Lavender Tea Cake with Lemon Glaze

Tea Cake

3/4 cup milk

2 1/4 tsp dried lavender flowers, divided (be sure to use culinary lavender)

2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 T butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs beaten

1 T grated lemon zest, or 1 tsp lemon oil (I use fresh lemon zest)

Glaze

1 T lemon juice

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325ºF.

Heat the milk with 2 tsp of the lavender and let steep until cool. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the baking powder, flour and salt. In a separate bowl cream the butter and gradually add the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and the lemon zest or oil.

Alternately add the flour mixture with the lavender and milk. Mix just until blended.

Spoon the batter into a a Bundt® pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. My best results are when I use cooking spray on the pan and cool for 5 minutes before removing the loaf. Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a wire rack set over a sheet of waxed paper.

Put the lemon juice in a bowl and add the confectioners' sugar. (Keep it on the thin side so that it penetrates the warm cake.) Drizzle the glaze over the hot cake and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 tsp of dried lavender.

Yield: 18, 1/2 inch slices of cake the consistency of old-fashioned pound cake.