Honey & lavender cup cakes

Why have plain old chocolate cup cakes when you could treat friends and family to scrummy Fairtrade honey and lavender versions created by Lily Vanilli?

• Preparation: 10 mins
• Cooking: 20 mins
• Serves: 13

What you need:

Vanilla cupcakes:

• 280 g plain flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 113g unsalted butter, softened
• 205g Tate & Lyle fair-trade caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 4 floz whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract

Lily Vanilli lavender honey icing:

• 50g soft butter
• 450g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade icing sugar (approx – depending on the consistency you want to achieve)
• 3fl oz lavender milk (see below)
• 1fl oz double cream
• 1 tsp honey
• Flaked almonds and lavender and edible silver glitter to decorate

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºc.
2. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add caster sugar and beat for 5 minutes until very light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla, beginning and ending with the flour. Be careful not to over mix.
5. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon the batter into cupcake liners - about 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
8. Toast flaked almonds on a baking sheet in a hot oven for approx 5 mins – until lightly browned - and allow to cool.
9. Whisk butter in a metal bowl until smooth, then add 300g icing sugar, milk, honey & double cream. Blend until smooth and slowly add remaining icing sugar until you have the consistency you want.
10. Ice cupcakes and dust with a sprinkling of lavender buds, cooled toasted almonds and silver glitter.
11. For the lavender milk: Measure out around 1.5 times the milk your recipe requires (to allow for evaporation) and add lavender buds at a ratio of 2tbsp buds to 1 cup milk to a small pan. Heat ingredients to a scald stage (just before boiling), then turn off heat and leave to cool completely. Strain the flowers with a sieve and re-measure milk before adding to your recipe.

Handy cook's tip:

Edible glitter is available from cake shops and online baking retailers

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