Pretty Little Lavender Fairy Cakes Cupcakes

This is a recipe that i have adapted to my own tastes, based on nigella lawson's recipe in her forever summer cookbook; she developed this for the lavender trust, a british charity for young women with breast cancer. These delightful little cakes are easy to make and are ideal for gifts, high tea, picnics and parties. I used my own lavender and vanilla sugar recipe: recipe #219416

Steps

Preheat the oven to 200c / gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun tin with paper cases.

Put all the ingredients for the fairy cakes , except for the milk , into the bowl and mix well with a hand held mixer for about 2-3 minutes.

Mix once more , adding enough milk to make a batter with a smooth texture.

Pour the fairy cake batter into the waiting cake cases.

Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes , by which time the sponge should be cooked through and springy to the touch.

Remove from the oven , leave for 5 minutes or so , then arrange the fairy cakes in their paper cases on a wire rack to cool.

Whilst they are cooling , make the icing.

I like this to be pale violet in colour and to run off the cakes slightly - not too thick.

So add the water to the icing sugar and gradually add the food colouring until the desired colour has been reached.

The icing should be fairly loose , but not too runny.

Top each fairy cake with the icing - it does not matter if it drizzles down the sides of the cake ca.

Ingredients

self-raising flour, unsalted butter, vanilla sugar, eggs, milk, icing sugar, warm water, food coloring, lavender flowers