Lavender Cupcakes? (and gluten free!)

Lavender Cupcake with Goat Cheese Frosting

Both sweet and savory, these cupcakes are infused with fruit and just bit of lavender flowers from my flower garden. Perfect for a bridal shower or tea.

2¼ cups gluten free flour blend
1 ½ t. baking powder

Pinch of sea salt
1-1 ½ T. lavender flowers

2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup of sugar*
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted

¾ cup of rice, soy, or almond milk

1 t. GF vanilla extract

1 cup apples, finely chopped**

Frosting of choice***

Mix dry ingredients together. Fold in the lavender flowers. 

Beat eggs, then beat in the sugar until frothy. Beat the melted butter along with the milk and vanilla extract. Fold in the finely chopped apples.

Pipe or pour the batter into muffin tins that are lined with cupcake liners. bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cupcake.

Makes: Approximately 24 regular sized cupcakes, and 50 mini-cupcakes.

Notes: * I have challenges with sugar, so I used coconut sugar for a lower glycemic index. **Chopped pineapple works just fine in place of the apple, also.

***I used goat cheese (this was VERY good!). I mixed  8 ounces of goat cheese with just a little Greek yogurt and two tablespoons of butter. Add some vanilla and coconut sugar to sweeten it a bit, then  pipe it onto the cupcakes and sprinkle with a few more lavender flowers. :-) Regular cream cheese works fine, too.

This recipe is from my cookbook: "Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free and Wheat Free Cooking. It is available at:   

http://www.celiacdiseaseinfo.org

http://www.amazon.com/Delicious-Cooking-Collection-Celiacs-Sensitive/dp/0615305709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282852260&sr=1-

What do you do with amaranth?

  This summer I grew my first amaranth in our garden. Not only did it grow like a weed, but it was drought tolerant...and beautiful! The small, seed like grain is in the bright burgundy plumes.

Problem is...the finches thought it was pretty special, too. Not sure yet how much we will actually harvest, but best to wait until it frosts, which is probably still a few weeks away here in Northern AZ.

Amaranth can be cooked into porridge, dropped into soups and stews, and popped like popcorn. It can also be ground into a high protein flour for use in gluten free cooking.

Ten Ways to Use Amaranth article...

http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/nutritionmealplanning/a/amaranth.htm