Lavender Cupcakes
I’m normally not a ‘cupcake’ sort of person, I prefer ‘proper sliced’ cake. I find cupcakes with their icing a little too twee, childlike and fussy. However, when I came across this recipe from Rukmini Iyer’s ‘The Sweet Roasting Tin’, I couldn’t resist. I adore the flavour of Lavender, I don’t particularly like its aroma in perfumes but when it comes to food I find it hard to say no. The addition of lavender makes these little cupcakes a very grown up affair. They’re beautifully light and floral; perfect for a summers day!.. (…and they can easily be made gluten-free by using gluten-free flour and a little milk)
115g softened unsalted butter
115g caster sugar
2 heaped teaspoons of crushed edible lavender
2 eggs
115g self-raising flour (if using gluten-free you will also need the addition of 40ml milk)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Icing:
200g icing sugar
30ml water
A dash or two of violet food colouring
Sprigs of lavender to decorate
*You will need a muffin cake tin lined with 12 paper cases.
- Whisk the butter and sugar together with the crushed lavender until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Gently fold in the flour and baking powder (plus 40ml of milk if using gluten-free flour).
- Divide the batter between the paper cases.
- Bake in a preheated oven, 180’c fan, for about 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean (they will probably still look pale but they will be iced!). Leave to cool.
- For the icing, mix the sugar and water with a dash of violet food colouring, adding more colour as desired. Ice each cake with 2 teaspoons of icing, placing a lavender sprig or dried lavender buds on each for decoration. Let the icing set completely before serving.
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