ANEMONE BOUQUETS

I didn't have any lavender but wanted to share this recipe from Lydia's Lavender Farm....For Mother's Day...So Lavender Roses.

Lavender-Lemon Verbena Cake

*Makes 2 dozen muffins/cupcakes or one bundt cake or a lovely 2 layer cake special enough for a birthday cake with fresh fruit!

Basic Batter:

* 2? cups cake flour
* 3? tsp baking powder
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2 TBSP fresh, finely chopped Lemon Verbena leaves
* 2 TBSP fresh Lavender flowers
* 2/3 cup butter
* 3/4 cup milk
* 1/2 cup apple juice
* 3 eggs
* 1 tsp lemon extract OR 1 TBSP real lemon juice
* zest of one lemon

Cream butter & sugar & herbs
Blend dry ingredients & add to sugar & butter
Whip juice, milk, eggs & extract
Add to dry ingredients
Mix well until batter really smooth
Preheat oven to 350F
…Choose your pans & prep with butter & dusting of flour or use cupcake papers…
Bake 25 minutes for muffins, approx 30 minutes for layer cake, 35 minutes for tube cake. Test cake center.

**For special occasions: mix a batch of cooled Lemon curd & a cup of stiffly whipped whipping cream together and use as the filling & icing. Add fresh fruit as wished...berries best!
Lynda’s Lavender-Lemon Curd

* 1/2 cup of real butter
* 1? cup white sugar
* 2 lemons, rind & juice up to 1/2 cup
* 4 well beaten eggs
* pinch of salt
* 1 TBSP dried lavender flowers or 3 TBSP fresh

Use a double boiler; bring water underneath to a boil then lower to simmer.
Place butter & sugar first in the top pot to melt together, and then add the rest of the ingredients.
Whisk gently until smooth and thickened.
Pour through a sieve over a heat proof bowl then spoon into two clean jam jars and cool. Keep refrigerated…about a week if you are lucky!

My version of the ever popular flower pot cake for a friends moms birthday. Her favorite flower is the violet. I put the fork in the picture so you could get a sense for the size - it was a small cake, about 3-4 servings. I baked it in my 4x3 round pan and carved slightly to get more of a flower pot shape. I think next time I will try to taper it a little more towards the bottom. I also used the Wilton mini half ball pan, just one half, to set on top to mound the flowers on top of. I didn't want the flowers totally flat on top and thought building it up with just icing might end up being too much icing on top. There is probably a better approach out there but thats what I came up with! Its a vanilla cake with a rasberry buttercream.