My recipes are inspired by feelings. Often times my own feelings. I was feeling passionate and hopeful, and this recipe seemed to express those feelings for me. I love the smell of lavender and the therapeutic calming it has over my senses. It is also my favorite color. I chose vanilla, cherry, chocolate, and almond to compliment the lavender. The cake is an aphrodisiac overload. One bite will touch each of your senses in the most orgasmic way! Trust me, sexy food is what I do!
Vanilla Almond Cake
2 eggs
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup sparkling water
2/3 cup oil
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons vanilla flavored instant pudding mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a bowl of an electric stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, beat the vanilla, almond extract, eggs, sparkling water and oil. Add the flour, sugar, pudding, salt, baking powder, and soda. Beat until combined then add the sour cream and beat until smooth. Pour into two 9 inch, round cake pans and bake 25-35 minutes. Allow to coll. Prepare your chocolate cherry ganache
Chocolate Cherry Ganache
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup cherry preserves
Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan. Just before it boils remove from heat and pour over chocolate that is in a separate bowl. Once the cream melts the chocolate stir it to combine. Add the butter. Allow to cool. Once cooled add the cherry preserves. Place the ganache in between the two cake rounds stacked. Time to frost!
Lavender Buttercream
1 1/2 cups shortening
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lavender extract
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Beat the shortening and butter until smooth. Add the extracts. Incorporate the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add whipping cream in between if needed. Blend until smooth and stiff enough to pipe.
Frost a thin layer of the buttercream all around to seal in the crumbs. Let the crumb seal set in the fridge for twenty minutes.
Place an open star tip in a pastry bag and fill with buttercream. In layers make round swirls to cover the cake. I got fancy and dyed some buttercream lavender to make smaller swirls with pearls in the middle. Have fun with this!
