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rosemary lavender cake

How to Make Rosemary Lavender Cake

Naked cakes have been popping up all over the place in the past year, and it turns out, I am pretty obsessed with them. In theory, you would think a naked cake would look sloppy or unkempt, because by definition, it is an unfinished cake. But, for some reason, naked cakes actually turn out looking pretty beautiful and elegant. This is especially true when they are paired with natural elements like colorful flowers or simple greenery.

Best Cake Recipe with Rosemary and Lavender Homemade Rosemary and Lavender Cake

So, we decided to try it out for ourselves. This is our Vanilla Vanilla Cake recipe filled with a delicious Honey Buttercream and decorated with a little Lavender and Rosemary. All we did to make the honey buttercream was add a little honey to the original vanilla buttercream recipe until it tasted the way we wanted it to. It was super easy and turned out really well!

What better way to welcome the first day of Spring?!

DIY Cake at Home - Soft and Moist Cake Recipe Quick and Easy Rosemary Lavender Cake at Home

Rosemary Lavender Cake

Rosemary Lavender Cake | Sprinkles For Breakfast

Ingredients

Cake

  • 5 large egg whites at room temperature
  • 1 cup whole milk at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups cake flour, sifted
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar **If you do not have cake flour just lying around you can use all purpose flour. Cake flour is obviously better…but this works too. 1 cup of cake flour = 1 cup of all purpose flour – 2 TBS.
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes
  • 3-4 springs of fresh rosemary (optional)
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh lavender (optional)
  • 3 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

Buttercream

  • 1 lb (2 cups) room temperature butter
  • 5 egg whites
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lavender extract
  • water
  • candy thermometer

Directions

for the cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 8" cake pans with pam and parchment.
  2. In a medium bowl combine the egg whites chopped rosemary and vanilla set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together on low speed for 30 seconds.
  4. Add the butter, and mix on a low speed until just combined.
  5. Add milk and mix until just combined. Increase to medium speed and mix for 1-2 minutes.
  6. Scrape the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg mixture in 2 separate batches, beat on medium speed until it is just combined.
  7. Divide the batter between the three cake pans.
  8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Let cool on racks until cooled completely.

for the buttercream:

  1. In a small sauce pan put 3/4 cup of sugar. Cover the sugar with a little bit of water until the sugar looks like wet sand. Cook on a stove top over high heat until it reaches 248 degrees (you will need a candy thermometer).
  2. While the sugar is cooking, whip eggs whites in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at a high speed until they reach soft peaks.
  3. Once the egg whites reach soft peaks add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and mix on a high speed until the egg whites reach stiff peaks. You can keep mixing the egg whites at a high speed until the sugar is done cooking.
  4. Once the sugar reaches 248 degrees, place the mixer on high speed and stream sugar into egg white mixture. Mix on a high speed for 30 minutes.
  5. After 30 minutes, add the room temperature butter and mix on a high speed for 5-10 minutes until the butter is fully combined and the mixture resembles buttercream.
  6. Add honey, vanilla and lavender and mix until just combined.

Assembly

  1. Once cakes are cool, take them out of the pans, and place one layer onto a cake plate. Using an offset spatula, spread 1 cup of frosting on the cake.
  2. Turn the second layer upside down (so the bottom is face up) and gently place it on top of the first layer. Spread another cup of frosting on the cake.
  3. Turn the third layer upside down and gently place in on top of the second layer.
  4. Spread a generous amount of frosting on the top of the cake. Spread the frosting to the edge of the cake and then start to work your way down the sides.
  5. Using a bench scraper or an offset spatula, scrape some of the frosting off the sides of the cake so you can see the cake layers.
  6. Using twine or string, tie together a couple of springs of rosemary and lavender and place on top of the cake.

* Serves 10-14 people depending on how big you cut your cake slices.

*Makes 1 Cake

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meet the author


Lindsay Nathanson - Baker and Author

I might be the only person in the history of the world that has ever been grounded from baking. That's right. When I was a teen, it wasn't the computer, or the phone or the tv that got taken away. For me, it was the unsalted butter.


Comments (16)


Jenna Walker

Hi! This cake sounds so amazing! I am wondering if anyone has tried to make it gluten and dairy free by substituting with gluten free flour and coconut milk ? Has any one had success with that?


Lindsay Nathanson

Hi Jenna! I have never heard of anyone trying to make this gluten/dairy free. But I know people have a lot of success substituting gluten free flour/coconut milk in other cake recipes. So it should work here.


Ginny

So excited to make this recipe! What size cake pans did you use?


Lindsay Nathanson

Hi Ginny! I think you are going to LOVE this cake! I used three 8" pans. Let me know if you have any further questions!


Krystal Wight Armstrong

Ooh, lavender in my sweets is one of my very favorite flavors! I'm eager to make myself a delightful lavender cake for my own birthday cake next week, and this one looks amazing! Coincidentally this week was the first time I also came across a strawberry rosemary cake, and have never used rosemary in cake before. I'd love to hear more about how that tastes, or how it adds to the flavor profile if you can share more about that unique addition! Also, I wanted to know if you have any suggestions for making a honey icing but without egg white. The icing sounds really good, and I usually make simple frostings with just powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and milk. But my little daughter is allergic to egg whites, and I really want to make a good lavender honey icing. Would love your suggestions! (I also may not be able to find lavender extract, but I have no problem finely grinding dry buds and adding them straight to a frosting, and/or steeping a tea, if that would work.) Thanks so much for you time, help, and consideration!


Lindsay Nathanson

Hi Krystal! I am so glad you share my love for Lavender in sweet treats, and I think this is the PERFECT cake for your birthday. The honey x lavender combo is great, but the rosemary just adds a little something extra. I find it adds a whole new depth of flavor without being too overpowering (and it pairs very nicely with the lavender). As for the frosting, you can totally make a standard powdered sugar buttercream. I would just suggest using less powdered sugar than normal because you are sweetening it with honey. You don't want it to be overly sweet. I also think grinding the dry buds is a great idea! You will definetly get the flavor you want and it will be a nice visual touch! Please let me know if yo have any further questions, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


Nico

Finishing the cake now. I Baked it last night and didn’t have the patience to wait for one of them to cool, and put it on a rack but of course, I broke it. It smelled so good, that my mom and I ate it just like that, warm! It is to die for! I’m struggling with the frosting, I turned my back for one second and the temp went up to 290 degrees on the sugar. So most of it hardened. :( I still added it like that and the frosting changed color but I’m sure not as much. Question for you. Why does the frosting have to be beaten for so long? Is it to “cook” the egg whites? Thank you.


Lindsay Nathanson

Hi Nico! Eating this cake warm, right out of the oven sounds DIVINE! I am so glad you liked it! But this is such a good question. I know waiting is one of my least favorite activities - but this frosting beats for so long in order to give the sugar and egg whites time too cool down. Otherwise, the butter will melt when you add it in. And then you have a mess on your hands! Let me know if you have any more questions.


Deanne

Has anyone tried this recipe? How did it turn out? How difficult was it? Thanks for the advice! Considering making it for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday party!!!


Lindsay Nathanson

Hi Deanne! I have had a lot of people make this recipe and they all tell me they loved it!


Julia

HI. Just checking, for the cake mixture, are the egg whites combined and not whipped?


Lindsay Nathanson

Yes. No need to whip the egg whites before adding them into the cake. Just add them in as they are!


SC

By far one of the most confusing cake recipes ever! Wasn't sure if I was literally just supposed to combine the egg whites with the vanilla or whisk it until it formed peaks, as a normal recipe would... then as I'm oddly combining the eggs and milk to the flour mixture, I realized I never added the sugar because it never directed so!! I begrudgingly added it at the very end, which is a complete fiasco in my book! It is baking in the oven now and am praying that it comes out decent as it's for a good friend's bridal shower and will be extremely upset if it doesn't come out correctly due to poor instructions! I reread these instructions over and over and am thinking of you meant to add the sugar as part of the dry ingredients? But sugar is never really called out as a dry ingredient in baking so I am really confused and anxious....


Lindsay Nathanson

Hi. I'm so sorry you were confused. This is one of the first recipes I wrote so I guess I wasn't that great at explaining myself thoroughly. I will go back and fix it. Hopefully the cake still turns out!


Jess

the recipe called for three pans but you said divide between 2 pans. Is it two or three pans?


Lindsay Nathanson

Sorry that is my mistake! I will fix it. But you can do it either way. Doing it in three pans will give you an extra layer of frosting in the middle!


Marian

How many does this serve? Thanks...


Lindsay Nathanson

Great question. It serves about 10 - 14 (depending on how big you cut the pieces).


Ingrid

Hi, I am confused by step 5 for directions for the cake' "Scrape the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg mixture in 2 separate batches, beat on medium speed until it is just combined". With the 2 separate batches, do I need to make another batch of of batter to add the other half of the egg mixture to?


Ingrid

If you're able to respond asap that would be great! (:


Lindsay Nathanson

Sorry that was confusing! You don't need to make another batter. You just need to add the egg whites a little bit at a time. I divide my egg whites in half and then add one half at a time. Does that make sense?


heather ca

I'm looking forward to making this cake! Question - If I make it the day before my wedding, will I need to place it in the refrigerator, or will leaving it out (house will be about 64 degrees) be okay?


Lindsay Nathanson

Hi Heather! I am so excited you are making this for your wedding! If it were me, I would place it in the fridge overnight, and then take it out the morning of. Good luck! And congratulations!


June @ How to Philosophize with Cake

Wow, what a cake! I've used both lavender and rosemary in desserts, but never together...I'm sure they're just fabulous in this cake :) Love the way you frosted it too, naked cakes are the bomb!


Lindsay Nathanson

Thanks you for the nice words! The rosemary/lavender combination is really great- you should give it a try!


Hannah Krzastek

Lindsay, LOVE your website - I love breakfast + sprinkles, so you're a girl after my own heart. This cake looks delicious, so I'm going to make it a goal to make it for a dinner party my husband and I are having next week. Any suggestions about how to incorporate more of the lavender flavor? Is it crazy to add a drop of lavender oil to the icing? What about lemon??


Lindsay Nathanson

Hannah - Thank you so much for your kind words! I think adding some lavender oil in with the honey buttercream is the perfect way to add some lavender flavor! But make sure you use lavender oil or extract and NOT lavender essential oil. And make sure to use just a drop at a time until it tastes the way you want it to - it can be very strong and overpowering! Good luck, and have fun at your party!


Ina

It looks amazing! But why did you not post the recipe? Or do we have to buy a cake mix and a can of buttercream frosting?


Lindsay Nathanson

The recipe is just my Vanilla Vanilla Cake with the buttercream flavored with a little bit of honey and then decorated with rosemary and lavender. You can find the recipe here -
https://sprinklesforbreakfast.squarespace.com/sprinkles-for-breakfast/2012/11/12/birthday-cake-2


Jody McKeever

where is the recipe? Is it just the vanilla cake recipe then decorated differently??Jody McKeever


lynn

Where is the recipe?


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