Mother's Day Lavander Almond Cake

I couldn't ask for a better Mom...she is beautiful, kind, supportive, fun, and a best friend to me!  We have always been close, since I was a child, and for that I am very thankful!  I always enjoy the time we spend together, and luckilly we enjoy many of the same things!  She has taught me important life lessons, and I have to say that of everyone in my life she has made the biggest impact, and shaped the person I have become! 

 I wanted to make her a special cake this year for Mother's day.  One of her favorite cakes that I make is a banana almond cake.  But I have made this one about 3 times for her Birthday in the past, so I wanted something a bit different and more intricate for this occasion. 

I wanted to keep the almond part of the cake, because the marzipan layer and the toasted almonds on sweet cream cheese frosting are her favorite part!  I can see why, because she loves almond flavored things like I love vanilla flavored things.  She always put a little almond extract in many of her baked goods, even when they simply called for vanilla.  So for this occasion, I decided on a lavander almond cake with marzipan and lavander blueberry filling. 

A lovely cake for a lovely woman!  Lavander is one of her favorite scents, she is always using lavander essential oils, and when I smell lavander I am reminded of her.  The blueberry layer was added, because I thought the cake needed a tart, jammy contrast to the sweet cake and almond filling.  The cake itself smelled heavenly as it was baking, lavander and almond whafting through the kitchen...the scent itself even reminding me of my Mom and her favorite scents. 

When it was all assembled and ready to dig into we couldn't wait!   For good reason, it smelled amazing.  But we had to stop for a second and admire its beauty as well, the pale lavander frosting was lovely!  The cake tasted even better than it looked!  The cake layers were sweet and light, with the delicate scents of lavander and almond.  The slightly tart lavander scented blueberry jam a nice contrast to the gooey sweet cream cheese frosting, and sweet nutty marzipan layers.  The crunchy almonds were wonderful, adding a toasty crunchyness on the smooth frosting.  As a whole it was heavenly, and dare I say it... the best cake I have ever made!  Mom loved it as well, admitting that it was far better than the banana almond cake.  The recipe is included below if you would like a taste of this deliciousness.  Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love you! 

Vegan Lavander Almond Cake with Marzipan and Blueberry Filling 

Makes 1 6 inch 4 layer cake

2 6 inch cake pans

Cake:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

3 Tbsp dried lavander flowers

1 cup maple sugar or granulated sugar

1/2 cup almond oil

1 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Filling:

8 oz almond paste or marzipan

6 Tbsp lavander scented blueberry jam* (recipe follows) or other blueberry jam

Frosting:

3 8 oz pkgs tofutti cream cheese

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
plant based purple food coloring (if desired)

1 cup toasted sliced almonds (about)
Additional dried lavander flowers

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and position rack in center of oven. Line two six-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper and pan sides with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, sea salt, and lavander in a large bowl to blend well. Whisk sugar, oil, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract together in small bowl to blend well, then whisk into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in lemon juice vinegar and stir quickly (pale swirls will be in the batter, which is the baking soda reacting with the lemon juice, which allows the cake to rise since there are no eggs). Transfer cake batter to prepared pan and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Cut around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto platter; peel off parchment paper. Let cool completely, then place in the fridge to chill until very cold to make slicing easier (since cakes with no eggs crumble easier). When chilled, slice cakes horizontally in half so that you have 4 layers.

To make frosting, whip cream cheese until smooth, then add agave, maple sugar, vanilla and beat until smooth. Beat in a few drops of food coloring until frosting is the desired color of purple.
Divide marzipan into 3 pieces, and roll each into a circle the diameter of the cake (6 inches). 

To assemble cake, place one layer on a plate, and top with about 2 Tbsp blueberry jam. Spread out over cake layer but not all the way to the edge, because you don't want it to ooze. Top with one marzipan circle, then spread about 2 Tbsp cream cheese frosting over marzipan.  Top with another cake layer and repeat, then the next 2 layers ending with a top layer of cake. To frost cake, spread frosting over top and sides, smothing out as you go. Set remaining frosting aside, and use toasted almonds to coat the sides of the cake.  Use the remaining frosting to pipe decoratively onto the top of the cake using a pastry bag or plastic ziplock with a hole in the corner. I piped the frosting around the top edges of the cake, but feel free to be creative! Sprinkle the top of the cake with some dried lavander, refridgerate for a few hours and serve!

*if you would like a 4 layer 9 inch cake, double this entire recipe and bake in two 9 inch cake pans.

*Lavander Scented blueberry Agave JamMakes 2 cups

2 bags frozen blueberries 10 oz each

1 1/2 Tbsp dried lavander flowers
3/4 cups agave nectar
Juice of one large lemon
a pinch of sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine berries, lavander, agave nectar, and lemon juice in a pot and add salt.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Let simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. Add vanilla, and pour jam into an air tight container. Jam will store in your refrigerator for several months.