Can I Use Lavender Instead Of Rosemary For The Remembrance Cake?

Our answer

Nigella's Rosemary Remembrance Cake (from FEAST) is a madeira-style loaf cake that is scented with rosemary and moistened with a home made apple puree. Lavender and rosemary are from the same Lamiaceae family, both are used in cooking and sometimes can be interchanged. We are not sure if you propose to use fresh or dried lavender, but if it is fresh make sure that it has been grown without any pesticides and if dried that it is for culinary use.

Lavender has a more pronounced flavour than rosemary, so you may need to be a little more careful in its use unless you really love the flavour of lavender. You will need to let your own taste be your guide. For the apple puree you can use a short piece of fresh lavender with leaves on, removing it as soon as the apple has softened. For the top of the cake, a stem or two with flowers on could be attractive and will have a less invasive flavour than a whole leafy sprig. If using dried lavender then bear in mind that this can be quite pungent and just use a pinch or two for the apple puree. You may want to sieve out the dried leaves and flowers from the puree so that you don't get these in the finished cake. We don't think that dried lavender would make a particularly good decoration and it would be better to leave the top of the cake plain.