Lavender pound cake

1 10\" cake

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 cups Butter (4 sticks)
3½ cup All-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Baking powder
12 larges Eggs; separated
2½ cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Sweet sherry
1 tablespoon Dried lavender flowers

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a large bowl, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy.

Combine flour and baking powder and gradually add to the butter, beating until the mixture is a smooth paste. In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar; beat until thick and light. Add the sherry and lavender, then gradually beat in the butter and flour mixture.

In a separate bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks but are not dry. Quickly and gently fold the whites into the flour mixture. Turn the batter into a well-greased and floured 10" tube or bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a straw inserted in the center comes out clean.

The authors write: "Although Denise Adams has always grown a few herbs, she didn't have a proper herb garden until she and her husband moved into their present home. 'It was a natural addition to this old house,' says Denise. The design for the garden evolved from studying pictures and visiting as many gardens as possible; the pattern for the small knot in its center was taken from an old carved English chest in the living room. 'It helps to create the feeling that house and garden flow together,' she says.

"'I cook with herbs every day,' notes Denise, 'but it's really pretty traditional - tossing some herbs on the chicken or into the vegetables. Lavender is one herb she delights in using. Since her husband adores this fragrant plant, the path to the front door is bordered on both sides by bushy lavenders and seven or eight different species grow in the garden. The fragrant blossoms flavor cookies, cakes, jellies, and teas. And she recently added a separate fragrance garden because there was no room in the original garden for the old roses she wanted to grow.

"For the past nine years, Denise has been sharing her knowledge of herbs, giving classes in wreathmaking and other herbal crafts in her home, and serving herbal luncheons. With a newly won degree in landscape horticulture, she has now expanded her business to include selling plants in the spring and is also researching and growing old flowers, particularly those indigenous to Ohio. But whether she's lecturing at Ohio State or at home in her garden, Denise inspires her students with her knowledge, enthusiasm, and a sampling of the herbal specialties from her kitchen."

From Denise Adams of Ohio in "Cooking with Herbs" by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1989. Pg. 133.

Posted by Cathy Harned.

Submitted By CATHY HARNED On 10-04-94

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