Ingredients

Earl Grey Lavender Cake:

• 7/8 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp earl grey tea, finely ground
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200 mL milk
• 2 tbsp early grey tea and 1 tbsp culinary lavender

Lavender Buttercream:

• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp culinary lavender
• Few drops purple food colouring

Garnish:

• ½ cup shredded coconut
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Sprinkle of earl grey tea leaves

Directions

Earl Grey Lavender Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9’x9’ square pan.
2. In a small sauce pan, steep the earl grey tea and culinary lavender in the milk over medium heat. Once milk comes to a soft boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and let tea steep for 15 minutes.
3. Sieve the milk to make sure all the bits of earl grey tea and lavender leaves are collected and thrown away. Set aside milk.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together. Gradually add in the eggs, one at a time.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking powder, finely ground earl grey tea, and salt.
6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix on slow to combine. Gradually pour in the lavender-infused milk and add in the remainder of the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
7. Pour batter into prepared cakepan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to check for doneness – if it comes out clean, it is good to go.
8. Take out cake carefully and let it sit on rack until cooled completely.

Lavender Buttercream

1. In a small sauce pan, steep the lavender in the milk over medium heat.  Once milk comes to a soft boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and let lavender steep for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter until it is pale, fluffy and doubled the volume. Add the icing sugar, one cup at a time. Add in the three tablespoons of milk, one at a time, alternating between the milk and icing sugar. If buttercream is too thick, add half tablespoon of milk at a time until desired consistency is reached.
3. Add in a few drops of purple food colouring and mix well.

Assembling the Cake

1. Trim the sides and top of the cake to make the edges flat and equal.
2. Measure the length of the cake to cut the cake in half precisely.
3. Spread lavender buttercream on top of one cake and sandwich it with the other half of the cake to make two layers with icing in between.
4. Evenly spread buttercream icing on the sides of the cake as well as the top with a spatula.
5. If you like it fancy, you can also use a piping bag to pipe along the sides of the cake to make fancy borders.
6. Spread shredded coconut on the sides of the cake. Add grated lemon on top of the cake for a nice finishing touch.
7. Serve and enjoy!

*If you like an extra sweet kick to your cake, melt ½ cup of white chocolate in a double broiler. Set aside and allow chocolate to cool completely. Spread it on top of the cake before piping icing along the edges of the cake. 

Adapted from Constellation Inspiration