A lemon and lavender cake for Mother's Day

Not too long ago, I was seized by some unbearable need to purchase a bag of 20 baby lemons at Whole Foods. I don't know if it was being in Whole Foods that made me feel I needed to spend money, or if was the fact that lemons somehow scream summer and that in the middle of May, Seattle is 46 degrees and raining. Lemons have an uncanny ability to look attractive in any spot they sit in - in a bowl, in a pasta dish, in a roast chicken or in a cake.

But back to the lemons, I call them baby lemons but in my uneducated citrus-food guess I think they're just dwarf-sized lemons. However, they came unwaxed and bright-yellow for the affordable(!) price of $4.99. I had stumbled on a recipe at formerchef.com for a lemon and lavender cake that I wanted to try really badly and a monstrous bag of lemons seemed like the perfect excuse.


Back home, I also figured out a way to trick Brian into allowing me to have the cake. My first trick was to turn the cake into a non-dairy one by using rice milk instead of the regular dairy version (Aha! I have him trapped, we're both gluttons now). And the second trick was to use this as Mother's Day prototype to dedicate to both our mothers who are stuck in their morbid jobs far away from us. Also, I think I deserve to celebrate mother's day since I believe I have done a pretty decent job "mothering" my very rascally dog for the past two years.


So, here's my take on the lemon and lavender cake by Kristina at formerchef.com. It should serve well at a Mother's Day brunch with some nice finger sandwiches, tea and strawberries with lots of cream! I used light olive oil instead of vegetable oil, unwaxed lemons and organic lavender flowers; suggestions for swaps are listed in the recipe. You can make this one day ahead - seal tightly with a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil and store in the refrigerator. Remove from the fridge about 90 minutes before serving. It should still be moist and delicious.

Naked lemons always make me feel sad.

On a side note, I won a Foodbuzz giveaway to Cochon 555 which is an event that has some famous Seattle chefs killing a whole pig and serving it to us. Oh, and there's also wine! I'm excited because I may be able to rediscover my Asian gastronomic roots by noshing on crunchy pig ears. Hurrah!

Lemon and lavender cake
Makes a 7" round cake or 8"x5" loaf

Cake
1.5 cups all purpose flour (200g)
1 cup granulated sugar (100g)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup rice milk (120ml) (or just use regular milk)
1/2 cup olive oil (120ml) (or swap vegetable oil)
2 eggs
2.5tsp lemon zest
1.5tsp dried lavender flowers

Glaze
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup honey (113g)
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray your baking pan with cooking oil or just rub some oil using a paper towel.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, oil, lemon zest and lavender flowers. Create a well in the large bowl and pour in the egg mixture. Stir gently until all ingredients are just combined. Pour into prepared baking pan.

Chuck into oven and bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes. Stab it with a small knife and if there are no soft crumbs sticking to the knife, it's done. Otherwise, check at every five minute intervals.

When the cake is done, remove from the oven. Let it cool in the pan and you can start on your glaze. Heat all the ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and the glaze is slightly viscous.

Stab your cake all over with a chopstick or a skewer and pour the glaze all over it. Leave it to soak for about 5 minutes, remove from the pan and it's ready.

Mini Chelsea Buns

Two of the my favourite things about the British: 1) The ability to crack a really good joke with a deadpan 2)The ability to sit down for tea even in times of crises.

For the first, I think it stems mostly from my innate cynical and sarcastic outlook on life. The second, is due to the fact that I absolutely love tea and the pomp and fuss that comes with a true British afternoon tea. I recently bought a book on afternoon tea for my coffee tea table and found myself drawn to a rather simple recipe for mini Chelsea buns. Chelsea buns are the British version of the cinnamon bun and usually has currants and other dried fruit.
Let me warn you that these things are addictive! They are so tiny that before you know it, you've swallowed 18 of these - honey-soaked fingers, contented smile and all. Serve with some first flush Darjeeling tea and a pot of raw wildflower honey for a great afternoon tea experience.

Note: I made this non-dairy but you can (and should) use milk and butter for this recipe, it makes a WHOLE lot of difference

Mini Chelsea Buns
Adapted from Afternoon Tea by Susannah Blake
Makes 16 mini buns

3 1/2 cups (420g) bread flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 oz. active dry yeast (one packet)
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups milk (or unsweetened soy milk)
3 oz. butter (or shortening), melted
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons dried currants
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Honey, for brushing

Sift the flour, sugar, yeast and salt into a large bowl. Place a saucepan over low heat and add in the milk and butter, stirring gently until the temperature is lukewarm. Remove from heat and mix in the beaten eggs.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the milk mixture. Use a stiff spatula to combine all the ingredients until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour surface and knead until smooth and shiny (about 10 minutes). If using a machine, knead for 5 minutes.

Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place for about an hour until the dough rises to double its size.

Grease an 8x8 inch pan. In a small bowl, combine the apricots, raisins, currant, brown sugar and cinnamon. Divide the dough into four equal sections. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the each dough section into a rectangle, measuring 5x8 inches. Brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly. Roll the rectangle into a log, beginning with the long end. Brush lightly again with some melted butter to seal the ends. Cut into four equal parts and arrange in the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining dough, such that you get 16 buns. Wrap the baking pan in plastic wrap and let stand for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake the buns for 20 minutes at 400°F. Remove and brush the tops lightly with honey, return to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Tear apart and serve.