Lavender Cupcakes with Butter Cream Icing

I have been wanting to bake with lavender for quite sometime, but hadn't really had the opportunity. So when my friend Megan offered me some of her stash of dried lavender, I knew exactly what I was going to whip up! It was right around my husband and my birthdays so I decided I would have these instead of a cake (my husband is not really a baker and I didn't want a store-bought cake). 

BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES!

Lavender is perfect for baking. It's not a flavor that a lot of people have had before and the fragrant, floral taste isn't for everyone. Most of the recipes I had seen for lavender cupcakes had paired a cream cheese icing, but I thought a butter cream would let the lavender stand out a bit more. I was not disappointed. Enjoy! 

(I apologize in advance, there is a spot on my camera that I am unable to get off. It's on ALL the pictures, grr..)

Those are carrot cake cupcakes in the back. I'll do a post on those soon.

Lavender Cupcakes
½ cup butter (room temperature)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons dried lavender (I used a pinch more)
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey (I used champagne honey)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cups milk
2 teaspoons Wilton Violet food coloring (add more if you so desire)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, lavender and salt. Set aside. In stand mixer using paddle attachment (or bowl using hand mixer) beat butter until cream (this is why it needs to be room temperature!). Add sugar, honey, and vanilla mixing until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to the stand mixer, and mix until batter is completely combined. Add food coloring slowly until you get to your desired color. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 way full. 

Bake for 16-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

I did not intentionally match my nails to the cupcakes...

Butter cream Icing
2 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
½ cup milk 
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
4-6 cups confectioners' sugar 

Combine butter, milk, salt and vanilla in stand mixer and beat until combined. Add the confectioners' sugar a half a cup at a time, mixing well between each addition. Pipe the butter cream onto cooled cupcakes and add any embellishments. I used fondant flowers from my local kitchen store in the Italian Market.

And finally, a little snapshot from my birthday dinner with Kyle. My present was a fully planned long weekend down the shore, and this was his way of telling me. :-) 

I will definitely be sporting these shades on our trip

xo
Alison