There is nothing like cake to celebrate a special occasion and Imbolc is no exception. I think this round golden sponge cake is a wonderful addition to any Imbolc Feast! It’s kept gorgeously moist with brushings of lavender and rosemary syrup (between cake layers) but the slight tang of the Mascarpone icing keeps it from being overly sweet. But best of all, it’s filled with all kinds of food magic!
Imbolc is an ancient Celtic/ Gaelic holiday which celebrated the day the sun and fire goddess Brigid (Brigit, Brighid, Bride, Bridgit, Brídey) returned to earth bringing green to the land. I’m not going to delve into the lore of Brigid (and her later incarnation as St. Brigid) but you’ll find plenty of info here. What’s most important to the topic at hand is that Imbolc was the occasion of a great feast, “Brigid’s Feast” Feast of Light” “Feast of Fire” and all kinds of magical cakes were made in her honour. Feasting at Imbolc was all about offering thanks for a fertile crop to come. Round golden cakes symbolised the power of the sun, as did milk, cream, butter, eggs and honey.
Brigid was believed to be a teacher of ‘herbcraft” and so many plants and flowers sacred to her, such as sage, heather, violets, rosemary, angelica and blackberry were often featured in Imbolc foods. Each came with its magical purpose. Sun herbs like rosemary and lavender for example brought their powers of purification, protection and prosperity, which were ritual themes throughout all Imbolc celebrations.
I’m continually inspired by Imbolc lore, and this year to celebrate I’ve come up with this Lavender & Rosemary Seed Cake. I’ve added nettle and poppy seeds to the icing as it was traditional to bake all kinds of seeded bread and buns. These symbolized the growth of new life, so important at this time of new beginnings. (If you can’t find nettle seeds, just use poppy seeds – it will be fine!)
This is the time the earth stirs, preparing to give new life, and it offers us an opportunity to awaken from the quiet of winter and start making plans for the future. Making this cake can be a quiet ritual time, so when you’re creaming, beating and stirring, contemplate the seeds you wish to plant in the coming year. What will you nurture and bring into the world? Bake your intentions into this cake – and then ceremonially eat with friends – or alone! (Magical Baking Tip: stir batter clockwise for good luck and good health and counter-clockwise for banishing bad ju-ju.)
Today Imbolc is interwoven with St. Brigids Day and has been fixed to the dates Feb 1st (Imbolc Eve) and Feb.2nd (Imbolc Day) but it was originally a moveable feast determined by celestial alignments. Originally, Imbolc falls at the halfway point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, so the “true” date fluctuates here and there. But no worries, even if you’re still buried in snow – spring is officially on its way. So consider celebrating the coming of Brigid with a magical cake fit for a goddess – or a saint!
May Brigid’s blessings be with you!
Lavender & Rosemary Seed Cake
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
(Makes two 9-inch cake rounds)
- 4 ounces butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pans
- 1 ½ cups of flour (cake flour ideally), plus more for pans
- 9 largish eggs, room temperature, separated
- 1 ½ cups sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
Pinch of salt
Lavender & Rosemary Syrup
- 1 tablespoon lavender buds ( this is a subtle amount, you can use more if you really like lavender!)
- 3 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 ½ cup of sugar
- 1 cup of water
Mascarpone Icing
- 1 ½ cup mascarpone chilled
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1 cup double cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon nettle seeds (just use additional poppy seeds if you don’t have any)
- ½ tablespoon poppy seeds
- (and a few extra seeds for sprinkling over the finished cake)
Directions
Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper.
- Whisk together egg yolks and one cup of the sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Next beat this egg mixture with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and thick, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla, orange zest and salt.
- In a new bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until stiff, about 2 minutes. Fold one-third of egg whites into yolks, then gently fold in the remaining whites. Sift flour over top and gently start to fold in. When all is folded in, slowly pour in melted butter and fold just enough so that is blended and smooth. Don’t overwork or you’ll let out all your air from egg whites!
- Divide batter among pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in centres comes out clean, about 25 minutes After baking immediately invert the cake and remove parchment, then cool right side up.
- Cut each cake in half through the centre so that you end up having 4 layers of cake. You may have to take off the cake tops if they are too rounded, but it can get tricky, so try just to shave off any obvious bumps.
Lavender & Rosemary Syrup
- Place all your ingredients in a pot. Bring the mixture to a soft boil (not rolling) for 5 minutes. Then turn it down to simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for at least 10 minutes before straining plant material out.
Mascarpone Icing
- Whip chilled mascarpone with icing sugar and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Then add your seeds, double/whipping cream and whip for 2 more minutes until stiff.
Cake Assembly
- To assemble the cake brush each layer generously with a coating of syrup and then just enough mascarpone cream to cover the cake layer. Don’t go crazy – you’ll need enough to ice the top and sides as well!
- Once the cake is assembled, spread icing over the top of the cake. Cover the sides, with the remaining mascarpone cream, then using the edge of a spatula scrape the mascarpone cream off the sides off the cake to reveal the sponge, thus creating the “naked cake” effect.
- Decorate the top with rosemary & lavender sprigs, sprinkle a few additional seeds and a few lavender buds.
P.S. You can find more recipes for Imbolc here.
I am so happy to have found your site!!! I have always been drawn to the style of incorporating flowers in food, however, you are taking it to a grand level. It resembles Victorian tea parties that I like to throw but with food. I especially also liked your recipe for the Dutch Puff Pancake.Thank you for your postings.
So glad! Victorian tea parties are one of my favourite topics! Planning to include a tea party theme for May in the Gather Cookbook! And the Dutch Puff Pancake is also a particular favourite of mine! Yum!
What a beautiful cake! Thank you so much. I look forward to trying my hand at this for Imbolc.
Thank-you and good luck! Happy Imbolc!
wonderful to read of coming Imbolc on a cold January night. Lovely pics, too.
Thank-you! Lovely comment!
I love *everything* about this! 🙂
Wonderful! Thank-you!
My absolute pleasure!
Great read thank you
Thank-you so much!
It looks yummy! I can feel a special flavour from rosemary and lavender seed! The pictures are amazing! Thank you for sharing them and also the recipe!
Love it! Thank-you for appreciating!
What a beautiful cake. Brigid will surely be pleased.
Thank-you so much! 🙂
I love this blog so very much! I linked this recipe in my 6 Simple Ways to Make the Best of Imbolc blog post, as well as your lavender milk tea, because I just think you put so much thought and care into each one of your creations. Well done. Applause all around.
Thank-you so much!
I just made this but changed the syrup from lavender rosemary to chamomile. So far so good, just took the cakes out of the oven and they look perfect! It was a bit of an arm killer whipping the egg whites with no mixer, but I did it 🙂 By the way, you left out the measurement for salt, so I did 1/2 tsp.
Wow! Whipping by hand – that is impressive! Love the idea of chamomile, sounds lovely. Yes 1/2 teaspoon salt is good…though sometimes I do add more!
Looking forward to making this festive and beautiful offering. I’m wondering where you are finding fresh lavender this time of year?
No, it’s not necessary to use fresh lavender buds! Pretty hard to get this time of the year…I just used dried. Rosemary is easy to find here all year long but dried can be used as well. How much to use is up to your taste…try adding a little to start in the syrup and if not flavourful enough for you – just add a bit more. You don’t want to overpower the cake but if your syrup isn’t flavourful enough it will get lost in the cake.
Made this tonight for our Imbolc feast, and it was amazing! It was super moist, flavorful, and the frosting was very rich. It felt like a dessert from a boutique bakery. Thanks for the great recipe!
Wonderful! Glad to know it served you well! 🙂
oh my GOD I think I just found my new favorite blog! My old HP once said I had ‘good food magic’, and I do I think, but you, YOU are so far beyond anything I’d ever come up with. It’s all so beautiful, and honoring, and holy, sacred, something like that. Just wonderful. You’re doing the Lady’s work. 🙂
Oh my goddess THANK YOU! So appreciated. Makes all the long hours worthwhile!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe it’s beautiful and I can’t wait to make it. Do you think it will just as good with Gluten Free flour?
It will certainly be denser and a less “spongey” cake but I think it would still be delicious!
This sounds wonderful! Can I ask is it fresh or dried Lavender needed for the syrup?
You can use either! Just taste as you go to make sure you love the final result!
Question in process: what would happen if the melted butter were incorporated into the yolks/sugar before folding in the whites, then the flour? It seems to me there would be less chance of deflating the whole while being able to thoroughly incorporate the butter… thanks for whatever insight you can offer.
Great idea! Yes – will try, makes sense. Thank-you!
Please let us know if the chemical process works!
What is the standard measurements you use? (:
ie: How many ml per cup?
It differs around the world and I REALLY want to start practicing this recipe and get it right for Imbolc next year! <3
I think its 250 ml per cup, but don’t worry it’s an old folk recipe! Little dash of this, little dash of that – it will turn out! Just add enough milk so your dough is moist but doesn’t get too moist!
Thank you so much for this recipe
And blessed Imbolc
I just wanted to share with you that I completely screwed up on this cake… And it still turned out fantastic!
Oh I saw what it was and a few things that were in it and decided that I was going to make it even though I didn’t have everything and I will just substitute what I could…
In short: I added the large amount of sugar meant for the yolks into the whites and then of course I couldn’t flip them properly… Or at all…
Phe only had a springform pan so I decided to make only two layers with one cake and cut the recipe in half… But I forgot that when I put the sugar in the eggs… Although luckily I did cut the sugar down because my son doesn’t like things very sweet…
So the cake didn’t bake properly and had to make longer, so the outside got a little burnt… And I had to cut the entire Outside off…And of course then ended up with just one layer… Which hi soaked in the simple syrup… The only thing that went well 😏
And was lucky enough to get some of the frosting (with cream cheese cuz i didnt have marcapone)on the top… And I just left the sides the messiness that they were
i sprinkled lavender flowers (i had harvested…& used WAY More thsn 1tsp 😅 in the syrup…cuz i LOVE lavender) on top & served it thinking..this might be horrible..
we were all shocked..it was DELISH..& my don who has never liked any cake besides carrot his whole life (now 21) even liked it
i did say a lil prayer to brigid when whipping my egg mess…
we were all blessed in imbolc…thank u for this cake…i’ll def. try it your way some time 😅
LOL! What a great story. Brigid must have stepped in and saved the day! But it’s hard to go wrong with all the delicious ingredients!
Are the lavender buds fresh or dried or it doesn’t matter pls?
No it doesn’t matter, but remember the dried will be stronger in flavour!