Lavender-Lemon Tea Cake

I served this tea cake at my East Frisian tea party. I chose this cake because I wanted something that would let the tea itself shine. This cake needed to play a supporting role, not the lead. I was pleased!

The recipe foundation came from here. I added a few tweaks to it, including the lemon part. So here is my version:

Cake:

1 cup granulated sugar

5 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (next time I will try whole wheat)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt

2 Tablesp finely chopped lavender leaves (fresh) or 1 Tablesp dried

Lemon zest (I used the zest from 2 lemons)

Glaze:

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 to 2 tsp water

1/4 tsp (or more, to taste) lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat sugar, butter and vanilla at medium speed until well-blended. Add egg and egg white, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, sift flour and measure. Combine the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir well (and sift again). Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in lavender and lemon zest.

Pour the batter into an 8-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for ~45-50 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

To prepare the glaze (it's a thin glaze - not icing), combine powdered sugar, water and lemon juice. Adjust to the desired lemony flavor. Spread on the warm cake. Cool in pan on a wire rack approximately 20 minutes before removing from pan. To serve, slice and present on a pretty platter.