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Active Time
1 1/4 hr
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Total Time
3 hr
The floral notes of Meyer lemons meld with lavender in the most heavenly way in this light, golden cake. The secret to the moistness of the tender layers is olive oil—a common ingredient in Provençal cakes—and they take well to the bright lemon curd and loose billows of lavender-honey cream.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
For cake
For Meyer lemon filling
For lavender cream
Equipment:
Make cake:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in middle.
Step 2
Invert bottom of spring form pan and lock on side. Brush pan with melted butter, then chill 2 minutes to set. Line bottom of pan with a round of parchment paper, then brush pan and parchment with another layer of melted butter and chill 2 minutes more. Dust with flour, knocking out excess.
Step 3
Beat together yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. At medium speed, beat in oil and lemon zest and juice until just combined. Sift in flour and mix at low speed until just combined.
Step 4
Beat whites with salt in another large bowl with cleaned beaters at medium-high speed until foamy, then add remaining 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time, beating, and continue to beat until whites just hold soft peaks. Gently fold one third of whites into yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Transfer batter to springform pan, smoothing top, and gently rap against counter once or twice to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake until golden brown (top will crack slightly) and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then remove side of pan and cool cake to room temperature, about 1 hour (sides will cave in a little).
Make filling while cake cools:
Step 5
Whisk together sugar, flour, and salt in a small heavy saucepan, then add lemon juice in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then simmer, whisking, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 6
Whisk yolk in a small bowl, then add about one fourth of lemon-juice mixture, whisking vigorously. Whisk into remaining lemon-juice mixture and gently boil, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter and zest. Transfer filling to a bowl and cover surface with buttered parchment paper. Chill until cool, at least 30 minutes.
Make lavender cream while cake cools:
Step 7
Bring cream, honey, and lavender blossoms just to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and let steep, covered, 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids, and chill lavender cream, covered, until cold.
Assemble cake:
Step 8
Invert cake and discard parchment. Cut cake horizontally into 3 even layers with a long serrated knife. Transfer 1 layer, cut side up, to a cake plate. Lightly whisk filling to loosen, then spread half of filling evenly over cake layer on plate, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Place a second cake layer over filling and spread with remaining filling in same manner. Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down, pressing gently so that filling is spread to edge of cake.
Step 9
Just before serving, beat lavender cream with a whisk until it is thickened and barely holds soft peaks. Dust cake with confectioners sugar and serve with lavender cream.
How would you rate Meyer Lemon Cake with Lavender Cream?
Leave a Review
Reviews (69)
Back to TopGreat recipe - delicious! But Meyer lemon season doesn't line up with lavender blooming season :( So we used zest in the topping instead, which was super good too!
eric Neighbour
Vancouver
1/29/2022
One caveat to the dairy free comment below. I made the lavender whipped cream as written and had a side of dairy free whipped cream.
dwalsh1357
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
6/13/2021
This cake was to die for. I can’t imagine giving this recipe anything less than four forks. I have to admit that I used the lemon curd recipe from the NY Times (unimaginably good) and I tripled the recipe and made it in two 10” springform pans. The lavender cream was out of this world. The cake was super dense but moist. Just perfection! PS. Due to my own allergies, I made it dairy and gluten free. I used half monk fruit sugar and half white sugar. Still utterly delicious. No one knew the difference. It got rave reviews.
dwalsh1357
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
6/13/2021
我真的,真的想这样,高hopes for it despite the mixed reviews, but I was very, very disappointed. The raw batter was so flavourful and I added extra zest just in case, but it was bland once baked and none of the olive oil flavour came through as I had hoped. I made the filling as is and it turn out way too thick and gloopy, I ended up making another curd without flour and mixed the two together. Yes the lavender cream is delicious, but it isn’t enough to make this lacklustre dessert worthwhile. Will not make again. A sad thumbs down.
ritajoyholmberg6443
Vancouver, Canada
6/21/2020
This recipe is fantastic. I read the reviews and took heed and it was fantastic. A nice and light cake. The olive oil was a great flavor enhancement. I did 1 1/2 times the cake recipe in one 9 inch springform. I beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. I came out high and light. It sunk a little during cooling as expected but it was still nice and light and high for three layers. I used a different lemon curd recipe in epicurious that was more traditional. It came out perfect. Do not omit the lavender cream. That brings it all together beautifully. And you DEFINITELY DO NOT need to add confectioners sugar to the cream. The honey sweetens it enough. This is wonderful for a summer dinner party. Garnish each with a lavender sprig and you are all set.
edwardse
California
9/22/2019
Made this and it was amazing. Did not have mayer lemons but just made a mix of what I had a lemons, clementines and oranges. The cake was light and fluffy, the curd delicious and the cream... I wasn't sure I would like it but it was dreamy and made the whole thing feel that bit more sophisticated. Yum.
Anonymous
UK
2/9/2019
I have to say, I read a all th views before baking this cake and it still didn’t come out great. I beat the egg white to stiff peaks and used an 8” springform pan but it still sunk while cooling. I used another recipe completely for the curd because curd shouldn’t have flour in it, right? THe whipped cream isn’t done yet but I think it will turn out great- I used filtered not raw honey to hopefully avoid the separation issues. Overall would like a tweak that makes the cake puff up more and a more appropriate curd recipe. Also, please delete the extra 3 tablespoons of lemon juice in the cake recipe.
waterspider10
New Orleans LA
1/6/2018
Love this cake and have made it twice already - when Meyer lemons are in season. Yes, there are issues with the steps, but without too much thought, I could see the difference between the lavender cream (worth the recipe right there!) and the curd. I used a 9" pan, and the second time I cut it in 1/2 instead of 1/3s. That worked great and was very tasty. I used another lemon curd recipe that didn't call for flour from Epicurious, That was yummy. I really like the cake and lavender cream portions of this recipe.
matheyk
Seattle
1/31/2015
As soon as I saw this I knew I had to make it, especially with meyer lemons being in season. The curd was simply amazing! The lavender cream was very good too, and we also used it on other things...there was a lot of cream. I had no problems with this although the cake did fall a little on one side when it was cooling. Everyone seemed to be under a spell when eating this and asked for it again.
nachtlichschrecken
Charleston, SC
12/21/2014
I doubled the recipe as another reviewer suggested and made 2, 8" cakes, and used one and a half cakes to get my three layers. Used cake flour and was very careful with the folding and still it shrunk down. For this much work, I'd like a light, fluffy cake which it is not. The lavender cream pretty good, but I'd add more honey next time. I used dried lavender blossoms and strained them and there was plenty of lavender essence.
lajoie
San Diego, CA
5/14/2014
I made a couple of changes to the recipe based on the reviews of others. I whipped the egg whites until they resembled stiff peaks, not soft. Then when I added the cake batter to the pan, I didn't tap it to get rid of air bubbles as stated in the recipe. It rose quite nicely and didn't fall very much at all. I used the lemon curd directions in this recipe, except I didn't read all the way through and put everything in the pan all at once. I just whisked it until it became thick and put it in the fridge. The lavender cream smelled delicious. I'm not a fan of lemon, but everyone in my house loved the recipe and would love it again, hence my 4 forks.
duranfan
Oregon
5/12/2014
I loved the cake and lemon curd, but the lavender cream was not very good. The idea is nice, but the creaminess and lavender don't go so well with the meyer lemon curd. I would suggest making extra curd, which I found to be a very nice lemon curd and easy to make, and topping the cake with that instead of the whipped cream.
MONKEYTONIC
minneapolis, mn
2/17/2014
Made this for a party along w mocha mousse recipe. This was the big hit. Olive oil in cake gave it a nice texture. I took other people's advice and used another lemon curd recipe that didn't require flour. Great suggestion. By reading reviews I knew my 9"pan would be problematic so I 1 1/2 timed the recipe and poured part into a second 9 in pan. Sure enough the springform pan cake sunk in the middle. No problem. I cut it into 2 layers. Leveled off by cutting the edges a bit, and put the second cake on top. No one could tell. Next time I would just follow the recipe but cut the cake in 1/2. Then I would enjoy left over lemon curd on other things. The lavender cream was to die for. That is getting used in other recipes.
matheyk
Seattle
1/1/2014
蛋糕3.25叉。蜂蜜薰衣草鲜奶油6佛rks! The cake was a nice light cake but with a slight egginess-still very good. We did not use the recipe for the lemon curd as we already made other lemon curd earlier. There is nothing quite so nice as the combination of lavender and honey, especially in whipped cream. We will definitely use this whipped cream recipe with other cakes. It is simply amazing. We used regular clover honey.
TallyCouple
7/30/2013
The only useful thing in this recipe is the lavender cream. The cake shrinks WAAAYYYY down, and it doesn't work any better if you try to turn it into cupcakes. (Mine collapsed as soon as I took them out of the oven, so I guess you have to beat the egg whites into more than "soft peaks" to get it to work.) As another reviewer remarked, the lemon curd recipe here uses flour, which is completely unnecessary and doesn't make for good lemon curd. When you make the lavender cream, try using lavender honey instead of regular honey. It didn't separate in my recipe, probably because the honey was high quality. Lavender honey is a little difficult to find, but you might try a specialty foods market or perhaps a farmers' market.
Anonymous
San Francisco, CA
4/10/2012
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