Strawberry Lavender Muffins: A Little Burst of Sunshine in Your Mouth

I have been looking for ways to use up some of my container of culinary dried lavender and found this muffin recipe in "Fresh at Home: Everyday Vegetarian Cooking" by Ruth Tal Brown and Jennifer Houston. The book, from a popular Toronto vegetarian restaurant and juice bar chain, has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while which is a shame because it is full of some very tasty vegan soup, salad, smoothies and juices, wraps and noodle bowl recipes.

These muffins with their strawberry and lavender pairing sounded wonderful to me and I like the fact that they are made without dairy and eggs. An infusion of alternative milk (I used coconut milk), maple syrup and lavender gives them plenty of flavor. The lavender comes from one of my favorite places, the Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm, located in beautiful upcountry Maui. Upcountry Maui is not only a great place to grow lavender but also fresh Kula strawberries. These muffins are like a little burst of sunshine on the tongue (and the kitchen smells wonderful while they are baking).

The book says, "These Sweets from the Earth Muffins are absolutely divine. Feel free to use any kind of berry you fancy."

Strawberry Lavender Muffins

From "Fresh at Home" by Ruth Tal Brown & Jennifer Houston

(Makes 12 Muffins)

1 1/4 cups vanilla soymilk (I used vanilla coconut milk)

3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 1/2 Tbsp dried lavender

I cup applesauce (unsweetened)

4 cups organic light spelt flour

1/2 cup raw, unrefined sugar (I used Sucanat)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp canola oil

Oil the muffin pans or use paper muffin pan liners.

Heat soymilk, maple syrup and lavender in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover and infuse for 5 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine sieve and add applesauce. Set aside and cool completely.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Add strawberries and toss to coat. Add liquid and oil to dry ingredients. Mix gently just until mixture comes together. Do not overmix.

Scoop into muffin pans. Bake at 350 F. approximately 25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from muffin pans, cool and serve.

Notes/Results: A very tasty muffin--they are very moist and the flavors are well balanced. Having eaten some lavender-infused foods that unfortunately tasted more like potpourri or bath soap--I was happy that the lavender in these is present but not cloying or overpowering. It works very well with the fresh sweet berries and vanilla. I did swap out the vanilla soymilk for vanilla coconut milk because that was what was open in the fridge, and I used sucanat--pure dried sugar cane juice for the sugar but otherwise kept the recipe unchanged. These are lovely for breakfast, or with a cup of tea. I would make them again--I think that they would also be quite wonderful with blackberries.


Happy Saturday.