a quarter at a time mixing just until moistened.
Pour batter into lined loaf pan and smooth out the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. Check at 35 minutes with a toothpick. It should be clean with just a little moisture left behind when removed.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

While cake is cooling, mix lemon juice and sugar together. Stir until you get a good icing consistency. Pour icing over cooled cake and sprinkle with lavender, if desired. Store in an airtight container to retain moisture.

- The Gamer - 

     This dish turned out a little differently than I had expected. Part of that may have been due to the fact that we didn't have enough powdered sugar to make a regular glaze for it, but in the end it still turned out alright. Despite it being a pound cake, I found that it reminded me more of cornbread in taste and texture. It wasn't very sweet, although the lemon did come through without being overpowering. Unlike most of my experiences with cornbread, the cake wasn't overly dry or crumbly, but it was still nice and firm, with a nice bit of crust on the outside edge. Unfortunately, although there was lavender in it, you couldn't really taste it. Overall, it was a nice recipe that I would definitely enjoy having again, although perhaps with a proper glaze next time to see how that changes the texture and flavor.

- The Artist -
     Well I followed the recipe save for the fact that I didn't have enough confectioner's sugar for the icing. So instead I made a lemon juice based simple syrup and lightly drizzled a bit over the pound cake. The result? Soft but firm so it didn't crumble, cooked to a golden brown. The treat tasted wonderful, however unfortunately all I could taste was a light lemon flavor and nothing of the lavender. More then likely if I do this particular recipe again, I would be testing out how it would work if I omitted one of the eggs and replaced it with a 1/3 cup of lavender tea and in turn make the icing with lavender tea as well. Just little personal notes for the future that I get to keep in mind.