Lavender might not seem like the obvious choice as a herb to eat, but if you're familiar with Jersey lavender shortbread, you'll know how delicately delicious it is! Don't use too much - like rosemary, a little goes a long way.
This is a Mary Berry basic tray bake sponge, which is great for adding any fruit to. But you could also use the vegan rhubarb cake recipe (see our previous blog!), leave out the rhubarb, and sprinkle a couple of heads of lavender in.
For this recipe, pick some stalks of open lavender heads, and hand them up to dry for a few hours or overnight before you use them. The individual flower heads will crumble more easily than when they're fresh.
You will need:
either a 29 x 36cm traybake tin, or I use two 1lb/500g loaf tins - grease and line them
225g butter or margarine
225g sugar (caster or granulated)
275g self raising flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs (or egg substitute)
4 tablespoons milk or soya milk
2 heads of lavender (you can use bought dried flowers- use half the quantity)
optional drizzle:
100g granulated sugar
100ml water
4 elderflower heads
How to make it:
Cake
Put all the ingredients into a bowl, and mix thoroughly.
Spoon the mixture onto the traybake tin, and smooth it level - or share the mixture between two loaf tins.
Drizzle
Put the water and sugar into a pan, heat gently and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Let it cool, then add the elderflower heads, and leave them to steep for half an hour. Strain the syrup, and use it to pour over the warm cake...or over ice cream!
To cook:
Traybake tin: about 40 minutes at 180C, or fan oven 160C, or gas 4.
Loaf tin: this takes a little longer - about 50 minutes at the same temperature.
Test the cakes using a skewer - if it comes out clean, the cake is done!
When you've turned out your cake, you can drizzle over your elderflower syrup if you fancy another summery flavour!
Enjoy on its own, or with natural yoghurt (as we did!), or ice cream...