Vanilla Dandelion Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream

This Earth Day, we’re excited to share a fun little dessert we’ve been working on to help highlight early-blooming plants like dandelions, and their importance as a food source for bees.

Honeybees are essential creatures as they are responsible for pollinating many of the food crops produced on the planet. Dandelions, henbit and other common lawn “weeds” are a critical nectar source for honeybees as things begin greening up in spring. On our 8 acre farm, we have an abundance of these and many other beneficial, wild plants since we do not use any herbicides. Mother Nature is allowed to do her thing (after all, you don’t see many monoculture situations out in nature, right?). We prize these plants for their many benefits - to us and the bees - and do not look at them like they’re invaders in need of eradication.

This is a yummy and low-sugar vanilla cupcake recipe on its own, but adding a few tablespoons of dandelion petals make it special and fun. They also provide an opportunity for discussion about dandelions and their many attributes.

Another unique thing about this recipe we’re sharing today is the frosting. Did you know you can make buttercream frosting with honey INSTEAD OF sugar? We experimented with this and are beyond pleased with the results. The frosting is not as stiff as traditional buttercream, but it’s a delicious and refined-sugar-free option. What’s more, when you use our favorite raw honey from Juniper Clay canning company, you can naturally flavor and color the cupcake frosting in one fell swoop. Here we used their Raspberry-Infused Honey and it lended a lovely, natural pink hue (not to mention divine flavor!).

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For the cupcakes |

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup organic, granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature (we use organic, whole milk)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
3 tablespoons dandelion flower petals*

For the frosting |

1/2 cup butter, cold from the fridge
scant 1/2 cup honey

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F. Fill a 12-hole standard muffin tin with silicone or paper liners. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
Add one egg and beat until incorporated. Add the other egg and vanilla and beat again.
Add baking powder, salt, and half the flour and beat on low.
Add roughly half of the milk and beat on low again, then add remaining flour and milk and the dandelion petals and beat on low just until combined.
Fill all 12 cupcake liners evenly with the batter and bake for about twenty minutes, or until a toothpick tests clean.
Remove cupcakes from tin and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, add cold stick of butter and honey to the clean bowl of the stand mixer and beat on high with the paddle attachment until they combine and start to stiffen. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
Spread honey buttercream over the top of the cooled cupcakes as desired. Alternatively, the frosting and be chilled for a few hours so it can firm up enough to be piped on the cupcakes.
If not enjoyed immediately, store cupcakes in refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature to soften slightly before eating, if desired.

NOTES:

When foraging dandelions or any other wild plant, be absolutely sure they have not been treated with pesticides. This includes liquid bug and weed killers as well as granular insecticides and herbicides.

Once you’ve gathered dandelion flowers from a trusted source, wash them under cold water and pat dry. Then, cut petals away from the green base of the flower and use only the yellow petals in your cupcake batter.

Bee pollen makes for a nutritious and colorful natural sprinkle on these!