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Chocolate Bundt Cakes a are usually quite delicious, but if you want to make them even more tasty, try adding a bit of dried lavender to the recipe. This adds a sweet floral flavor to the cake- or a slight ‘berry’ taste. There are some other flavors that make a smashing combination with lavender, such as lemon and chocolate. And that is why I am presenting my recipe for Chocolate Lavender Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze!
What you should know about cooking with lavender
You should use lavender sparingly in your recipe. It should be used as a background flavor- you know it’s there but it’s not the main player. (Otherwise, it might start to bring back memories of your Grandma’s soap)!
You can use fresh lavender flowers, dried flowers or buds. If the recipe calls for fresh lavender flowers, only use about 1/2 of the stated amount for dried lavender. I used these organic dried lavender buds that I ordered online:
This chocolate cake is very moist and easy to make. The cake batter is first poured into a Bundt cake mould before baking:
After baking, the cake is turned upside down on a serving plate, then covered with a lemon glaze. I can smell the flavors from here!
Pre-heat oven to 340 F (170 C). Lightly grease the inside of a Bundt pan (I used a 12-cup Nordic Bundt pan, but you could use a smaller one, if desired). Combine the lavender buds and ½ the sugar and whiz in a food processor for 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl; add the remaining sugar and softened butter and beat for several minutes until smooth and creamy. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or in a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Add this to the sugar/butter mixture (above) and stir. Mix the eggs and yogurt together in a small bowl and add this to the other ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda. Gradually add this to the other ingredients. Add a splash of milk if the batter is too stiff to easily fall off the end of a wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt cake pan, using the back of a spoon to ensure the batter fills all of the crevices of the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. After 40 minutes, if the batter is still not completely cooked inside the pan, turn the oven off and let the pan sit inside the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out upside down onto a serving plate. To make the glaze, mix together the confectioners (icing) sugar, melted butter, and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake so that it covers the top of the cake and runs down the sides. If the glaze is too thin and runny, add some more confectioners sugar to the mixture. Decorate with a few lavender sprigs before serving.Chocolate Lavender Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze
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19 Comments
John / Kitchen Riffs
June 8, 2020 at 9:25 amInteresting recipe. I’ve had lavender in cocktails, but don’t believe I’ve had it paired with chocolate. Neat idea! Thanks.
angiesrecipes
June 8, 2020 at 12:06 pmSuch a pretty budnt cake! I like the pairing of lavender and chocolate..wish I could taste a slice with my tea now :-)) What kind of cocoa powder did you use, natural or dutch processed?
Fran Flint
June 8, 2020 at 12:43 pmThanks Angie- I used Heshey’s Cocoa- it says it’s 100% natural cocoa.
David Scott Allen
June 9, 2020 at 12:05 amWell, you know you had me on this one! I love chocolate and lavender combined but never had it in a cake. And with a lemon glaze? How wonderful! As you can imagine, I have lots of lavender and look forward to making this! Thanks, Fran. (Mark still has a bit of a ban on desserts during lockdown… I may have to wait a bit. 🙁 Though I did manage to convince him I could make a pie yesterday.)
Fran Flint
June 9, 2020 at 2:15 amDavid, you’re lucky that you have (I believe) lots of lavender in your garden or neighborhood that you can source. At my Australian home, there is always lots of lavender growing in the neighborhood, but not here! BTW, I sympathize with Mark about cutting down on sweets during ‘lock down’. It’s so easy to put on weight when you’re hanging around the house all day!
Raymund
June 9, 2020 at 5:44 amWe got some lavender in the garden but never had combined it with chocolate, now you had given me an inspiration.
Fran Flint
June 9, 2020 at 5:51 amThanks Raymond- someone also told me she adds lavender to her mashed potatoes, so there’s lots of possibilities!
Juliana
June 9, 2020 at 6:03 amLavender and chocolate? What a delicious and aromatic combination Fran…the cake looks so pretty and luxurious…definitely would love a big slice of this cake. Thanks for the recipe.
Have a wonderful week!
Katerina
June 12, 2020 at 11:49 amI would definitely NOT want my chocolate cake to taste like grandma’s soap, Fran! What a clever idea to add a bit of lavender to chocolate bundt cake – and your presentation is amazing, as always. Happy Friday!
lisaiscooking
June 16, 2020 at 5:23 amThis cake is so pretty! Love that glaze. And, now I wish I had some lavender growing this year.
mae
June 18, 2020 at 12:56 amLavender to me smells like the Mediterranean, along with rosemary and a few others. My favorite lavender farm is on the Hawaiian island of Maui (website: https://www.aliikulalavender.com/ ) and I just read that they are reopening this week. I can’t imagine when I will next be able to visit them — they have enormously many ways to use their crop!
be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
All That I'm Eating
June 22, 2020 at 9:43 pmI really like lavender in cakes and bakes and your chocolate bundt sounds so delicious!
Dawn Rademacher
June 30, 2020 at 7:03 amI love lavender! I’ve had lavender vanilla i.c. and I’ve also had lavender lemonade!
But it was the lemon glaze that reminded me of my favorite dessert my Great Grandmother made us was i believe, a spice cake with warm lemon sauce! Yum yum!!!
Fran Flint
June 30, 2020 at 10:36 amDawn, thanks so much for your comment. That’s great that you were able to be with your great grandmother!
Abby
November 14, 2020 at 4:22 pmThe cake looks superb and I can guess that it tastes delicious. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe I’ll try this for sure.
Barb Hall
March 27, 2021 at 2:41 amWhat kind of dark chocolate should be used, Bakers unsweetened chocolate, Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips? Is there a certain percentage of the cacao needed if it’s one of the bars that’s needed? I’m looking forward to making this cake this weekend!!!
Fran Flint
March 27, 2021 at 4:28 amBarb, thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I usually use a Ghirardelli Semi=sweet chocolate bar or chocolate chips which have 60% cacao. I usually avoid bitter-sweet because of the sharper taste. Let me know how your cake turns out. If the glaze turns out a bit thin and runny, try adding a bit more confectioner’s sugar to the glaze.
Emily Fratti
July 4, 2021 at 9:18 amThe flavor of the cake is delicious but the glaze was almost chalky and dry, too thick and dry to drizzle. What did I do wrong? I melted the butter in the microwave. Was it supposed to just be softened?
Fran Flint
July 4, 2021 at 9:46 amEmily, thanks for trying this recipe. If anything, I often find that the glaze is too runny and I have to add a bit more confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar) to make it thicker. Did you measure out the powdered sugar (icing sugar) to weigh 200 grams? Maybe you had too much icing sugar. The butter should be melted- not just softened. If the glaze is still too thick, try reducing the amount of sugar. Good luck!