Lavender is a lovely and underutilized flavour and the pastel colour is perfect for spring. We posted these about a year ago here, but have now retested the recipe and are thrilled to present it again.
Lavender has several culinary complements but I wanted to keep it simple and use berries so I wouldn’t strangle the delicate flower bud with something like ginger. I hoped to get a wonderful purple colour out of my buttercream without the need for food dye and so I arrived at blueberries. Excellent. There are very few times I am 100% satisfied with the results of my culinary adventures. This is one them. These are so lovely.
Lavender Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
Total Time: 45 minutes
1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons food-grade lavender flowers
1/2 cup silken tofu, firm or extra firm
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour (my gluten-free one; use brown rice flour for the rice portion)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 non-dairy stick margarine, softened
1/4 cup Earl Grey tea, brewed and cooled to room temperature (Substitute non-dairy milk, if you prefer)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Add liners to the cupcake tins. In a blender, blend together the non-dairy milk and lavender flowers until no large pieces remain. Add silken tofu, apple cider vinegar and vanilla and blend again. In a large mixing bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together. Using a hand or stand mixer, add the non-dairy margarine and mix until the it looks like wet sand and there are no pieces of margarine visible. Add the blended tofu mixture and Earl Grey tea and mix until fully combined and smooth, about 2 minutes on high. Fill each liner 2/3 full, which is about 2 tablespoons for a regular-sized cupcake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cupcake springs back at your light touch. Let cool on a rack completely before frosting.
Lavender-Blueberry Buttercream
1 cup non-dairy stick margarine, softened
~4 1/2 to 5 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup blueberry puree
1 teaspoon lavender flowers, crushed or blended into blueberry puree
1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk, if needed
Using a hand or a stand mixer, whip the non-dairy stick margarine on high speed for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and half a cup of powdered sugar, beating until combined. Add the blueberry puree and beat again. The blueberry may separate a bit from the frosting at this point, but have no worries it will come together, as long as you add enough powdered sugar. Add the remaining icing sugar in several batches, beating well. Add non-dairy milk, as needed. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.