Recipe: Honey Lavender Pound Cake with White Chocolate Drizzle (tube cake)

HONEY LAVENDER POUND CAKE
WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE


"This rich cake is imbued with lustrous flavors that complement each other. Whether you serve it at a tea party or as the finale to a great meal, the lavender-scented cake with its pink-hued white chocolate drizzle will be truly memorable."

1 tablespoon dried culinary "Provence" lavender buds, finely ground in a spice grinder
2-3/4 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup honey or lavender honey
6 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
White Chocolate Drizzle (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Place the lavender in a spice grinder with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Pulse until the lavender is finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the remaining sugar.

Sift the flour and baking soda together three times.

In a small bowl, mix the sour cream and honey.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a large bowl and the yolks in a cup. Add 1/4 teaspoon of the salt to the whites and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

In another large bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Beat with the mixer until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat in the yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beginning with the dry ingredients, alternately beat in the flour and sour cream in three additions each. Fold in the egg whites. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack. Cool completely.

Prepare the white chocolate drizzle. Use a whisk to drizzle the warm mixture over the cooled cake.

WHITE CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

5 1/4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon grenadine or Italian pomegranate syrup
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or a metal bowl that fits atop a saucepan. Stir over simmering water for 2 minutes, or until melted. Whisk in the grenadine or pomegranate syrup and then the cream.

Makes 1 (10-inch) tube cake, 12 to 18 servings
Source: The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley