Springing into spring with a delicious chocolate lavender cake!

For me, the ideal pairing for lavender is chocolate. I love the warmth of cocoa with a subtle floral finish.

This spring I set out to create the perfect chocolate and lavender cake. Lavender is one of my favorite flowers and favorite scents. With its calming qualities, it’s typically seen in scented candles or perfumes, but lavender is also delicious in cakes and baked goods. However, when adding this earthy flavor, you have to be very careful. Use too little and it goes unnoticed, use too much and you’ve got a dessert that tastes like a bowl of potpourri.

To create the perfect chocolate lavender cake, I first experimented with fresh lavender. While it was fun and beautiful to use an entirely natural ingredient, unfortunately the lavender flavor disappeared in the cocoa. I then moved to dried culinary lavender, steeping the lavender into the hot water (like a brewed tea) before adding it to my batter. The flavor was better, but tasted stale and flat. Finally I found the perfect ingredient, a violet lavender extract. You can find artisan extracts in specialty food stores and online. I highly recommend Violet Lavender extract made by Amoretti. A very high quality extract, the flavor is sweet, fresh, authentic, and not over powering. Initially I was worried about adding too much extract so I tasted a drop on my finger first. I was surprised it tasted delicious on its own, even when it was so highly concentrated. I used the extract in both my chocolate cake batter and my buttercream, and the result was exactly what I wanted. No potpourri taste here, just a perfect spring cake.

With Easter on the way, I decorated the cake with bright happy sprinkles from Sprinkle Pop and a chocolate bunny, but it would look beautiful simply dressed with fresh flowers. I also added a dark chocolate ganache in the layers and dripped over the top, because you can never have too much chocolate.

Chocolate Lavender Cake

Makes one 6” four layered cake or one 8” two layered cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp Violet Lavender extract by Amoretti
1 1/2 cups whole milk or buttermilk (at high altitude) , at room temperature
1 cup hot water
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour four 6” cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside..
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the oil and sugar on medium-high speed till combined. About 2 to 3 minutes.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs and egg yolk, mixing well after each addition. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the vanilla and violet lavender extracts. Mix till combined.
5. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk. Mix for about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl if needed. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, followed by the remaining buttermilk, scraping down the bowl as needed.
6. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the hot water. Mix for about 1 minute until combined. Do not overmix!
7. Pour the batter evenly among the pans. Bake on the center rack for about 25 minutes, or till a center tester comes to clean.
8. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for about 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. While the cakes cool, make your chocolate ganache and buttercream.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Place the dark chocolate chips in a heat safe bowl and pour the heavy cream in. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir the mixture until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool. You want the ganache to be at room temperature before adding to the cake. If it’s too warm you’ll melt your buttercream.

Lavender Buttercream

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp pure violet lavender extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 4-5 minutes.
Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating until smooth.
Mixing on slow speed, slowly add the heavy cream, violet lavender extract, and kosher salt.
Mix on medium-high speed for 3 full minutes till light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar if the frosting is too thin or a touch more heavy cream if the frosting is too thick.

Assembly

Place one layer of chilled cake, flat side down, onto a serving plate or cake board. Top the layer with a heaping 1/2 cup of lavender buttercream. Spread evenly to the edges.
Add a generous spoonful of dark chocolate ganache. Spread evenly over the frosting, leaving a 3/4” border around the edge. You don’t want the sauce to leak out of the cake layers.
Repeat the steps with remaining layers.
Add the final cake layer, flat side up.
Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting to create a crumb coat. Chill the cake for 10 to 15 minutes.
Use the remaining buttercream to cover the entire cake. Chill for another 10 to 15 minutes before adding a chocolate ganache drip.
To create a chocolate ganache drip, reheat the remaining dark chocolate ganache for about 15 seconds. Stir. Allow the ganache to cool slightly, but make sure it’s a pourable consistency. Using a large spoon, pour the dark chocolate ganache over the top, allowing it to drip down over the sides.
Serve at room temperature. Cake can be made one day ahead, keep covered in fridge.