SIMPLE LEMON CAKE with a "twist"

I looked to my garden for inspiration & knew I had to do something with my beautiful Peonies. After doing a little research, I discovered that these edible petals were used as a garnish in lemonade. I thought, lemon cake would be close enough & I went to my trusted Martha Stewart site for a lemon cake recipe.

Peony (Paeonia lactiflora) - In China the fallen petals are parboiled and sweetened as a tea-time delicacy.  Peony water was used for drinking in the middle ages. Add peony petals to your summer salad or try floating in punches and lemonades.

I wanted to keep the look of the flower without using the center, so I tried {tried} to recreate the center with something that would be edible.

I sliced the lemon rind & mixed up some powered sugar and lemon juice.

My hope was that the sugar would harden & "hold-up" all of the lemon pieces to replicate the flower's center. {i didn't account for the natural oils in the peel that would continually keep the sugar moist. So, this was only mildly successful}

This was a simple Lemon Tea Cake. Dense and moist, not too sweet, with a strong lemon flavor.

Here is the MARTHA RECIPE:

Lemon Cake

This recipe was also featured on "Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn."
Martha Stewart Living, March 2008 http://www.marthastewart.com/255933/lemon-cake

2.5375

Rated

(24)24

• Yield Serves 8

Ingredients

• • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus more for dusting
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs plus 3 large egg whites
  • Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
  • Borage or other edible flowers, for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan. Line bottom with parchment cut to fit, and butter parchment. Dust with flour, and tap out excess.
2. Combine sour cream, vanilla, zest, and juice. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs and whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream mixture. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture until just combined. Transfer to pan, and smooth top.
4. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then turn out cake onto rack to cool completely. (Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature overnight.) Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar, and arrange flowers on top.