Lavender Cupcakes with Lemon Goat Milk Buttercream

So, these cupcakes were supposed to be a little fancier than they are.  Now, I’m not discrediting my skills.  No no, these cupcakes just as good, if not better, than I expected. It's just that I was looking forward to decorating them in a certain way. I had been watching and reading tutorials on how to make flowers with buttercream. I even spent a whole two dollars on a new tip. Moral of the story: don’t use zest in buttercream when you intend to use a tip with a tiny opening.  It gets all sorts or clogged and the user (read: me) get's all sorts of frustrated.

As luck would have it, I have about 20 other frosting tips littering a drawer in my kitchen.  I pretty much closed my eyes, reached in and felt for one that was not too big and not too small. The Goldilocks of piping tips.

Other than the slight issue with the buttercream, I actually had a blast making these. While I had dabbled in baking with goat butter/milk before, this is the first time all aspects of the cake were goatified.  Is that a word? No? Moving on…

Regardless, even though goat butter is about double the price ($5 for 1 cup) and so far I’ve only been able to track it down at Whole Foods, it really makes a difference.  PEER PRESSURE. Not really, you’re more than welcome to use some unsalted butter but don’t say I didn’t warn you… The combination of the soft lavender with the tang of goat makes a full bouquet of flavors.  And the buttercream? Oh jeeze, if that much sugar didn’t put me into a coma nor make me the size of a blue whale, I would eat it every day. No one wants to see a passed out Katherine the size or a blue whale with a mane of red hair. SCARY.

Lavender Cupcakes

Adapted from Yummy Mummy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
• 1/2 cup goat butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons goat milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F; line a 12 count muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Put the sugar and lavender flowers in a food processor. Process briefly to combine.
3. Tip the lavender sugar into a bowl with the butter and beat together until pale and fluffy.
4. Beat the eggs into the butter mixture, one at a time, then sift in the flour and fold gently. Stir in the milk, then spoon the mixture into the muffin cups.
5. Bake for about 18 minutes until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Lemon Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup goat butter, softened
• 4+ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of one lemon
• Yellow food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. In a clean bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy.  Beat in lemon juice and zest then slowly add in sugar a few tablespoons at a time.  Add more or less sugar depending on desired consistency.