Spring is almost here, so it's time to pack up the dismal grays and ominous blacks and pull out the pastels. And by pastels, I mean lavender.
Although I may not really wear much of it--it washes me out frankly--I am a big big fan of the pretty flowering plant that helps alleviate anxiety and promote restful sleep. In my house you can currently find seven bars of lavender-scented soap, one bottle of lavender lotion, lavender scented dish detergent and lavender sheet spray. I even have a tiny lavender sachet in my purse that I take a deep whiff of whenever I feel too keyed up. It's cheaper than Paxil and smells like a country meadow.
Inspired by one of my favorite baking blogs, Darjeeling Dreams, I decided to try my hand at baking with the pretty purple flower. The taste is not enjoyed by all; some find it a bit too perfume-y for their tastes. Be that as it may, if these little cupcakes do taste of perfume they are more Quelques Fleurs than Old Spice.
I bought my baking lavender in a little brown bag at the Union Square Greenmarket. Be sure and purchase lavender specifically for cooking and baking. If you all start pouring lavender essential oil in your cupcake batter, I'd feel pretty terrible about it. You can find some dried lavender appropriate for baking here and here.
The recipe I used for lavender cupcakes is posted here at Darjeeling Dreams. Please note that I made regular buttercream frosting with just a bit of crushed lavender and the teensiest sprinkle of sea salt because I didn't have any mascarpone on hand. The recipe here makes a very small batch of miniature cupcakes, so don't be surprised--or get anxious--if you eat them all in one sitting.
YUM! I actually really like lavender, but only every now and then. I've got a shortbread cookie recipe on my blog using lavender, too. I have bookmarked these cupcakes and can't wait to try them this spring!
ReplyDeleteLavendar - how divine! Makes me feel a stone's throw away from the french countryside.
ReplyDeleteWow - I love the smell of lavendar, but have never baked with it ~ I never knew you could!! I'll be keeping my eye out for some lavendar at the farmer markets this spring.
ReplyDeleteI heart Darjeeling Dreams too :) These look divine!
ReplyDeleteHmmm I'm a fan of the lavendar dryer sheets but I've never tasted them so I'm not sure if I like it. But I do love a cupcake. And well, mini anything is ok in my book. Ok, you convinced me. It's going on my list.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found the lavender :) I actually get lavender from San Francisco's Ferry Building Market - its like out equivalent of the Union Square one. And I love the smell of it too, I actually have a bunch in a vase in my bedroom.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so happy to see you tried this recipe. It IS a very small recipe - I usually have my desserts as a late afternoon - tea time - snack rather than after dinner, so they're often pretty small.
I just saw lavender cupcakes made the other day on TV and thought they were so lovely looking...but I've never had them and I wonder if I'd like the taste. I think I'd like it more if I didn't know it was lavender cause I'm sure I'd be expecting it to taste like soap!
ReplyDeleteOh I'm getting a little nostalgic. I used to love shopping at the Union Square Market on occasion. Ahh.
ReplyDeleteLove your spring-inspired lavender cupcakes. I've never used lavender in my cooking and mainly because I don't know how. This is a great start. Thanks for the sharing :-)
Love how lavender has so many different uses from herbal accent to full blown ingredient
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