Almond Lavender Cake

Prep: 20min Bake: 55 minute + cooling
2 cups sugar, divided
½ cup slivered almonds
​1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Hope Hill culinary lavender buds, divided
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cram
¼ cup half- and-half cream
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons boiling water
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
Additional dried lavender flowers, optional

Directions:
Grease a 10 inch fluted tube pan (bundt pan) and sprinkle with sugar; set aside. Place ½ cup sugar, the almonds and 1 tablespoon lavender in a food processor, process until finely ground.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy, beat in almond mixture until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream and half-and-half. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture beating well after each addition.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 55 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For drizzle, in a small bowl, combine water and remaining lavender. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Strain, discarding lavender. In another small bowl, combine confectioners” sugar and enough infused water to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over cake. Garnish with additional lavender if desired. Yield: 12 servings.

Recipe provided courtesy of Taste of Home. Find more great recipes at www.tasteofhome.com.

Lavender Brownies

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
2eggs
½ cup veg oil or applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
Mix 1 tsp culinary lavender buds into batter

Directions:
Pour into a greased 8X8 or 9X9 pan
​Sprinkle with 1 tsp of culinary lavender buds and smooth over surface
​Bake at 350° for 20 – 25 minutes

OR

Spice up your favorite box brownie recipe by adding 1 tsp of our lavender buds to the batter and once the batter is poured in the pan sprinkle

1 tsp of flowers on top of the brownie batter and spread into batter with a butter knife. Bake as instructed on mix or recipe.

​Lavender Tea

​Steep 1 tsp. of Hope Hill dried lavender in a cup of boiling water for 5 – 10 minutes. Results a soothing, homemade herbal tea.

​Lavender Honey Lemonade

Ingredients:
3c. water, plus more to taste
1c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 heaping tsp. dried Hope Hill culinary lavender
2 tbsp. honey
1/2 cup granulated sugar (recipe called for 1/2 cup I use less)

​Instructions:

Bring 1 cup of water and sugar in a medium pot over medium heat to a boil.
When the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat.
Stir in lavender and honey into water/sugar mixture and cover. Steep for around 15 minutes.
Using a sieve, strain lavender out of lemonade.
​Combine and stir lavender syrup, the rest of the water and lemon juice in a large pitcher. Let lemonade chill before serving over ice. Makes about 4 cups of lemonade.

Lavender Lemonade

Shared from Bobbi Flemingi of the Fishing Creek Herb Guild
1 T. dried lavender flowers 1 cup white granulated sugar 2 cups of boiling water for the infusion 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 cups or more of cold water Ice – pour sugar over flowers and rub with fingers to gently rub flowers into sugar -pour 2 cups of boiling water over lavender sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Cover and let infuse for a couple of hours. – strain the lavender simple sugar and pour into a serving carafe or pitcher – stir in the lemon juice. Add another two cups of cold water. Taste and adjust for tartness, more sugar or lemon juice. – add ice and more water to level of concentration. Note the ice will melt.

Lavender Muffins

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup olive oil
7 ounces low fat greek yogurt
2 eggs
lemon juice from 1 – 2 lemons, 1 tsp zest from lemon
1 tsp culinary lavender buds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Line muffin pan with muffin liners
In large bowl, mix sugar and olive oil
Add eggs and mix
Add the yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and lavender buds and mix well
In another bowl sift flour with baking powder
Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time to batter while mixing
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full
Bake 25 – 30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (mine took 25 minutes, any longer and would have been to dry)

Grilled or Baked Salmon with Lavender

3 lbs salmon
4 tablespoon honey
6 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed culinary lavender
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Place all ingredients in saucepan except salmon, heat over moderate heat stirring at all times, until reduced to 1/3
When slightly cooled brush on salmon
Grill, and baste occasionally, set some aside to top when served. Salmon cooked when fish flakes.
To bake preheat oven to 350. Cover with sauce, bake 10 minutes or until salmon is flaky

Herbes de Provence Dip

A simple yummy recipe sprinkle/coat goat cheese or cream cheese with Herbes de Provence for an easy dip for crackers and veggies.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:
3 cups pumpkin puree (fresh from roasting your own neck pumpkin or canned pumpkin)
4 cups of vegetable broth.
1 sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tsp Herbes de Provence
Preparation:
Cook onion and garlic until soft add other ingredients cook for 30 minutes.

Cleaning Recipes

Natural Lavender Cleaner – 1 cup vinegar, 2 cups water and 20-25 drops of lavender oil

Natural Fabric Softener – 1 pint vinegar, ~10 drops of lavender oil. Use 1/3 cup per load

Bee Sting Comfort – 1and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 to 2 tsp of water, 10 drops of lavender oil, mix into paste and apply for ~10 – 15 minutes

HOPE HILL LAVENDER FARM GRANOLA MAKING INFORMATION

4 cups of old fashioned oats
1 cup unsalted almonds slivered or sliced
1 cup unsweetened coconut
2 tsp culinary lavender
½ tsp coarse sea salt

Mix all these ingredients together
In a separate bowl mix 1 cup honey or shagbark syrup with 2 tsp lavender extract
The stir wet ingredients into dry and spread on greased or parchment paper covered cooking sheet
Bake for 10 min at 325 then stir bake another 10 min at 325 decrease temp to 200 and bake another 10 min, cool completely before putting into containers
Can add dried cranberries, blueberries…whatever you like
Lavender Extract – ½ cup culinary lavender to 1-pint vodka ~ 2-4 weeks and then strain flowers off & use

Lavender Pumpkin Bread

15 oz can pumpkin, or create your own puree with roasted neck pumpkin
1 cup sugar (I used HHLF lavender sugar)
1/4 cup honey
1 cup plain yogurt (I used coconut milk yogurt)
2 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp culinary lavender
1 cup dired cranberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350, In large mixing bowl, beat together pumpkin, sugar, honey and yogurt. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda. Add pumpkin mixture to dry mixture and mix until combined. Stir in cranberries, pour into greased pans, then sprinkle lavender buds on top of loaves, mortar/pestle lavender first. I used mini loaf pans X 4 loaves for this recipe, baked for 25 min. 9x5x3 loaf pan can be used bake for 50-60 min. Cool on wire rack for 10 min and remove from pan.

Lavender & White Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

INGREDIENTS
3 ½ cup Quick Oats
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup lavender sugar
1 tsp culinary lavender
2/3 cup butter
½ cup raw honey
1 tsp lavender extract
¾ cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Lightly grease 9 X 13 baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients. Microwave butter, then add honey and extract mix until combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry, mix well. Add in chips and cranberries mix. Press into prepared cookie sheet bake for 18-22 minutes or until edges light brown. Let cool, cut into bars.

Lavender Simple Syrup/Lavender Lemonade

Simple Syrup instructions:

Mix 1 and ½ cup sugar in 1 and ½ cup water in saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add 1 and ½ tblsp crushed lavender (mortar/pestle a little). Steep ~20 minutes.

Lavender Lemonade instructions:

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (~8 lemons needed)

1 and ½ cup lavender simple syrup (recipe above)

6 cups water

Mix and serve over ice. Yum!