I judged the Cooking entries of the Lavender Section at the Royal Canberra Show in 2007. Lavender was a new flavour to me and hence an interesting challenge. 
As this is a section designed to show off the properties of Lavender the first thing to do is consider how you want the lavender flavour to be expressed; and secondly how to make the lavender flavour enhance any other flavour that you use. You are likely to have to experiment. It is generally thought that Lavender is a very dominant flavour so start with a subtle (small) amount but remember that everyone’s taste is different.

 In Show work, a Judge’s taste can make a difference to which product wins, as flavour is such an important characteristic. This is why Judges are normally rotated around the Show judging circuit every two years. I enjoyed the strong flavour of Lavender in a pear jam entry but did not like it nearly as much where it needed to compete with strong marmalade flavours. I enjoyed the Lavender flavour against the richness of a chocolate brownie more than against the plainer flavour of a chocolate cake.

When you cook for shows you need to practice until you are proficient.  

FOR CAKES we require an even texture without big holes inside. It should have a lovely mouth feel. You can find sometimes that a cake is too dry. Your cake needs to cook evenly all over and we are looking for a slight raised top without large cracks. Of course burnt bits are a no - no.
 
Accurate measuring and noting exactly how you measured things is the way to make a cake that you can reproduce at will. When I think my cake is about right I time everything very carefully, particularly how long it should be in the oven. The night before the show you will be a little anxious and can worry that the cake is cooked early. It is better to practice and rely on a timer than just to guess. I try to put the cake in as soon as the oven is to the preheated oven temperature. I am careful not to leave the door open very long because this will affect the oven temperature.

 
You then perfect the details.  

For a cake you make sure that outside is very even and attractive. Be careful how you paper or grease and flour your tin. Do not spoil a lovely cake with rack marks. Use a couple of folded tea towels on top of a rack. This will allow the cake to cool without rack marks. Leave the cake face down to cool. Never turn it over onto its bottom on the rack when it is hot. You need the rack so that the cake does not sweat as it cools down.

 
If you are icing your cake make sure that the icing is quite thin and complements the cake. A general rule is to try to have the icing match the cake colour (this can be difficult). Ice the top of the cake only and practice getting just to the sides of the cake and no further. The consistency of the icing needs to be just right so that none falls down the sides. If you have the icing a little dry and there are knife marks then dip your knife in a jug of hot water and smooth out the lines. You need a knife or palate-knife with a plain, flexible edge.

 
With BISCUITS OR SMALL CAKES you need to aim for them all to be of an even size. This can be quite difficult. If you have a choice, start your show career with big cakes.

 For JAM, we want the jar and lid to be very clean. The jam should come half way up the neck of the jar. We look for evenly distributed fruit, but most important of all, a lovely flavour. Even if you put your lids on while the jam is hot to give a nice seal for show work it is a good idea before you submit the jars to look inside the lid to make sure there is no mould growing there. It is such a disappointment to find mould in a lovely jar of jam. The mould disqualifies the entry.

 
I have tried to tell you how to make a good entry for a show but remember the most important thing is to get your first entry in. Do not agonize about it not being good enough. Your next show entry will be better because you have learned something. Learning something is the reason that Shows were invented.

 
And of course, if you sell lavender in any way for a living, a few prize certificates are the best advertising. 

Philida Sturgiss-Hoy

Judge [Country Women’s Association].

 Best Ever Orange Cake with Lavender

 1 whole orange, cut up and seeds removed

1 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1½ cups SR flour

½ tsp dried lavender flowers

 Place orange in a food processor and process until a pulp. Add melted butter or oil, eggs, sugar, flour and lavender. Process on pulse until just combined. 

Bake in a well greased tin for 40 – 50 minutes at 180 degrees C. 

Ice with icing sugar, butter, orange juice and grated zest mixed together. 

Jean Thomson 

Cake :                    2 green apples

                                185g dates, chopped

                                1 tsp bicarbonate soda    

                                1 cup boiling water

                                125g butter (I used Fairy)

                                1 cup sugar

                                2 eggs

                                1 tsp vanilla essence

                                210g plain flour

                                ½ teaspoon salt

                                2 tsp fresh lavender or 1 tsp dried lavender

Topping:              60g butter

                                ½ brown sugar, firmly packed

                                1/3 cup milk

                                1 cup shredded coconut

1. To prepare cake: Peel, core and finely chop apples.  Combine with dates, bicarbonate of soda and boiling water.  Allow to cool to lukewarm.
2. Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg, vanilla and lavender, beat well.
3. Sift flour and salt together and mix into butter mixture alternately with cooled fruit mixture.
4. Line a 20cm square cake tin with non-stick baking paper.  Pour mixture into prepared tin.  Bake in moderate oven (185c) for 1 hour or until it is cooked when tested with a skewer.
5. To prepare topping: Combine butter, brown sugar, milk and coconut in a small saucepan.  Stir over low heat until butter and sugar have melted.  When cake is cooked, spread coconut mixture over top of cake and bake for a further 30 minutes until topping is golden.   

 Peter McMahon

3.2.1. Shortbread

 1½ cups flour

1 cup icing sugar

½ cup butter

Fresh lavender to taste

 Knead with fingertips. Never melt butter. Make at a cool time

Knead on table

Handle as little as possible

 Fiona

Lavender Brownies

Kirrily McArthur

 Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens recipe

 Brownie

250g unsalted butter

200g dark chocolate

380g caster sugar

160g plain flour

A pinch salt

4 eggs whisked

200g chopped pecans (did not use for show)

5-6 DROPS LAVENDER OIL

 Melt butter and chocolate together in pan.

Put all other ingredients together in a bowl, tip in the chocolate and butter and mix, then add lavender oil a few drops at a time. Mix and taste the batter to check the strength of lavender oil, add more if needed

 Bake in a 18cm by 28u cm slice tin lined with baking paper at 180 degrees C for fan forced oven for 30-35 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

60g unsalted butter

60g milk chocolate

¼ cup evaporated milk

400g icing sugar

 Melt butter and chocolate in a pan, remove from heat, add milk, stir then gradually add the icing sugar and stir until reaches a thick consistency that will spread when dollops are dropped on the brownies.

Cut the brownie into squares and place a desert spoon full of frosting on each, let it spread then decorate with a lavender flower. 

LEMON TEA CAKE with Lavender

 125g butter

1 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

Grated zest of 1 lemon

½ cup milk

1½ cups SR flour

2 rounded tsp dried lavender flowers

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and beat well

Add lemon zest and lavender flowers and beat well

 Add milk and sifted flour in two batches and mix well

 Grease and paper line (on base) a 20cm cake tin. Pour in cake mixture. Bake in preheated 18i0 degree C oven for 40 minutes. Check with skewer to test if cake is cooked.

 Remove cake from oven and while hot pour topping over the cake. Allow cake to cool in the tin.

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup caster sugar

Mix well

 Jean Thomson

115gbutter, diced

115g plain dark chocolate, broken into pieces

1 Tbsp golden syrup

150g dark brown sugar

150g caster sugar

4 eggs, beaten

225g self-raising flour

40g cocoa powder

50g white chocolate, cut into small pieces

50g walnut pieces

2 heaped tsp dried lavender flowers 

1.                   Line base and sides of a brownie tin with baking paper

2.                   Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

3.                   Process lavender and caster sugar in a food processor or chop lavender very finely with sharp knife.

4.                   Place butter, dark chocolate and syrup in a saucepan and melt together over gentle heat. Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spoon mixture into tin.

5.                   Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes until it has risen and is firm to the touch and coming away form the sides of the tin. Allow to cool in the tin.

6.                   When cold cut into squares.

Note: Since dark chocolate is rich in taste and contains cocoa butter it is preferable to add slightly more lavender flowers than slightly less as the chocolate taste will mask some of the lavender flavour.

Some of the entries for 2009 Lavender Section Cooking

The Imposé Section always draws a crowd in the pavilion.

 Each contestant receives a Kit at 10.30am. An identical Kit is supplied to all contestants. The total time allowed for this competition is 1 hour (time is given to view the Kit contents and preparation). Each contestant must create an arrangement within the given time. The Arrangement must contain a minimum of 80% of the complete Kit supplied. Every article in the Kit is to be used in the arrangement. The Kit wrapping (packaging) may or may not be used.

Judging is from the front of the arrangement.

Even the Florist’s Section for 2009 featured Lavender in some of the entries.

The really amazing entries from the painted tile Section was a show stopper. Even to the odd comment from proud parents “But you have got a certificated and I didn’t even know that you had entered”.

 Many of the entries in this Section were from Primary and Secondary Schools in the Canberra region.  For the schools the tiles were kindly donated by Classic Tiles (Marrickville, Sydney) and the paints by Chroma Australia and we thank their generosity.