IronCupcake_012: Marbled Lavender & Honey Cupcakes

Iron Cupcake:Earth_012
Theme: Herbs
My entry: Marbled Lavender & Honey Cupcakes
Voting begins: Tuesday, July 28 @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Wednesday, August 5 at 12 noon Central.

Another last minute Iron Cupcake entry! Man, I gotta work on completing the Iron Cupcake challenge before the end of the month! Anyway, I made these Tuesday night for wing night. I knew I wanted to use lavender as my herb of choice, but I was worried the flavor would be overpowering. No way! I added some crushed lavender leaves to a basic vanilla cupcake recipe, and I ended up with a delicate, lavender-scented cupcake! To make them even fancier, I divided the batter and colored some of it purple. I swirled it into the white batter to give it a marbled look. Then for the frosting, I made a very simple buttercream with some honey added to it. It was just enough to accent the lavender flavor without overpowering it. These are probably the prissiest, most delicate cupcakes I've ever made. But don't let the dainty appearance fool you because they are DELICIOUS! ;D

Pretty marbled cupcakes... Oh btw, all of you searching for the perfect domed cupcake recipe... I FOUND IT! Marbled Lavender Cupcakes... Want a bite????? ;P

Marbled Lavender Cupcakes (adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes)
Makes 16

1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
2 tablespoons lavender leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Honey Frosting (my own recipe)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Food coloring, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream chopped lavender, butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two addi­tions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.
3. Measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Stir purple food coloring into reserved 1 cup batter.
4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of white and purple batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tes­ter inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes (Mine were done at about 18 minutes). Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
5. To make frosting, combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on low until combined. Increase speed to high and whip for 1 minute.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 5 (mmm... honey!)



Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH
A delicious treat from CIRCLEMONKEY
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES CUPCAKERY will be tossing in sweet surprise.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers