Today the Kitchen is thrilled to host the marvelous author, Kim Davis, with a scrumptious recipe for Lavender-Lemon Bundt Cake to celebrate the release of her brand new series. And she's giving away a copy of the new book to one lucky commenter! Take it away, Kim!
Thanks so much for hosting me on my favorite blog, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen! I’ve been a longtime fan with its perfect combination of food and murder! I’m especially delighted to be here today since Essentials of Murder, the first book in my Aromatherapy Apothecary Mystery series, released last month. While my protagonist, Carissa Carmichael, distills essential oils, she doesn’t spend much time in the kitchen despite having grown up with grandmothers who taught her to cook. Instead, she spends a lot of time at the patisserie two doors down from her shop. It might be the delectable pastries and desserts that draw her, or it just might be the enticing baker, Jasper, who keeps her coming in. While my new series is not a culinary cozy, I couldn’t help but include a food element in the story via Jasper and the patisserie.
When thinking about a recipe to share with you today, I wanted to find a use for lavender in a dessert. To be honest, I have a lot of lavender left over from things I’ve been experimenting with for future books in my series, so I started hunting for inspiration. With the holidays coming up, Bundt cakes caught my attention since they look so elegant without a lot of fuss on the part of the cook and I landed on Lavender-Lemon Bundt Cake. The lavender taste is mild, and the cake isn’t overly rich while the simple lemon glaze adds another layer of deliciousness. Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream make the perfect accompaniment!
Lavender-Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (270g)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender*
Zest from 2 lemons
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
For the glaze:
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
Lavender buds for garnishing, optional
Instructions
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
Grease and flour the Bundt pan and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Finely chop the dried lavender and lemon zest until it reaches a paste-like consistency or you can use a mortar and pestle to create a fine paste. Add to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl if using a hand-held electric mixer.
Add the butter and granulated sugar to the lavender mixture and beat on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon juice. The mixture may look curdled, but this is normal.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar
mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Add half of the buttermilk and
mix until fully incorporated.
Repeat with remaining dry mixture and buttermilk. Mix on low until batter is smooth, about 1 minute. Don’t over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan, spread it out and give the pan a few taps on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter or cake plate to cool completely.
For the glaze:
Whisk the lemon juice into the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Add additional lemon juice, a half teaspoon at a time, if the glaze is too thick, until desired consistency is reached.
Note: *Be sure to use culinary lavender or, if using from your own garden, lavender that hasn’t been treated with pesticides.
About Essentials of Murder: After a scandalous arrest in San Francisco, Carissa Carmichael has moved back to her small Southern California hometown to start over as she opens her Aromatherapy Apothecary shop and reflexology services. A tourist destination, Oak Creek Valley, seems the perfect place to put the past behind her, but it seems no one will let her forget. When she finds the man who threatened to drive her out of business murdered in her shop, Carissa becomes the primary suspect, especially when her fingerprints are found on the murder weapon. Despite her father’s position as Oak Creek Valley’s chief of police, most townspeople assume she’s guilty.
Refusing to run again, Carissa knows she must prove her innocence to save her shop and save her father’s career when the investigating detective turns his focus on her. With suspects acting as slippery as the essential oils she distills, it’s up to Carissa to apply pressure and sniff out the truth before it’s too late.
Includes essential oil and reflexology tips, and a recipe!
Buy Essentials of Murder here (please note the publisher has extended the $0.99 sale price for ebooks through the end of October).
About the Author: Kim Davis lives in Southern California with her husband and mini Goldendoodle, Missy. When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters or chasing the dog around, she can be found either writing on her next book, or working on her blog, Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats to share.
She writes the cozy Cupcake Catering Mysteries, the Aromatherapy Apothecary Mysteries and suspense novel, A GAME OF DECEIT. Kim Davis is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
Kim's website.
AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
Readers, do you use essential oils? Comment below and include your email (yourname at yourserver dot com) for a chance to win your choice of print or a Kindle ebook copy of Essentials of Murder. (Contest ends 11:59pm on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, and is limited to U.S. residents only.)
