*This Dandelion Bundt Cake is made with a generous helping of dandelion petals and tastes like a piece of citrusy, floral, buttery sunshine.
FACT: Dandelions are an entirely edible culinary wonder. From petal to root, all parts can be consumed.
FACT: Commonly seen as weeds, dandelions are highly nutritious and have been used in medicinal applications for centuries.
FACT: A handful of dandelion petals thrown into a bowl of batter baked up into one of my favorite cakes of all time. I honestly didn’t see that coming, but here we are. Dandelion Bundt Cake…my new springtime staple.
This cake is dense and moist, thanks to a combination of mild olive oil and butter.
The dandelion petals give it a subtle floral scent, along with the addition of St Germain, an elderflower liquor. I know it may sound fussy, but I reeeeeally suggest adding in the liquor. It adds a certain magic that just can’t be duplicated with a substitute. If you really want to forgo it, however, you can use milk instead.
Lemon zest and a homemade buttermilk brighten up and enhance all of the floral notes.
I will note that store-bought buttermilk will overpower this recipe, leaving the cake too acidic(tried it!) Stick with the milk and lemon juice version listed below.
I will also note that the St Germain used in the icing is magical and essential.
Yes, you can use lemon juice instead, if you must. But give that elderflower liquor a shot if you can. Did I mention that you should use the elderflower liquor?
K.
Good.
Seeing as dandelions are one of the most common weeds in the world, finding them shouldn’t be much of an issue. I do recommend, however, that you make sure that the dandelions you use have not been sprayed with chemicals.
This cake calls for a gently packed cup of dandelion petals. After washing and shaking the water from the dandelion heads, cut the petals right at the base of the head – don’t worry if you get a bit of the green leaves mixed in, this won’t hurt a thing.
Once baked, the petals strewn throughout the batter develop a floral, slightly vegetal flavor and texture, slightly reminiscent of a zucchini bread or cake.
Take care to not over-bake this cake and it will hold it’s moisture in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
Just enough time to snack away at it all week while you wait for the next batch of dandelions to bloom.
This cake is one to enjoy all spring and summer long!
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More foraged recipes:
Elderflower Lemonade
Lilac-scented Strawberry Shortcake
Lilac Syrup
Dandelion Bundt Cake
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Kayley
Recipe type: dessert
Serves: one 9-10" bundt
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 2¼ cups All-purpose Flour
- 1½ cups Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 3 large Eggs
- ½ cup Olive Oil(use one that's high quality, but mild tasting)
- 1 stick(8 ounces) Butter, melted
- 1¼ cups Whole Milk
- ¼ cup Lemon Juice
- zest of 1 Lemon
- ¼ cup St Germain (elderflower liquor - can use a lemon liquor or milk instead, but highly recommend the St Germain)
- 1 cup Dandelion petals, gently packed(wash dandelion heads, shake dry, and cut off petals at base of head. Ok to have some green attached)
- FOR THE ICING:
- 2 cups Confectioners Sugar
- 2 tablespoons St Germain (can substitute lemon juice)
- Water, as needed
Instructions
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour a 9-10 cup bundt pan and set aside.
- Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
- Place the milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk together. Let sit 5 minutes.
- In another bowl, add the eggs, olive oil, melted butter, lemon zest, St Germain, and milk/lemon juice mixture. Whisk together until well combined and smooth.
- Add the mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.
- Add the dandelion petals and fold in to evenly disperse.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cake cool completely, then invert onto a serving dish.
- FOR THE ICING:
- Place the confectioners sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add the St. Germain and whisk in until smooth - add water as needed to get icing to a thick but pourable consistency.
- Pour the icing over the top of the cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides.
- Top with a sprinkle of dandelion petals.
- Cake will keep covered, at room temperature for about 5 days.
In step 6, there’s milk mentioned twice… But in ingredients just once that I assume is for lemon milk mixture. So, is that meant to be instead of st. Germain or is actually the lemon mix… or am I missing something? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this out.
Just the milk/lemon juice mixture. Updated! Thanks for the heads up, Ali!
Thank you!
Never in my life heard of using dandelion flowers for cake. I am so up for putting them to good use. Your cake looks beautiful and I am so very curious. Going to try this!
Thank you Melinda! Hope you like =)
I took one of those pictures😁
xx =)
Delicious! Plus, picking dandelions kept my son busy for almost an hour!
Thats great! Glad you liked.
Amazed with the use of dandelion flowers for the cake. I am definitely going to try this.
Thanks for the recipe, dear!
Such a fun plant! Hope you like =)
Wow! I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ve never used dandelion in any of my baking/cooking so far and I’m super excited.
Hope you like it!
gorgeous cake and photography! I keep forgetting that Dandelions are edible, thank you for the reminder and for the cake recipe!
I forget too! Thank you Sabrina!