Lavender-Iced Brownie Cupcakes with Candied Flowers

Lavender-Iced Brownie Cupcakes with Candied Flowers

Happy Mother's Day! You'll want to make the candied flowers the night before so they have time to crystalize properly.

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups + 4 tbsp flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) + 5 tbsp butter

7 oz unsweetened chocolate

2 2/3 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Whisk together flour and baking powder.

Melt butter and chocolate together. If using a double boiler, have water simmering and stir periodically; if microwaving, make sure you remove the mixture and stir often to prevent it from burning. When combined and smooth, remove from heat.

Beat in sugar until combined, then eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Reduce speed and beat in flour.

Fill cupcake tins about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes, turn, bake 15 minutes. If the cupcakes are not baked through, continue at 5 minute intervals until a knife stuck in them comes out clean.

Let cool. Makes 24.

Icing:

1/3 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp dried lavender

4-5 cups xxx sugar, sifted

2 tbsp butter, soft

Almond extract

Hazelnut extract

Violet food coloring

Bring milk and lavender to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes. Strain out lavender. Taste the milk. Does it taste like lavender? If yes, whisk in sugar, butter and food coloring and omit extracts.

I'll confess, I basically didn't measure anything that went into this recipe; I tossed in liquids and then added the confectioners' sugar until I got the consistency I wanted for the icing to be spreadable. I also was unable to get the lavender flavor to come out at all, and I had to add in the extracts to keep it from tasting just like confectioners' sugar (which has kind of an unpleasant, chalky-sweet taste on its own). I'm not sure what went wrong, but lavender is a nice taste, so if you get this part to work for you then go for it! Otherwise, either almond or hazelnut (I used both!) are equally tasty.

Candied Flowers:

50 violets, pansies, or other small edible flowers

1 egg white

1 tsp water

Superfine sugar

Make sure your flowers are clean from dirt and have the stems removed. Be careful not to use flowers from an area where you might spray your garden or lawn.

Whisk egg white and water in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush (or paint brush), paint the surface of each flower with egg wash. Sprinkle or dip the flower in sugar, then lay it with the petals spread out on wax paper to sit overnight. A pair of tweezers can be very helpful here.

Not all your flowers need to be full bloom. Some buds can be very pretty!

Frost your cooled cupcakes, then add flowers immediately. Press them very gently into the icing to make them stick. Ta-da!

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.