Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, ladies and gentlemen! By the end of the night, I ended up 2-3 rows away from the stage and held Edward Sharpe (Alexander’s) hand twice. It was a night that felt like a day dream. They were awesome! 

Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream Frosting.

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
For the cupcakes:


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened


1 cup sugar


2 eggs


2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon baking powder


1/4 teaspoon salt


2 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender buds


2/3 cup cold milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. Stir in the vanilla and food coloring.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Chop the dried lavender buds into fine, small pieces. Stir into the flour mixture.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in the milk.

Scoop batter evenly into lined muffin tins. Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in the tins for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Honey Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature


1/3 cup honey plus

2 TBSP
4-5 cups powdered sugar


milk as needed for thinning out frosting

In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the honey for 2 minutes.  Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar.
Start on low speed on the mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency.
Use milk to thin out frosting to reach desired consistency.

These were probably one of the best cupcakes I ever made or had! Really easy to make, the hardest part was chopping the lavender buds, but that’s not that hard! The lavender was very subtle and it paired deliciously with the honey buttercream frosting. Also, the cupcake batter is really good too, my mom and I couldn’t help but sample it several times.