Lavender Cupcakes with Lemon Filling and a Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

 I've been holding on to some lavender I bought at Seed in the East Village before Christmas.  I had a recipe for cookies, but I just hadn't had the perfect opportunity to make them.  

Today when I was leaving church I concocted a crazy cupcake flavor no doubt swirling around my brain because I've been watching too much Cupcake Wars... 

 Lavender Cupcakes.  Pretty cut and dry. 

 But then I thought about this amazing lemon curd I made in Florida when I was visiting some friends.  mmmm.  Lemon.  But how do I top this prize? A purple cream cheese and honey frosting.  Couldn't have made it better myself... er...

 I pretty much followed the recipe from Yummy Mummy's blog with a few alterations.  

 

 Filled those suckers with some lemon pie filling. (cheaper than curd, but not as yummy... and it doesn't even touch the yummy-ness of homemade lemon curd.  But I knew if I made homemade lemon curd that none of it would make it into the cupcakes.)

 I didn't have lilac honey, but I had a honey bear from the downtown farmers market this summer.  I would trade local honey for specialty store lilac honey any day.  I added a little more powdered sugar because the frosting wasn't quite stiff enough to pipe. 

 They were a hit at the pot luck! (you can see the lilac specks in this picture! yum.)

 I got plenty of tweets about them... And one of my co-workers even said she would serve this at her imaginary cupcake dream shop and call it the Alisa Cupcake. 

In the future I might grind the lilac buds down a little to encorporate the lilac taste into the cupcake a little more.  However, I'm not sure I would want a stronger lilac taste.  They way it was, it just gave you that, "what is that? I think I like it" taste.  

Lemon Filled Lavender Cupcakes (adapted from yummymummykitchen.com)

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup self-rising flour (or substitute all purpose flour + 1.5 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp salt)
• 2 tablespoons milk

• Preheat the oven to 350°F; line a 12 count muffin pan with paper liners.
• Put the sugar and lavender flowers in a food processor. Process briefly to combine.
• Tip the lavender sugar into a bowl with the butter and beat together until pale and fluffy.
• 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.
• 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.                                                                                   

Filling
lemon pie filling
Use a paring knife to remove a "plug" from your cupcakes. Fill hole with lemon filling.

Frosting
1 stick butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1.5 teaspoons honey (available at gourmet food stores and lavender farms)
3 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat butter, cream cheese, and honey together until combined. Beat in sugar until stiff enough.
Frost cupcakes.