Tuesdays with Dorie: Lemon Loaf with Lavender

Since sharing my love of spring and lemons in my previous post, it’s time for a confession.  While I love fresh lemon in savory dishes, in desserts . . . not so much.  That’s not to say I don’t love lemony sweets.  I just don’t like them to be natural.  That’s right, I confess.  When it comes to lemon desserts, I’m a fan of the processed stuff — that bright, artificial, never existed in real life neon yellow of lemon meringue pies and the Girl Scout’s lemon chalet cookies.  That “natural” lemon flavoring that was invented in a lab and is all yellow dye and chemicals I can’t pronounce.  Yep, that one.  Love it.

And it’s for that reason alone I wasn’t all that excited about this recipe.  I’ve made a few lemon loaf type desserts before and haven’t been too excited by them.

I planned on getting this one out of the way early.  Which turned  into procrastinating.  Which led to “Maybe I’ll just skip this week’s recipe” which finally became “Oh, hell, if I don’t like it, I can always have my husband leave it in the kitchen at work.”  (His office kitchen shares similar properties with piranha-infested rivers in the Amazon.  Mainly that anything left there is pretty much a carcass within an hour.)

So I made it.  And I’m really glad I did.

Normally I don’t tweak the Tuesdays with Dorie recipes.  I’m nervous about my improv skills in the kitchen, and I like to see how the recipe’s supposed to work before making any changes or additions.  For this one, though, I decided to vary it up.  A few years ago I came across a recipe for lavender pound cake.  I’ve yet to make it, but every year when Spring rolls around it pops into my head.  Hmm.  Lemon.  Lavender.  Why not?  I minced up a tablespoon and tossed it in with the sugar.

While mixing the batter, I started to get a bit doubtful.  My kitchen had developed the faint whiff of a L’Occitane store.  And (having had the unforgettable experience of getting my mouth washed out with soap when I was little) it wasn’t exactly making my tastebuds water.  Luckily the finished product did not taste like hand soap.

It’s light.  It’s refreshing.  It’s simple yet elegant.  It will make you want to invite Mr. Darcy over for a cup of tea.  But then again, when would you not want to invite Mr. Darcy over for tea?

Thanks to Truc at Treats and Michelle at The Beauty of Life for hosting this week.  You can check out their blogs for more details on the recipe.