Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Frosting

A few years ago I purchased a small lavender plant because I love all things lavender and purple. After planting it in front of our house it grew exponentially over the following years. I would walk pass it on my way to the car or to check the mail and smile at the buds and flowers in the summer time. However, I never really did anything with them, that is, until this year.

While working in the yard a few weeks ago, I pruned my lavender bush of it's flower stems. I tied them together in small bunches and hung them in the closet of my craft room with the hopes that I would find something to use them for.

Then, like it was meant to happen, I ran across this recipe on Jessie's Kitchen-Chronicles and the light bulb went off so bright that it burst! I was having company that weekend and this recipe would be the perfect ending to our meal.

The cake is where the lavender is and the frosting is a delicious honey frosting. In my opinion, 2 1/2 tbsp of lavender was a little too much. Next time I'll just include 1 1/2 tbsp. The smell of these cupcakes filled my whole house! It was delightful! The honey frosting was the perfect pairing for this mini cake and really complimented the lavender nicely.

After dinner we served this with a drizzle of honey on top and with a delicious tea made right here in SC. I talked last year about the Charleston Tea Plantation and how to naturally remove caffeine from tea. I highly recommend serving this cupcake with tea. It goes so well together. Our guest's seemed to enjoy the experience of after dinner tea and dessert and I do believe this recipe will be repeated every year when the lavender gets pruned.

Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Frosting
Recipe from Kitchen Chronicles

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon red and 1 teaspoon blue food coloring*
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender buds
2/3 cup cold milk

For the frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons honey, plus a little extra for drizzle

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. Stir in the vanilla and food coloring.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Chop the dried lavender buds into fine, small pieces. Stir into the flour mixture.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in the milk.

Scoop batter evenly into lined muffin tins. Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in the tins for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing on low, until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract and honey.

Scoop frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip. To create the flower, begin in the center of the cupcake’s surface, and slowly swirl in wider circles. (It might be helpful to practice on a piece of parchment paper first, then you can just add the frosting back to the bowl.) You can also simply spread the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cupcakes with a knife.

Lightly drizzle a little honey on top of the frosting. Enjoy!

*Note: If you prefer a lighter color, just begin with 1/4 teaspoon of the red and blue and continue adding drops of each until you like the color. You can also use purple food coloring if you have it.