Lavender and blackberry fairy cakes with lemon icing

Visual Athletics Club: Gehry Roof, Serpentine, 2008

I remember eating some fairy cakes at Frank Gehry's Serpentine Pavilion a couple of summers ago - three now actually. Amazing how the memory of a flavour combination stays with you quietly remaining in the background until one day you finally get it together and work it out.

So this is my version - blackberry and lavender fairy cakes with lemon icing. Memories are good but the real thing is even better.

Heat the oven to 180 C and prepare a baking tray with twelve fairy cake papers.

100g caster sugar

100g unsalted butter

100g plain flour mixed with +

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of organic lavender

12 blackberries

Unwaxed lemon

2 tablespoons of icing sugar

Cream together the caster sugar + butter until light and fluffy.

Add a spoon full of sifted flour + one egg beat well, add another spoon of flour + second egg - beat well.
Add the vanilla essence + the lightly chopped lavender - mix well.

If the mixture does not drop off your spoon easily add a little bit of milk.

Take a teaspoon of the batter and drop it into each of the papers - smooth down, add a blackberry.

Spoon more mixture on top + smooth down.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 18 minutes.

Remove and leave to cool.

Grate the zest + the juice of half the lemon add to the icing sugar, add more sugar/lemon juice to get required icing consistency.

When cool spoon over cakes - leave to set.

The blackberry and lemon add a wonderful zing to the subtle perfumed flavour of the lavender.

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