Lavender and Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

Make the Cupcakes - Line each cup of a 12-hole muffin tin with a cupcake insert.

Make the Cupcakes - Put all the cake ingredients except the lavender in either a stand mixer or baking bowl, and beat together to create a lovely smooth cake batter. Add the lavender and stir again.

Make the Cupcakes - As carefully as you can, divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake inserts. Using the back of a teaspoon, ever so gently, smooth the surface of the mixture. This is to assist in having evenly sized cakes.

Make the Cupcakes - Pop into the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then take each cake from the tin and leave to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

Prepare the Frosting - Put the butter, the vanilla, and milk in a large bowl. Sift in half the sugar and a few drops of lavender food coloring—only add a little. You can always add more if needed. Beat fiercely with a wooden spoon to create a light, airy cream.

Prepare the Frosting - Continue beating as you add the remaining sugar and a few tablespoons of milk if the mixture becomes too dry.

Prepare the Frosting - Once the cupcakes are cold, it is time to be as artistic as you desire. Using a piping bag, pipe the buttercream onto the cakes in swirls, twists, ribbons, or however you wish. Finish with a sprinkling of culinary lavender. The cakes will only keep for a day when stored in an airtight tin, so best eat them as soon as you can.