Rich Chocolate Cake with a Strawberry Lavender Milk Buttercream
A unique and dreamy dessert made with the floral notes of lavender, tart and fruity strawberry jam, and fluffy, decadent chocolate cake. It's a perfect summer treat!
This cake idea came to me after my mom and I shared a slice of blueberry lavender cake from one of my favorite restaurants, Louisa's Cafe in Cape May, NJ.
The cake was moist and balanced, and the lavender served as a refreshing floral note to the blueberries and vanilla cake. I immediately felt inspired to make it, but I wondered how I could add my own flare to it, so I subbed in my favorites, strawberry and chocolate.
Luckily enough, it worked really well together. So well that it pleased the skeptics in my family!
The chocolate cake recipe is highly adapted/based off of a recipe from Call Me Cupcake. I changed it just slightly to make it more my own, though her recipe is a star on it’s own. It is wonderfully rich, fluffy and moist. I even threw in some finely chopped chocolate to add more decadence.
The finely chopped chocolate won’t come out as chunks or chips in the finished product, as it melts into the cake. This contributes to the richness of the cake itself.
The cake, combined with floral lavender and swirled tart, fruity and sweet strawberry preserves is so balanced and delicious! You can definitely taste the lavender, so it's not one of those recipes where it goes unnoticed, but it is a really pleasant flavor combination.
Even if you're skeptic, you should try this cake! You can always add less of the lavender milk than what I call for in the recipe. Think of it as a loose starting point!
RICH CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH A STRAWBERRY LAVENDER MILK BUTTERCREAM
(makes one 6 inch layer cake and serves about 10-12 people)
Ingredients
For the Cake Layers (adapted from Call Me Cupcake):
1 stick (113g) butter (I use salted)
1 1/3 cups (300g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (61g) brown sugar, packed
2 cups (266g) all purpose flour
1 cup (86g) cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp espresso powder
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup milk, room temperature
3/4 cup hot, almost boiling, water
1/3 cup finely chopped dark chocolate, measured after chopping*
For the Buttercream:
3 sticks butter, room temperature (I used a mix of salted and unsalted)
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp dried culinary grade lavender
3 ½ cups (371g) confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp vanilla paste (sub more vanilla extract or a vanilla bean if you don’t have this)
good pinch of salt
heaping ½ cup strawberry preserves or jam**
Instructions
I like to start my cakes the day ahead of when I plan on serving it. I focus on making the cake layers and extras the day before, that way when it comes to the day of serving, I just need to make the icing and assemble. This cake can definitely be done in one day, just keep in mind it probably wont be finished until late afternoon even if started in the early morning due to the steeping of the lavender milk.
For the lavender milk:
In a glass container or jar, add in the 2 tbsp of the dried lavender, then set to the side.
Into a small saucepan, add in the 1/3 cup of milk, and heat on medium heat.
Bring the milk to a simmer, then pour it over the lavender. Let this sit to cool to room temperature, then cover and place into the fridge for about 4-5 hours to steep.
Next, make the cake layers. For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350F, then grease and flour 3- 6 inch cake pans.
Melt the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan, then set aside to cool.
Into the bowl to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, 2 cups of flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Mix on low speed until just combined, 20-30 seconds.
Add in the eggs, vanilla, milk and melted butter and mix on low speed until just combined, about 1-2 minutes, then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Slowly stream in the hot boiling water while the mixer is on low speed and mix for about a minute.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, ensuring it is all combined. Add in the finely chopped chocolate and fold to combine, then immediately divide the batter between the 3 cake pans.
Bake for about 35 minutes until it springs back when you touch it, rotating about 15 minutes in if necessary. I find that things bake and/or brown faster in certain parts of my oven, so that is why I rotate.
Once done, let cool for 10-20 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool completely.
If I make the cakes a day ahead, I will wrap them and store them in the fridge to preserve freshness. If using the layers the day you’ve made them, you can leave them out.
Next, we’re ready to make the icing and assemble the cake. Measure out the heaping ½ cup strawberry preserves (½ cup plus a few tbsp) and set to the side.
I like to slice the domes off of each cake layer before icing the cake. Click here for a video tutorial (minutes 0:55-2:36) on how to do this. For this cake, we’re only leveling the layers and that’s it! Then, prepare the buttercream.
For the lavender buttercream:
Take out the lavender milk from the fridge and set aside.
Into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add in the 3 sticks of butter and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
Once light and fluffy, add in the vanilla extract, vanilla paste, a good pinch of salt (plus more if using only unsalted butter) and 2 ½ tablespoons of the lavender milk. Beat until fully incorporated. You will have lavender milk left over. You can discard it, use more in the buttercream if you’re a big lavender fan, or save it to add a few drops into other projects like a vanilla cake recipe, morning tea (great with earl grey), whipped cream, yogurt, or even your bath water. The options are endless!
Add in the confectioners sugar one cup at a time (the last addition will just be ½ a cup) and beat on high for 1-2 minutes after each addition.
Next, we can assemble the cake. If icing on a turntable, place a 6 inch cardboard cake board underneath to transfer the finished cake to your serving stand or plate of choice later on. If icing on what you’ll be serving it on, this is not necessary, though using a turntable makes life much easier, so I highly recommend!
Place one layer of cake down, then place a large dollop of icing on top and smooth it out with a knife or offset spatula until an even layer is formed. Swirl a few tablespoons (I used about 2 ½ tbsp per layer) of the strawberry preserves on top. Place the next layer of cake on, then repeat with the buttercream and jam.
For the third/last cake layer, apply it on top of the icing so that the top is facing down and the flat bottom is facing up. This will ensure a smooth, leveled cake in the end.
Then, ice the cake so that there is a crumb coat. A crumb coat is essentially a thin, see through, layer of icing all around the cake. You just need to fill in gaps and create a smooth base. A crumb coat isn’t always necessary, but for this cake it is. Fruit preserves or jam tend to cause cakes to slip and slide around, so creating a loose crumb coat will prevent that. Once the crumb coat is on, place the cake in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to harden up.
Once cooled, you can take the cake out and finish icing it. This cake is meant to be messy! Add large globs of the buttercream on to the top and sides of the cake and smooth it out with your offset spatula. Continue this until you’re happy with the thickness of the buttercream and the appearance of the cake.
To finish, grab small amounts of the remaining strawberry preserves with your offset spatula and smear it onto the outsides of the cake. Continue this until the cake is covered and the preserves are gone.
Decorate with strawberries, dried lavender, or lavender sprigs like I used (food safe of course), and use any leftover icing to pipe designs if desired, then slice and enjoy!
I keep my cakes in the refrigerator in a cake container to keep them fresh for 4 days or so. I highly recommend this, just be sure to bring it to room temperature before slicing and eating again!
