Author Notes: I’m in love with lavender: the plant, the flowers, the fragrance. Lavender is perfect in sachets to perfume wardrobes, but it also add a lovely scent to many dishes. This is why I wanted to make something of my lavender flowers, and this something happens to be cupcakes. I wanted them to be really delicate, somewhat pure, as lavender is, that’s why I used rice flour and buttermilk which make the mixture really soft. Almond flour add a little flavor, too, to this recipe (that could be actually called the “3 flours cupcakes” seeing how many flours are in there), though in a very gentle manner. And the lavender smell that springs from the oven when baking is fairly divine.
As for the topping, I was in the mood for something really sober (no frosting, I mean) so I sprinkled some ground almonds, brown sugar and more lavender flowers for a sweet, crunchy finish. —Rita Banci
Makes: 15
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
-
3.5
ounces wheat flour
-
3.5
ounces rice flour
-
3.5
ounces almond flour
-
4.5
ounces sugar
-
3
teaspoons baking powder
-
120
milliliters buttermilk
-
80
milliliters milk
-
3.5
ounces butter, melted
-
2
eggs, slightly beaten
-
1
tablespoon dried lavender flowers
For the topping
-
brown sugar
-
ground almonds
-
dried lavender flowers
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a bowl sift the three flours and baking soda. Stir in sugar. Mix well and make a well in the center.
- In another bowl combine eggs, buttermilk and milk. Pour the eggs and buttermilk mixture in the flour well. Pour in melted butter, too. Mix with a wooden spoon, but be careful not to stir too much because the cupcake mixture must be rather lumpy.
- Pour mixture into a cupcake mould, filling each slot with a spoonful of mixture (about 3/4 of the whole slot). You can either grease the mould with butter or use paper baking cups.
- Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with brown sugar, ground almonds and lavender flowers.
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes till the core is dry and cupcakes are golden and puffed.