Vegan Lavender Lime Bundt Cake

Addictions come in many forms. Like that time I was addicted to Pleasantville. And when my 8th grade self couldn’t stop listening to Blink 182’s “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.” I also got addicted to plucking my eyebrows. Until they were two inches apart and I looked like I had grown an extra forehead in the middle of my face.

It took a long time for them to grow back.

So this summer, I got addicted to a pond. A new pond. A pond not many people know about.

And I can’t stop going there. I wake up early just to be the first one on that splintery dock. I make sure to get all my chores done the night before so I can efficiently bike, swim, cannonball, dive, flip, and nap—all before 3pm.

I’m really nervous about the fall. Because I don’t know what my weekends will be like without that pond. Where will I swim? Where will I see great blue herons swooping over lily pads? What happens when I don’t get sun sleepies?

Maybe with less sun will come more time for cooking and baking. Even though a huge chunk of me doesn’t want that to happen, I guess having a lavender lime bundt cake after dinner wouldn’t be too bad.

This flavor combo is so unreal. The first time I did something with it was ages ago when I baked lavender lime poppy seed cookies. Those were stupidly amazing.

Lime gets zested. Don’t rub your eyes. But definitely enjoy your house smelling citrusy for at least the afternoon.

Lime gets juiced.

You’re probably all, “Ew, does it taste like potpourri?” To which I answer, “Shut up and eat it.”

It doesn’t taste like potpourri. It tastes like yum.

Just a whee bit toasty.

And a whole lot of omg-so-good-I-might-eat-it-all.

Vegan (say what?!) lavendar lime bundt cake.

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons culinary lavender
3 limes, zested and juiced
2/3 cup canola oil
1 14oz can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups vegan sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Thoroughly grease a bundt pan of your choice, being sure to get in all the cracks.

Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder salt), in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, mix wet ingredients (sugar, coconut milk, canola oil, vanilla, lime juice, zest) until sugar and oil are fully incorporated.

Slowly add the dries into the wets in about 3 batches, mixing completely before adding the next cup.

Once the batter is just incorporated (don’t overdo it, or else your cake won’t be fluffy), fold in the culinary lavender.

Pour into the bundt cake pan and bake for about 60 minutes, until the top is just browning at the edges.

Fully cool before even attempting to take the cake out of the pan. It will break if the center is still warm.

Seriously it tastes phenomenal.

Enough to feed the people who don’t scorn vegan baked goods.

Lavender Lime Poppy Seed Cookies

I sing. A lot.

Not only real songs, because believe me, Beyonce (Bey) is all up in my stereo when I come home from work, but also songs about the dishes. Lawnmowers waking me up. I am a self-induced Broadway musical.

I sing about taking left-hand turns, rye bread, blisters and what’s for dinner. I make up jingles for having to do the laundry. I doo-wop about shampoo. I serenade my plants. I get super diva-like and wave my hand as if I’m scrubbing the windows. Jazz hands.

Sometimes I have backup singers. I used to live with a chorus of ladies with the same habit. We’d harmonize. Don’t be jealous.

It might be annoying. It might be cute? It’s mostly weird.

What I’m trying to say is that I totally coaxed these cookies into tasting like flowers and citrus by singing to them. They probably would’ve come out burnt if not for my sweet lullaby. F’reals.

Dried lavender is available at most natural food and specialty grocery stores. Super cheap if you only need a few teaspoons. I got about a quarter of a cup for 80¢.

Woo woo doo bee, grindin’ up some lavender with lime zest, whoa whoa whoa. Woo. Boop.

Sound bites would help. The lavender-lime song is one of my top 10 greatest hits of all time.

The smell coming out of this concoction is ridiculous. Shove your nose in it. Sing about it.

These cookies come out a little gree-oohhwwaa–een.

Never iced before? It’s easy. Stuff the icing into the corner of a plastic bag. Twist to get all of the air bubbles out and make the bag as tight as possible. Snip a tiny hole in the corner. Squeeze a few practice rounds.

And don’t worry about making perfect lines. If you mess up, you’ll just end up making CareBear poo. And that’s okay, too.

Lime icing drizzle. Yeah. Oh yeah.

Lavender Lime Poppy Seed Cookies.

For the cookies:
2 teaspoons dried lavender
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 egg
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the icing:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or baking mat (like Silpat).

In a coffee grinder or food processor, pulse together lime zest and lavender until fully ground. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar and butter until fluffy. Add egg and lavender/lime powder and mix until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to the wet ingredients until a firm ball forms. Beat in the poppy seeds until evenly distributed.

Spoon the dough into heaping teaspoons on prepared baking sheet, setting each dollop about 1-2 inches apart.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges just barely begin to brown. Once out of the oven, leave the cookies on the baking sheet for another minute before placing them on a cooling rack.

After about 30 minutes, ice the cookies. Let set for another 20 minutes.

Makes about 12 cookies.