Nov 15 2008
Lemon Lavender Frosting
So as I wrote before, I am in charge of making cupcakes for my friend Amanda’s wedding, and I want to try out several kinds and let her choose. I attempted my first batch this morning, and it was semi-successful.
For the actual cupcake part, I used Magnolia Bakery’s vanilla cupcake recipe. (I found it on FoodNetwork.com). It seemed to have positive reviews across the board, so I gave it a chance, and I have to say, I’m very pleased with it. It was simple and easy to make, and the cupcakes came out moist with a nice crumb. I thought the flavor was very delicate and not overly sweet.
The icing was what gave me problems. I don’t know if the buttercream on Food Network is the actual buttercream that Magnolia Bakery uses, but it’s gross. It was not only cloyingly sweet, but the texture was horrible. It wouldn’t even go through my piping bag, but managed to explode in various places around my kitchen. I tasted one cupcake, and immediately needed a full glass of water due to the sickeningly sweet taste of it.
So here I am, with a ton of unfrosted cupcakes and sucky icing. I knew then and there that a sweet icing wasn’t going to work with the sweet vanilla taste of the cupcakes. I trolled the internet and found a lemon icing recipe, and decided to go with that. However, I’m a lavender freak, and really wanted to incorporate that somehow. I tinkered with the recipe until I found an icing that was tart, refreshing, and just sweet enough. I love it, and my dear husband, his friend, and my best friend also gave their approval.
So here’s what I did:
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of softened butter
3-5 cups of powdered sugar
2-3 tbs of lavender flowers
juice of one lemon
dash of salt
I creamed the butter with the zest, then added half the sugar, lavender flowers and the lemon juice. I mixed that, then added the rest of the sugar and the salt. Easy!!
It made an incredibly spreadable but sturdy icing that was tart and sweet. It balanced out the sweetness of the cupcake very nicely, and it’s pretty with the flecks of zest and lavender. Hope you enjoy!
