Love Lavender

Towards the end of last September I tried the most delightful blend of tea. I had not been in Holland that long, but was beginning to learn about the Dutch method of serving tea ... If you order a cup of tea here in Holland, the waiter will bring you a cup of hot water and then a lovely box with divisions in it - which looks like it could house childhood trinkets - but actually contains a whole variety of tea, ranging from fruity, to black, green and sometimes even white varieties. At first I had snuffed their fancy assortments, craving the simple home comfort of English Breakfast tea with milk (which they don't serve unless you make a special point of asking). But on this particular September afternoon a wave of spontaneity, or perhaps it was the spirit of interculturation, came over me, as I spied a little pouch containing earl grey tea leaves and lavender buds and I popped it into my hot water...

Well you have to know how this ends, by the post title! I now love love love lavender. Sure the smell had always enchanted me, speaking of sweet dreams and soothing warm tummies (I have a microwavable lavender bag) but wow, the taste. Somehow it's delicate perfumey taste is just so perfect in a cup of tea, but that's not the only kind of cup that lavender finds a niche in.

I have had lavender subconsciously releasing its aroma in mind for months. The scent lessened for a while and I started baking copious amounts of cupcakes for my friends. I began experimenting with various ingredients, the results of which I shall share with you at some point, but then it occurred to me, that Lavender Cupcakes were a concoction waiting to happen. I did a bit of internet surfing and saw that both Nigella Lawson and the Hummingbird Bakery have their own variety. I followed (almost) the Hummingbird recipe and the results are as good, if not better, as that first experimental cup of tea back in September.

I split the lavender cream cheese frosting in two and through half of the mixture, blended in some blueberry jam. My intention was for the purple colour, as I didn't have any food colouring, but the flavour actually works really well.

Quick, go and make your lavender cupcakes... Perfect sweet treat for the summer. You can find a recipe using trusty google and typing in 'lavender cupcakes'.