Naturally Sweetened Meyer Lemon and Olive Oil Cupcake with Lavender Whipped Cream Icing

Pin It

I had originally planned on having a sweet cupcake treat to share with you on Valentines Day.  However, the sniffles took hold of our household and sugar wasn’t the medicine the boys needed.

Now that my family is finally feeling better I wanted to put a bag of Meyer Lemons to use.  I enjoy seeing them during this time of the year.

Small and round, they are tart, yet sweeter than an average lemon.  They’re thought to be a cross between a lemon and either a mandarin or common orange.

It’s where they get their sweetness from.  Wherever they get it, they’re scrumptious and the kids love to eat them raw.

I’ve read that they grow great in pots and if you think as I do…. maybe a new project for this year 😉

With Meyer Lemons in hand, I decided to come up with a naturally sweetened lemon cupcake made with whole wheat flour, raw honey and olive oil.

Pin It

What I loved about these cupcakes is that they turned out to be moist and light. They popped up perfectly in the oven.

I did use freshly ground soft white wheat berries for the flour, so as I usually recommend, if you do not have a grain mill, use an unbleached white flour for the best results.

To compliment them, I whipped up some lavender infused cream.  Yeah… turned out delightful.

I had to hide these from my 3 year old.  

Now that I have a good starting point for naturally sweetened, whole wheat cakes, I wonder what other flavors I can come up with 😉

Naturally Sweetened, Meyer Lemon and Olive Oil Cupcake with Lavender Whipped Cream Icing

Makes a dozen cupcakes

Pin It

Ingredients

For The Cupcakes

• 2 cups, freshly milled, soft white wheat berries. (Substitute, sifted, unbleached all purpose flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup raw honey
• zest of 3 small Meyer lemons
• 1/2 cup Star California, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 tbls juice of Meyer lemons
• 3 tbl heavy cream
• 4 tbls butter, melted

For the Lavendar Whipped Cream Icing

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp loose leaf lavendar
• 3 tbls raw honey
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method:

For the Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 325F degrees

2. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

3. In a double boiler, over medium heat, whisk the eggs, raw honey and lemon zest until warm to the touch.

4. Once warm, transfer to the mixing bowl of a mixer and beat for 3 minutes on medium speed.

5. While the egg mixture is beating, In a small bowl or pourable measuring cup, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and 3 tbls cream.

6. Slowly drizzle the olive oil mixture into the beating egg mixture.

7. Once the 3 minutes has lapsed, sadd the dry flour mixture to the beating mix one tablespoon at a time.

8. Once all of the flour has been added, stop the mixer and stir in any remaining flour on the sides of the bowl.

9. Start up the mixer on medium speed once again and slowly drizzle in the butter until mixed through.

10. Place cupcake liners in a muffin tin and divide the batter evenly into the liners until 3/4 full.

11. Bake for 20-25 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean), making sure to turn the pan halfway through the cooking time.

12. Allow to cool.

For the Lavendar Whipped Cream Topping

1. Bring the cream just to a simmer over medium heat on a stovetop.

2. Turn the heat off, add 2 tsp lavendar loose leaf tea, cover and steep for 5-10 minutes.

3. Strain the cream through a cheesecloth and place in the refrigerator until completely cooled and cold.

4. 15 minutes before making the whipped topping, place your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer.

5. In a small bowl, mix the 3tbls raw honey with 1tsp vanilla extract.

6. When you are ready to make your whipped topping, place the mixing bowl and attachment directly from the freezer onto your mixer.

7. Add the cream and begin to whip on high speed.

8.  After 2-3 minutes, when the cream has firmed up and taken shape, slowly drizzle in the raw honey mixture.

9. Continue to mix until completely whipped, maybe another minute or so (making sure NOT to overwhip the mixture and end up with butter).

To Fill the Cupcakes

1. With a piping bag and star attachment, fill with cold whipped cream.  Make sure to keep the rest of the whipped cream cold in the refrigerator while not using.

2. Place the star tip into the center of each cupcake and fill.

3. With the remaining whipped cream, pipe on top of each cupcake.

This post is sponsored by Star Fine Foods and their new line of California Extra Virgin Olive Oil.