Vanilla Lavender Cupcakes

Vanilla cupcakes are great!
Lavender smells perfect and is super relaxing.
So why not Vanilla Lavender Cupcakes!

I used a homemade from scratch Vanilla Cupcake recipe.
My recipe is only for 6 cupcakes since it's just SFO and myself.
You could easily use a store bought cake mix and add some lavender, but I like the fluffiness of this particular recipe.

*I used REAL dried Lavender that I bought HERE and got four satchels for $7.  
*I mixed the lavender in with my cupcake mix the first batch and it came out quite strong.
*For the redos, I soaked the lavender in the milk and strained out the lavender when it was time to mix in the milk.  PERFECT!

Ingredients for the cupcakes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

6 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the buttercream frosting

4 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 – 3 teaspoons of cream or milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350°.  Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Measure the milk into a small bowl.  Beat the butter and a teaspoon or so of the measured milk into the dry mix with an electric mixer.  The mixture will come together to form pebble sized pieces of batter when it is completely mixed together.  Add the egg and vanilla to the bowl with the milk and whisk them together with a fork so they are just combined.  Add the egg mixture to the flour and butter mixture and beat together for 30 seconds or so, incorporating some air into the batter.

Spoon the batter into your paper-lined cupcake pan, filling about 2/3 of each cup with the mix.  Bake them in the center of your oven for 18 – 20 minutes, taking them out as soon as they are just starting to turn golden, but well before they have browned.  A toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake should come out dry.  When they are done let them cool for at least 10 – 15 minutes before removing them from the pan.  Don’t frost them until they are completely cooled, which usually takes another 30 minutes or more, set in a cool place.

To make the frosting, beat the softened butter, powdered sugar, milk and flavorings together with a hand-held mixer until it is smooth and slightly fluffy.  Add as much or as little food coloring as you want, and either more milk or more powdered sugar to get a consistency that is soft enough to spread, but firm enough that it stays in one place.  Decorate with sprinkles, if you have them.  I use an icing bag to frost mine, but they don’t taste any different if you just spread the frosting on with a knife or spatula.