Last month I joined an online recipe swap. This recipe swap is the inspiration of Christianna from Burwell General Store. Christianna sends us (7 participants this time) a new recipe about once a month and asks us to come up with our own “new” version of the recipe. These recipes typically come from an old cookbook she found at an antique store, All-Day Singin’ and Dinner on the Ground. This months challenge was a “Company Time” Lemon Cake.
Lemon Cake
I was super excited about this recipe from the beginning and right away thought about cupcakes with lavender. I’ve been wanting to cook with lavender for a while now and lemon seemed like the perfect combination. I used a Meyer lemon in the recipe because they have a sweater lemon flavor and I added a lemon cream cheese frosting to top it off. If you want to check out all the other recipes just click here.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Level: Medium
Yield: 9 cupcake
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t dried lavender buds, roughly chopped
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
4 T unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 T lemon juice
1 T lemon zest
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
Cream Cheese frosting:
3 T unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 T lemon zest
Fresh lavender buds for garnish
Meyer Lemon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and place cupcake liners in a 12-cup muffin pan. Mix flour, lavender, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, lemon juice, and zest. Beat in one-third of the flour mixture until just combined. Beat in half the buttermilk, followed by another third of the flour, then the remaining buttermilk and flour. Fill cupcake liners about two-thirds of the way up and bake for 24 to 26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
To make the frosting, beat together butter, cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest until smooth. Pipe over cupcakes and garnish with lavender.
Lavender is one of my favorite flavors! Looks great Nay.
Hi! So excited to see your recipe and the photo of the cupcake is so sweet…..with the beautiful lavendar buds. Sounds delish. So glad you joined our fun.
Nay,
So glad you joined the swap! I love how delicate this recipe is in flavor, yet bold with cream cheese. I hope you enjoyed testing and developing, and I look forward to our next swap should you choose to accept!
Wow, I recently learned to love lavender in baked goods and your cupcakes look delicious. That cream cheese frosting looks like the perfect topper for these. I have a sweet treat linky party on my blog that will be going on until this evening and I’d like to invite you to come by and link your cupcakes up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/02/sweets-for-saturday-3.html
If I told you that you are the prettiest Nay in all the Land, may I please have one…or three?
Sara, I would give you all the cupcakes in the word, you just have to call me princess. We can add these cupcakes to your wedding list. I’ll put you down for 4 dozen?
Wow, those look so fantastic. I love an herbaceous component in a desert, and these definitely fit the bill. They also look so pretty and girlie. I’m really happy to be in the swap with you and to have been introduced to your spicy blog.
Cheers
Sabrina
Thank for all the comments everyone. Most comments I’ve ever gotten. Yipee!
what a great cupcake!! just a little bite of sunshine, I have never worked with lavender, I need to try it!
Cheers
Dennis
Nay – hooray for recipe swaps (and farmer’s market committees!) Your cupcakes look great. Now that I know you live so close I may have to invite myself over for one.
Would love it if you stopped by. We’ll have to do some cooking/baking together soon.