July 21, 2016

Lavender Lemonade Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

The theme this month for #BundtBakers is Secret Garden, and we were asked to bake bundts with flowers, herbs or summer vegetables as an ingredient or theme. I choose a flower I have never baked with before - lavender.




The idea for this cake actually came about from a recipe for a drink I happened to see - lavender lemonade - and of course I wanted to turn it into a cake. I also wanted to use lavender as we have a beautiful lavender farm on Maui called Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm, and thought it would be great to use something local.  Unfortunately I looked everywhere on Oahu and even called the farm to ask whom they ship to, and still drew a blank.  It was too cost prohibitive to order directly from them.  In the end I found culinary lavender at a health food store.






Whilst searching for a recipe I came across a quick and easy recipe that originally started out as cupcakes.  It also used a boxed cake mix.  I don't know about you, but sometimes I find a boxed mix is a lifesaver.  You know those nights when just before bed your child casually mentions that there is a bake sale tomorrow, and you have been signed up to provide cupcakes. My youngest just graduated high school, so I guess those days are behind me unless she decided to do a bake sale at college ;)





I swear I followed the recipe as written, but I have to be honest and say that it did not turn out as well as I would have liked.  The flavor was good, with a nice tang from the lemonade concentrate but the lavender was way too faint for my liking.  There is such a delicate balance between lavender being a wonderful accent in baking or it coming out tasting like soap, but I definitely think this recipe needs more lavender. The other problem was how dense it was, and I knew I was in trouble when it shrunk after coming out of the pan. Honestly, I wondered if I would wake up to a pancake-shaped cake the following morning.  Maybe there was some user error, but I won't know until I try making it again using the same recipe which I intend to do soon as the flavors show such promise and it was so easy to put together.





If you would like to know more about #BundtBakers and see what the other bakers made for the Secret Garden theme please scroll down below the recipe. Thank you to Sue from A Palatable Pastime for hosting this month.


Lavender Lemonade Bundt Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients
Cake ~
  • 160ml frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
  • 1 package white cake mix
  • 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender, finely ground in a spice grinder
  • 225g sour cream
  • 85g cream cheese, softened
  • 3 large eggs
  • 80ml vegetable oil
Frosting ~
  • 85g unsalted butter, softened
  • 85g cream cheese, softened
  • 30ml frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
  • 250g powdered sugar

Preparation
Cake ~
  1. Preheat oven to 180℃.
  2. Remove 30 ml lemonade concentrate from can, and reserve for frosting.
  3. Combine remaining concentrate, cake mix, finely ground lavender, sour cream, cream cheese and eggs in a mixing bowl, beat at low speed with an electric mixer until moistened.
  4. Beat at high speed 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides. 
  5. Spoon batter into bundt pan.
  6. Bake approximately 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 
  7. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
  8. Once cool frost as desired.
Frosting ~
  1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. 
  2. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. 
  3. Beat in the lemonade concentrate.
Recipe adapted from Home is Where the Boat Is
For US Measurements please click here



BundtBakers


#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.





8 comments:

  1. Oh I know that sinking feeling when you see a cake sinking. I've had a few re-do's because of it too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a shame that the cake was not as fluffy and light as you had hoped but it looks like it must have been a success anyway as that empty plate implies.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOL loving that last photo. Sounds divine.

    ReplyDelete
  4. These flavors are such a treat. I'm looking forward to making one soon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A big bummer about not being able to use the local lavender! I like the use of lemonade concentrate.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Those little florettes of icing on top of the cake are so lovely...this sounds wonderful! I see we all went for the lavender theme! It's such a delicious addition to cake...I would love to try a slice of this ^_^

    Toodles,
    Tammy<3

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lavender can be tricky to bake with, I've tried it before and found the flavouring a little to weak. Your bundt cake is so pretty, I shall have to find that tin you used.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting my blog. I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.