Summer Salted Pound Cake with Lavender Lemon Curd

Summer is officially here and the heat is definitely on.

I love the colors of summer...

The flowers, the ocean, the playful mood that the extra shot of sunshine and vitamin D puts us in.

Hanging at the beach, barbeques, family gatherings and hearing all of the kids in the neighborhood playing outside...

and cold frosty things that melt in the summer heat before I can finish them.

And fresh lemons pulled straight off the tree.

Here is a rich and tart dessert that makes a great addition to an afternoon tea or a lovely end to a summer dinner.

Happy summertime!

Enjoy!

For the lemon curd, follow the recipe here and add 1 tablespoon of dried lavender blossoms along with the zest and follow the recipe as directed. Strain the mixture to remove the blossoms and then chill.

Salted Pound Cake

INGREDIENTS
1 pound (4 sticks) butter, plus more for the pans
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more to dust the pans
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, plus a little extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and vanilla together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Pour into greased and floured pans ( I used a jumbo muffin tin which makes 6 cakes and 3 mini loaf pans, but you could use 2 standard loaf pans too), sprinkle tops with a pinch or two of the salt and bake for 45-50 minutes for the mini loaf tins and muffin size and 1-1 1/4 hour for the standard loafs or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Serve slices of pound cake topped with a spoonful of lemon curd and fresh berries.