Naked Cake

I’ve been obsessed with naked cakes since last year, you might remember my berry layer sponge cake, which had a naked look.  A couple days ago, I decided to bake another cake with the naked look and fresh flowers. I used the Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake recipe from Cook’s Illustrated book and a lemon and lavender filling.

Lemon-Lavender Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 T butter, softened (1 stick)

1 tsp grated lemon zest

2T lemon juice

1 ½ tsp dried lavender buds. Ground

½ tsp vanilla

2 1/3 cup confectioners sugar

Mix cream cheese, butter and sugar in a food processor or mixer.  Add other ingredients until smooth.

And because I couldn’t resist baking another one, here is how I decorated one more using my new faux bois cake stand,  peach and coral roses.