Flowers in a Cake--Lavender & Lemon

My dear little Mom just trekked solo across the Atlantic Ocean to visit us for her 85th birthday. To celebrate her we had a lovely luncheon at home---attended by both young and old---of warming lentil soup and a special birthday cake. I've made this lavendar-infused cake a couple of times before, but it seemed not festive enough in its plain and naked state so after giving it some thought I decided to explore the synergy between floral and citrus. 
 Thus we have: Lavender Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.  

Had I had been a bit more organized I would be posting step-by-step pictures, but alas, in my haste we made it, served it, ate it, and it wasn't until we were done that I thought to take a picture for posterity (and blogging). 

The batter is interesting and a bit different in that it calls for egg whites but no yolks, nor does it require the whites to be whisked much.

The Cake

Begin by making a lavender syrup of:

1 dl sugar
3/4 dl water
3 tablespoons dried lavender flowers

Mix all the ingredients in a thick-bottomed pot, bring to a boil and then turn down and let simmer 3-4 minute.  Set aside to cool while you make the cake batter.

Cake Batter

 1 and 1/3 stocks (150 grams) butter
2/3 cup (1.5 dl) sugar
 1 cup (2.5 dl) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar)
2/3 cup (1.5 dl) heavy cream
4 egg whites

Melt the butter, add sugar, vanilla and the lavender syrup (I like to keep the flowers in the syrup because they add a nice texture and flavor, but you can also strain the out of the infusion). In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder. Add this to the butter mix. Lightly whisk the whites and cream and add to other ingredients. 
Bake in a round spring form at 350 F (175 C) for about 30-40 minutes. Test with a toothpick that it is baked through. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Once cool, slice cake into two layers.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

 

 2x 8 oz packages of cream cheese
1.5 sticks butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons lemon juice

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy
Add sugar, zest, vanilla and lemon juice.

Cool and refrigerate over night. If it seems to slippery when you are frosting the cake, add more lemon juice or sugar to make it easier to spread.

Assemble the cake, putting a nice thick layer of frosting between the layers, then cover the top and sides and finally decorate the cake with whatever you have.  One frosting hint is to repeatedly run hot water on your knife so that the frosting spreads out shiny and flat. And finally, I love the subtle sheen of silvered sugar beads as well as the fact that you can eat metal, but in the summer edible lavender flower, roses, or nasturtiums would be pretty addition too.