Lemony Eastern Redbud Blossom Cornbread Cake

What a fun way to celebrate spring blooms with a gorgeous, flowery, cake-y lemon-y loaf! I tried this recipe last spring and saved my photos and recipe so that I could share it with you this season since it was tasty and something I'll definitely make again! 

INGREDIENTS; to make the loaf:

• 1 2/3 cup (200g) all-purpose flour  Note: the original recipe recommended sifted, and indicates that you can use an all-purpose gluten free flour if desired.  I used some home-ground Bloody Butcher corn flour from Steph’s home-grown Bloody Butcher corn harvest, and didn’t sift it at all.
• 2/3 cup (100g) ground cornmeal
• 2tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• ½ c honey (the recipe also called for ½ c unrefined cane sugar, but I omitted this entirely)
• 1 cup yogurt or sour cream
• ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 large lemon (about 1 tbsp, reserve rest of lemon for glaze)
• 1 ½ cups redbud blossoms (approximately 60g)

INGREDIENTS; to make the glaze:

• ¾ cup (100g) powdered sugar
• 1 ½ to 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp redbud blossoms
  

INSTRUCTIONS; Baking:

1. Preheat your oven to 350⁰F and grease a 1 lb loaf pan with butter (I used a casserole dish because I didn't have a loaf pan handy; it worked fine, but needed to bake a bit longer).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt – set aside.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs & honey (& sugar if using) until blended. Add the yogurt, butter, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla, whisking until well combined.
4. Using a rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients mixing until just blended. Add the redbud flowers to the batter and gently fold until just incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 60 minutes (start checking around 55 minutes, cover the top with foil if cake is getting too much color) or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
6. Once the cake has cooled, make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar & lemon juice in a small bowl. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and while the glaze is still wet, sprinkle the top of it with your remaining redbud blossoms.
   

This cornbread-style cake makes a lovely treat for a warm spring day, and keeps fairly well, although the blossoms on top will be a little wilted after a day or so. 

The redbud blossom has a light floral flavour similar to a pea blossom. It can be incorporated into any style of cake and can be used for teas, infusions, foraged salads and other fun springtime edibles! 

Want to grow your very own redbud tree? Each year we grow a batch of redbuds and sell them bareroot. You can find them here!