Nigellas Lavendar Cupcakes Recipe

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun cupcake or muffin tin with paper cases. Take butter, eggs and milk out of the fridge in time to make sure they're at room temperature.
2. Put all the ingredients for the cupcakes, except for the milk, into the bowl of a food processor, fitted with a double-bladed knife, and blitz till totally combined. Process again, adding enough milk to make a batter with a smooth, flowing texture, then remove the blade and spoon and scrape the batter equally into the waiting cupcake cases.
3. Bake for about 20 minutes, by which time the sponge should be cooked through and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven, leave for 5 minutes or so, then arrange the cupcakes in their paper cases on a wire rack to cool.
4. Once they're cool, you can get on with the icing. You want the icing to sit thickly on the cupcakes not run off them, and you can aid this by cutting off any risen humps with a sharp knife first, so that each cake is flat-topped.
5. Make the icing and dye the mixture a faint lilac with a spot or two of food colouring.
6. Top each pretty-pale cupcake with a little sprig of lavender before the icing's set dry.