Lavender Infused Chocolate Cake

  My beautiful sister-in-law introduced me to the world of infused cakes and I immediately fell in love. When I first heard her say 'lavender infused,' I just smiled and thought "what?" in my head. Lavender, like what I use in my bath? She had me from the first bite though and now lavender has found a place in my kitchen, actually one of high visibility next to my other favorite items. <That's it's little home in the jar!>

  This has become my "go to" cake for events of all types, including holidays and birthdays. Here is the way that I make it and what you'll need:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbl baking soda
1 tsp slat
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup water
2 Tbl distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 Tbl of lavender petals.

  Here is the deal with the lavender petals, you need to insure that they are food grade lavender. You can't just use a random plant that you find! I found them at a tiny shack of a spice shop! Most spice shops should carry them. If you can't find any, Planters Seed Company carries them and you can order online (just search lavender). Now you want to grind them, I personally use a coffee grinder because it works fabulously! From personal experience, I'd suggest picking up a second one or no matter how much you wash it...your coffee will have a lavender flavor to it. :)

  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8" round pans on the side and bottom. Then, cut out parchment circles and put them on the bottom and then butter those. This makes sure that your cake doesn't get stuck to the bottom and ruined!

  Next, in a large bowl mix together your flour, lavender, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Next whisk in the sour cream and the oil until well blended. Add the water slowly. Blend the vinegar and vanilla into the mixture. Beat in the eggs until blended completely. 

  Now, spread the batter evenly between the three pans. 

  Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for about 20 minutes. Then get the cakes out of the pans and allow to cool completely. Then put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes until firm. Now they're ready to frost!

I followed my sister-in-law and ice mine with a buttercream icing. I used one from Food Network that can be found here. I did not put the rum or the espresso powder in it though. 

  This icing is soooo good! The recipe makes way more than you need, but I usually make the entire recipe so I can taste test it a lot. =]

  Now that you have your cakes and you have your icing, you're ready to go! Ice the first cake, then put the next cake on top of it and ice it. Do this again for the final cake. You're finished, and try not to eat the cake before your company arrives.