GUYS. You’re going to freak when you try this recipe. Seriously.I just discovered how amazing it can be to bake with fresh lavender, and I’m never turning back. Trust me, I know it sounds weird to put flowers into a cake - but you just need to do it.

The fresh lavender in this recipe adds the most amazing floral notes that pair so well with the lemon and blueberries. The cake itself is moist, fluffy but slightly dense in a perfect way, and just all around delicious. It’s also gluten-free (duh!) and dairy free. This honestly might be one of my best recipes yet, and that’s a huge claim to make. A little more about lavender…It’s like this flower has super powers or something. I’m totally obsessed.

I use lavender in so many ways and forms. Here are a few – lavender essential oil to diffuse in my bedroom, lavender tea, lavender honey, lavender flowers for baking, and Dr. Bronner’s lavender hand sanitizer. Lavender is super calming, which is why I like to use the essential oil and hand sanitizer. Diffusing the oil helps to make my room a relaxed space and using the hand sanitizer wherever I am helps me to feel a little more at ease on stressful days.

Certain varieties of lavender are better for cooking and baking, so make sure you get a culinary lavender for this recipe. I hand-picked mine from Lavenlair farm in Upstate NY. When you use the actual lavender in baking, you’ll only want to use the buds (aka the purple flowers). Just pull them off and go to town! Before mixing mine into the batter, I smushed them around with a mortar and pestle – this helps release the essential oils and makes the flavor stronger.

Happy baking!

xoxo

The Secret GF

 *makes one double layer 9” cake

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups Not Your Mama’s Flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp fresh lavender flowers

3 eggs

½ cup melted coconut oil

1 cup agave (or honey)

⅓ cup almond milk

¼ cup lemon juice

1 pint fresh blueberries

Frosting ingredients:

2 cans full-fat coconut milk, chilled in the fridge overnight

5 tbsp honey

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰F. Grease two 9” cake pans with coconut oil and cut out circles of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pans.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.

3. Using a mortar and pestle, grind up the lavender flowers a little bit and add to the flour mixture.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously. Add the coconut oil, agave, almond milk and lemon juice and whisk until combined.

5. Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and whisk until combined.

6. Spread blueberries on the bottom of the cake pans so there is one thin layer (you’ll probably some left over).

7. Divide the batter between the pans and spread evenly using the back of a spoon or a spatula.

8. Bake for about 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

9. While the cake bakes, make the frosting. Flip the coconut milk cans upside down and open. Pour out the liquid so that only the thick cream is remaining. Scoop the cream into a bowl, add the honey, and whip with an electric beater until fluffy.

10. When the cake is done, cool on a wire rack. Once cool, take the cakes out of the pans by flipping upside down onto a plate or other flat surface.

11. Frost the first layer and then set the second on top. Lastly, frost the top and sides.

12. This cake is best enjoyed the same day you make it, but if you have leftovers, store them in the fridge. Take leftover cake out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to eat it so that it comes up to room temperature.