This is the Lemon Lavender Mail-a-Cake from Baking for All Occasions: A Treasury of Recipes for Everyday Celebrations by my dear friend and baking colleague Flo Braker. I’ve adapted her recipe for Bozeman’s 5,000-foot altitude. If you are making this recipe at higher altitudes, you may need to increase the adjustments; please refer to King Arthur Flour’s high altitude baking reference. If you are at lower elevation, do not add the additional tablespoon of flour, increase baking soda to ½ teaspoon, leave the sugar at 2 cups, leave the buttermilk at 1 cup, and bake at 350°F.
Makes 1 (10-inch) Bundt Cake
3 cups plus 1 tablespoon cake flour, sifted
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups less 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon culinary-grade dried lavender flowers (TerraWorks)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 365°F. Grease a 10- by 3-inch Bundt pan using a tablespoon of soft butter, then dust with flour and shake out the excess. If your pan has an intricate pattern, start with butter, spray with nonstick spray, then dust with flour.
Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and baking soda onto a sheet of wax paper, then sprinkle with salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter for a minute, until it clings to the side of the bowl. With the mixer running on medium, add the sugar and the lavender in a steady stream. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Continue mixing on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 or 5 minutes, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once.
With mixer running on medium, add the eggs a few tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated. On the lowest speed add the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the buttermilk and stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the lemon zest and juice. Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with the spatula. Bake the cake until a wooden pick comes out clean, about 55–60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes then, using the wire rack, invert the cake and lift off the pan. Let cake cool completely.
If you’d like, mix up the following glaze and drizzle over the cake. Store the cake at room temperature under a dome—canted slightly for a little air flow, which preserves a crisp exterior crust. If you’d like to mail the cake, please see Flo’s detailed instructions in her book.
For glaze:
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
1–2 tablespoons milk or cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Stir together in a small bowl the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk or cream, and lemon juice. If you want a thinner consistency, add the additional tablespoon of milk or cream. Drizzle over cooled cake.
