Anyway, the other reason I've been so quiet on the blog front is that I've been very, very busy in the kitchen, testing some new recipes. Specifically, cupcake recipes. And here is the first: Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Frosting.
Discussing lavender as a flavour at work, my boss put it best when she said, "Lavender smells lovely, but it's not the sort of thing you smell and then think, I'd like to eat that." Certainly, food isn't the first thing that the sweet, spicy scent of lavender brings to mind. But a little hint of lavender aroma can be heaven in baked goods, creating a delicacy that dough, bless it, just can't quite achieve. The honey frosting is important as it adds a silky, creamy texture which the cupcakes definitely need, and the floral notes in the honey complement the lavender beautifully.
Practical note: culinary lavender is NOT the same as pot pourri lavender. Don't just go pick some from your Nanna's garden, becuse the lovely fragrant stuff that grows in front yards is full of camphor, which really doesn't taste that great. Culinary lavender (Angustifolia) can be purchased online from lavender farms, or, for a more convenient option, Just Lavender from T2 works beautifully. Never use flowers from a florist or supermarket for cooking - they usually contain toxic pesticides. Lavender is also not suitable for consumption if you are pregnant or lactating - thanks to Van Badham for this tip.
INGREDIENTS:
125g butter, softened
3/4 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup milk
pinch bicarb soda
1 1/2 tbsp lavender
200g butter, softened
4 cups icing sugar
1-2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup milk
red and blue food colouring, OR fresh lavender flowers
METHOD:
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, then flour, milk and lavender. Beat to a smooth batter. Bake in preheated (180 degrees) oven as follows:
For cupcakes (18-24), bake 20-25 mins
In a 20cm round cake tin, bake 55 mins
In a 22cm round cake tin, bake 40 mins
Cake is cooked when golden brown on top and a butter knife comes out clean.
Using electric beaters, cream the butter until it is very pale and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and continue to beat. Add the milk, a little at a time, until the icing is a good consistency (it needs to be firm enough to create a thick layer but not so thick that it breaks the crust off the cake as you spread it on).
FOR CUPCAKES:
Mix the honey in with the icing and spread on cooled cupcakes. To frost cupcakes neatly, get a little frosting on a butter knife and smear it right in the middle of the cupcake. Turn the cupcake around in your hand as you spread the icing out toward the edges of the cake. This way you won't get icing all over the edge of the patty pans, which detracts from the look of the cupcakes considerably - and isn't the adorableness of cupcakes half the fun? Top with a fresh lavender flower to serve.
FOR LARGER CAKES:
Separate about a cup of icing and set aside. Mix honey in with the bigger batch of icing, spread liberally over cake. I love to make two cakes, frost one all over then put the other on top and frost that too, so that when you cut into it there's a lovely oozy layer of frosting sitting decadently in the middle. Also, a tall cake just looks more exciting. Mix blue and red food colouring, a little at a time, into the smaller batch of icing until a good lavender colour has been achieved. Pipe around the base and top of the cake and serve.
Note: This post has been getting more traffic than all the others put together, mostly thanks to a lovely link from Van Badham. If you like this recipe, please check out all the other cupcake posts - and if you really, really like it, why not follow me and catch new cupcake recipes as they come out!
No comments:
Post a Comment