Lavender Lemon Bars

So my girlfriend Kelly (A.K.A Miss Thang)  is having a baby in a few months and we had a couples shower for her this Saturday evening.  I am usually the "dessert person" and so in true fashion I volunteered to do the dessert for the shower. Kelly really loves peanut butter and chocolate so I made a Devil's Food cupcakes with Peanut Butter Mouse and dunked in chocolate ganache. No big deal. 

 Then I thought I should do something for any freaks non-chocolate lovers.  I personally love anything lavender and one of my other girlfriends Shelby (also about to have a baby) loves lemon so I figured this was a perfect choice.  The recipe says it's Gooey Butter Cake but it turned out like a lemon bar after being refrigerated, so I am calling it a lemon bar.  They turned out really well. Only thing I would do differently next time would be to line the pan with parchment paper so I could lift the entire thing out to cut it neatly.  

Cake:
1 (18 1/4 oz.) package yellow cake mix

1 egg

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
2 teaspoons pulverized culinary lavender (just crush it in your palms as you add it)
Filling:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened 

2 eggs 

2 large lemons, juice and zest
1 teaspoon vanilla 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted 

1 (16 oz.) box powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º F.


Combine the cake mix, egg, butter and lavender and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. 

Crust Mixture. See the flecks of Lavender?

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Add the powdered sugar and mix well.

Lovely Lemons

  Spread mixture over the cake batter and bake until lightly browned on top and set but still jiggly, about 45 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey. 

Filling

 ***I cooked mine an extra 5 minutes. Cook completely on the counter then refrigerate and cut into bars. The filling is pretty sticky so I put mine in individual cupcake papers.  Ta-da!