3/19

Lavender and Vanilla Cupcakes

Cake, Desserts, Food, restore, Sweet
By Emma Chapman

Perfect lavender cupcakes!Is it spring yet? I feel like I've asked that almost every post for the past month—guess I'm ready for it. Lately I start with a coat on in the morning and by the end of the day I've ditched the coat and am in just my t-shirt with the windows rolled down. But my car air conditioner doesn't really work. Apparently. Oh well.Vanilla cupcakes with lavender frostingBut why talk about car air conditioners when we could be talking about lavender and vanilla cupcakes? I am a big lavender fan. I've tried my hand at lavender ice cream and marshmallows, so now I'm moving on to frosting. What I love about this frosting recipe is that it's a blend between a more traditional butter cream and a glaze. What I mean is: this frosting oozes. And it's awesome!Lavender and vanilla cupcakesSee? Oozy. It's not your average frosting. I love how it turned out, coupled with the subtle lavender flavor. Yum! But first let's focus on the cupcakes. I tried a new vanilla cake recipe (always trying new ones, it's fun to find new favorites). What I loved about this vanilla cupcake recipe is that they reminded me of sugar cookies. 🙂Sugar cookie cupcakesVanilla cupcake recipeVanilla Cupcakes, adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. Makes one dozen mini cupcakes.

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Cream together the softened butter and sugar, until the mixture looks whipped. Now add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between. Then stir in the vanilla extract. In another bowl whisk together the flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stir to combine. Stir in half of the milk. Then stir in the rest of the flour, then the milk.

Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes, until the edges begin to brown.How to make filled cupcakesLavender Frosting

1 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon lavender buds
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
purple food dye (optional) 

In a pot heat the milk and lavender buds over low/medium heat. Allow them to steep in the milk for 3-4 minutes (or longer if you want a more intense lavender flavor). The milk should become very fragrant. With a fine mesh strainer remove the lavender buds and reserve the milk. Return the milk to the heat and begin whisking in the all the flour. Keep the heat turned to a low medium and whisk until the mixture resembles a liquid (pour able) paste, like gravy. Remove from heat. 

Cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Now add the flour mixture and blend until smooth. If you plan to use food dye add it here. Begin blending in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until you achieve the consistency you want. You may not need all the powdered sugar, or you may use slightly more. It kind of depends on how thick your flour paste turned out. You want the frosting to be nearly solid but still have some ooze to it. 🙂Lavender cupcake recipeUse a sharp knife to cut out inverted pyrimads in each cupcake. This creates a little well for the frosting to sit in.Lavender frosting recipeGarnish with sprinkles. That's a step. It's a must.:) Enjoy these! xo. Emma

P.S. Got a sweet tooth today? Check out: White Chocolate and Nutella Truffles, Mocha Meringue Pie, Sea Salt and Chocolate Chip Cookies, Potato Chip Brownies and Raspberry Filled Cupcakes. Yum!

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