Yield:  18 frosted cupcakes

By: Stephen Andrew Jones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cups butter (1 ½ sticks)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree, usually ½ can
• 3 Tablespoons dried lavender
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Over a double boiler on low, melt the butter. Once melted, add the dried lavender. Let steep about 20 minutes. Pour butter through a sieve. Discard lavender buds (unless you’d like to bake them in the cupcakes). Let cool to at least room temperature. I stick it in the freezer for a few minutes.
2. Combine flour. spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl.
3. In separate bowl or mixer, add butter, pumpkin, sugar, oil., and vanilla extract. If using a stand mixer, use paddle attachment. Once combined, add eggs one at a time.
4. Begin slowly adding dry ingredients, with the mixer on a low setting. Stop mixer every so often to scrape down. The important key to remember during this step is the less you mix the flour, the better. When flour and sugar mix they begin to form gluten. This is exactly what you want while making bread, and exactly what you do not want while baking cakes. Over mixing the flour will result in a tough cake.
5. Once combined, using an ice cream scoop (for consistency), scoop into lined muffin pans.
6. Bake for 15-20minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
7. Let cool completely and frost.

LAVENDER BASIC FROSTING

Makes about 3 cups

• 3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 Tablespoons cream or milk
• 1 Tablespoon lavender
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• For lavender color, optional:
• 1 drop red food coloring
• 1 drop blue food coloring

Directions:

1. Over a double boiler, heat cream and lavender for about 20 minutes. Pass through fine sieve and discard lavender buds. Refrigerate until cold.
2. Mix butter
3. Begin adding powdered sugar. Add until mixture is very thick and fluffy. The exact texture will be determined by your preference.
4. Begin adding cooled lavender cream until mixture is light and fluffy, but thick enough to spread or pipe.
5. Add food coloring to achieve desired shade of lavender.
    

I achieved my shade of lavender by first adding red, to color the mixture a light pink. Then added very conservatively the blue.

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