The Flavor and Fragrance of Long Island Lavender
As summer continues across Long Island, fields of fragrant purple sway gently in the breeze while honeybees hum happily from blossom to blossom. The unmistakable scent of lavender fills the air, transporting visitors to the rolling countryside of Provence without ever leaving Suffolk County.
Leading the way is Lavender By the Bay, the island’s premier lavender destination, with breathtaking fields in Calverton and East Marion. Family-owned since 2002, the farm cultivates more than 20 varieties of lavender and has become a summertime tradition for visitors seeking spectacular blooms, culinary lavender, essential oils, honey, and a peaceful escape into nature.
While English lavender is prized for its delicate floral flavor in the kitchen, French lavender is celebrated for its bold fragrance in soaps, candles, sachets, and other handcrafted goods. Both have found a devoted following on Long Island, inspiring local artisans and makers to showcase this beloved herb in creative ways.
Among them is Chef Danielle Sepsy, affectionately known as The Scone Queen, whose Lavender Lemon Scones are every bit as delightful as they sound. Delicately scented with culinary lavender and brightened with fresh lemon, they’re one of those rare treats that linger in your memory long after the last crumb. You’ll find the recipe and many more in her cookbook, The Scone Queen Bakes. Having baked them myself, I can confidently give them a 10 out of 10.
Chef Claudia Fleming is a renowned pastry chef, having won the prestigious James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2000 while at Gramercy Tavern. She cofounded the North Fork Table and Inn in 2006 and published The Last Course (an industry cult favorite among chefs) in 2001. Her Lavender-Lemon Pound Cake -well, if you had a dessert at the North Fork Table and Inn during her reign, you know.
Lavender’s charm doesn’t end in the kitchen. In Smithtown, Katrina Cicero has expanded her creative vision by opening Gab and Gather, a beautiful boutique on Lake Avenue dedicated to handcrafted soaps, candles, gifts, and workshops. Alongside her photography business, Kat and Mouse Photography, Katrina has created this welcoming space where visitors can experience lavender through fragrance, creativity, and hands-on learning.
Whether you spend an afternoon wandering the fragrant fields of the North Fork, discover a handcrafted lavender candle in St. James, or pull a tray of warm lavender-lemon scones from your own oven, there’s no better time to celebrate one of Long Island’s most beautiful and aromatic summer harvests.
Claudia Fleming’s Lavender Lemon Pound Cake
(Adapted from Chef Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course)
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 Tsp dried lavender blossoms
5 large eggs
1 c sugar (I reduced the sugar from 7 oz. to 5 oz. for a more subtle sweetness)
1 1/2 c AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs lemon zest minced (from two lemons)
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Syrup:
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c water
1/4 c lemon juice
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. While the oven is heating up, grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan and set aside. Add the butter and lavender to a small saucepan and melt over a low heat. Remove from the heat and let the lavender infuse into the butter for 10-20 minutes. Heat up again if the butter starts to coagulate and then strain the butter into a small mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a mixer fitted with a whisk, add the eggs and sugar. Beat on high until the mixture has lightened and grown immensely (5-7 minutes). (Expect to see the eggs double in volume!) Remove the bowl from the mixer and set aside.
- Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together. Gently whisk it in stages into the egg and sugar mixture. Add the vanilla and the lemon zest. Add a cup of the batter to the melted butter and gently combine it. Then add the butter mixture to the remaining batter and gently stir. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan and pop in the oven. Cook for 35-40 minutes until brown on top and a knife comes out clean. Set on a rack to cool.
- While the cake is baking, add the water, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan, and warm up just enough for the sugar to dissolve. Remove from the heat.
- As the cake is cooling, poke it all over with a knife and then brush the lemon syrup all over the cake. (Be generous in this step because this is where the lemon flavor and moistness of the cake comes to play.) Let it cool for 10 minutes and then turn the cake out, invert it and brush the bottoms and sides with the syrup. Turn the cake right side up and brush the top with the remaining syrup.
To serve, plate a slice along with a little bit of fresh whipped cream.