Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).

Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle (or mixing bowl with a hand mixer or whisk)  until fully combined.

Mix bits of room-temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture becomes crumbly.

Pour in eggs and mix on low until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk and vodka on a low speed. Add in extracts, oil, and gel color if desired and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.

Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part). This guarantees your layers will bake to be the same height.

Bake for 34-37 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.

Once the layers have fully cooled, they can be leveled and any caramelized bits can be trimmed from the sides / top of the cake using a serrated knife if desired. Be sure the layers are completely cooled or chilled before trimming. If you try to trim the layers while they’re still warm, they will crumble apart. (While you’re waiting…make your frosting and cake drizzle!)

Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with vodka until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add extracts and salt if needed and beat until well combined.

Combine ingredients and transfer to a squeeze bottle – use these to infuse your cake layers for a bit of extra lemon drop kick once they’ve cooled!

Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Spread the layer with frosting. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.

Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake tiers to keep crumbs out of your final layer.

Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layers of frosting and smooth with an offset spatula. Don’t stress this part too much if you’re planning to texture the frosting with a cake comb!

Texturing the frosting is fairly straightforward – hold your cake comb against the side of the cake, and press gently while rotating the cake on the turntable. One tip – I made my buttercream too thick on my first attempt, and kept having problems getting the texture smooth. Thinning my frosting just a bit helped. I found I needed to re-smooth the top of the cake just a bit after I was done with the sides.

Set the cake in the freezer to firm up the frosting and get the cake cold to set the drips.

Combine candy melts and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals on 50% power, stirring in between until fully melted and smooth. (I recommend half power because if candy melts are overheated they'll seize and harden.) Allow to cool to a moderate temperature - the mixture should feel only slightly warm but still be liquid.

Transfer mixture to a squeeze bottle or piping bag. A spoon will work; you'll just have a little less control over the drips.

Squeeze about ¼ c of the ganache into the martini glass, and then quickly invert the glass over the cake, pressing the glass into the cake at an angle (check out my video for an extra guide on this step). Slowly drizzle ganache away from the glass, letting it fall down the edge of the cake to create drips. Return cake to the fridge or freezer to set the drips.

Okay! The fun part – decorating!

Pipe a few frosting swirls around the glass – mine had some cake crumbs showing at the back - and add a few spiraled lemon slices and lavender sprigs to the top of the cake. Add a few quartered lemon slices and lavender sprigs around the edge of the cake too, if you’d like.