You get more bees with Honey and Lavender CupcakesJ
On a recent trip to Seattle I
discovered the wonderful flavor that is lavender. It was in everything; my tea,
my ice cream and my cupcakes. I was in love with the delicate smell and flavor
of that little purple flower. It was on that trip that I decided that lavender
was an ingredient worth experimenting with and that my first experiment would
be making lavender honey cupcakes inspired by my newly found favorite ice cream
flavor.
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| Great city! |
I realize that this is a recipe
better suited for the welcoming sunshine and flowers of spring, however it took
me a while to find the necessary key ingredient, lavender.
Recipe adapted from Jessie's Kitchen Chronicles
Basic Cupcake Mix (12-15 cupcakes)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon red and 1/2 teaspoon blue food coloring ( color can be
adjusted to your liking)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender buds
from Penzey’s (this amount
creates a very strong lavender flavor so use according to your taste)
2/3 cup cold milk
The Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
(you can also adjust this according to your
taste)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons honey, plus a little extra for drizzle
..and let the magic begin.
1. I think baking is easier and less stressful
when everything you need is measured out and ready to go, your choice. On that
note it is always good to have your oven ready so before you begin to gather
your ingredients preheat the oven to 350 F and line your muffin tins with
cupcake liners. 
2.
Cream the softened butter and sugar together either with a hand mixer or
in the bowl of an electric mixer. Once the ingredients are creamed together add
the eggs one at a time making sure that each egg is beaten into the mixture
before adding the next. So in the famous lyrics of Michael Jackson you’re gonna
“beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it…”
3. Stir in the vanilla and food coloring (real
vanilla extract although pricier tastes much better).
4. Now that the wet ingredients have been combined
it is time to put together the dry ingredients. Stir together the flour, baking
powder and salt. Chop the dried lavender into small pieces and stir into the
flour mixture. I put my lavender in a little bowl and used my herb scissors to
cut the buds up into tiny pieces.
5. Almost
there…J Now combine the flour
mixture with the creamed butter and sugar mixture and stir in the COLD milk.
6. Whatever your method may be, get that batter into
the lined muffin tins and bake for 18-24 minutes (21 minutes worked well for
me). To make sure the cupcake is done insert a toothpick/fork/fondue fork into
the center of the cupcake and if it is finished baking it will come out clean.
Let the little cakes from heaven cool in the tins for 5 to 10 minutes then
remove to cool completely.
7. In the meantime you
can make the frosting by mixing the butter and cream cheese together. Add the
powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix on low. Once the frosting is smooth and
creamy add in the vanilla extract and honey.
8. The frosting is now
ready to complete this delight and how you would like to present the frosting on
the cupcake is up to you, however don’t forget to add that finishing touch and
lightly drizzle a little honey on top of each of the frosted cupcakes.
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| Delish! |
Drink Pick – Coffee, black! It really complimented the sweetness of
these little treats. We like the Finca Suiza, El Salvador from Magpie Coffee Roasters. You can also check them out on Facebook
Music Pick - Phoenix...nuff said:)
Enjoy!
