Lavender in your kitchen

sister herb

Official TTI Chef
Lavender? Ok, you can make lavender lemonade or lavender sugar but what else? For example...

At the first few basic tips:

Firstly, there are a few things you need to know before you start cooking with lavender.

One. It is a STRONG flavour. like, obnoxiously strong. So you only ever need a little bit.

Two. When you bake with lavender, you need to purchase dried lavender buds found in the spice section of health food shops or specialty kitchen stores. Just make sure that the lavender you buy is marked as edible, you don't want to be eating the kind made for potpourri.

There is much more to learn about this little beauty, but that's plenty of info to get you started.


Little Honey & Lavender Cakes

IMG_2003.JPG


2/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp dried lavender
185g butter
3 tbs of honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sour cream
1-2 cups icing sugar



1. Preheat the oven to 160C.

2. Beat the butter, sugar, lavender and honey until pale and creamy. While beating, add the eggs and vanilla extract.

3. Sift together the baking powder and the flour and fold into the wet ingredients.

4. Spoon the batter into prepared cupcake tin. I like to use a mini cup cake tin so they are about 2 or 3 bites per cake.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are quite browned. If they aren't quite cooked they will sink in the middle. If that happens, it's okay!




For the Icing:
In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and 1/2 cup of icing sugar. Gradually add more icing sugar until it reaches the consistency that you want. I like to go for a thick glaze, so that it is thick enough to be opaque but thin enough that it doesn't hold its shape.

Garnish with lavender buds or sugar beads.

Source: http://www.petalandpie.com/2012/07/little-honey-lavender-cakes.html#more
 

sister herb

Official TTI Chef
Lavender Chocolate Truffles

LavendarChocolateTruffles-44_ed3.jpg


Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons lavender buds
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 1 1/3 cups dark chocolate pieces (65–70% cocoa), roughly chopped
  • cocoa powder
Instructions
  1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Bring to a simmer the whipping cream - do not let boil.
  3. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the lavender buds and cover. Let steep for 12 minutes.
  4. Strain the whipping cream and toss the buds then whisk in the honey.
  5. Place the chocolate in a medium-size bowl the pour the hot infused honey and lavender milk over the chocolate. Stir vigorously to fully incorporate the chocolate into the milk. This makes a ganache.
  6. Set the ganache aside to chill at room temperature for several hours.
  7. Using a small scoop or melon baller form the ganache into balls.
  8. Place a generous amount of cocoa powder in a shallow bowl. Roll the truffle rounds in the cocoa.
  9. Transfer the cocoa-dusted truffles to the prepared baking sheet. Once you’ve prepared all the truffles, place them in a lidded container. Store in a cool, dry place (but not the refrigerator), and consume within a week.
http://www.cookingonthefrontburners.com/2014/01/lavender-chocolate-truffles.html
 

sister herb

Official TTI Chef
Lavender Simple Syrup

Lavender-Simple-Syrup.png


1 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon dried lavender

1. In a saute pan on high heat, add water, sugar and lavender. Bring to a full boil, then reduce to low for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep an additional 15 minutes.
2. Strain lavender buds out and transfer syrup to a glass bottle with a lid. Refrigerate for up to a month.

You can use it in ice or hot tea, ice or hot coffee, lemonade, fruit drinks or mineral water, baking, over pancakes or yogurt etc.

Source: http://www.yasalamcooking.com/lavender-simple-syrup/#.U7gkXrnyXio
 
Top