Lavender Blueberry Pancakes

With all the talk about Pancake Day coming up and seeing pictures of pancakes in grocery store magazines, I woke up this morning and had to make some.  Having some lovely lavender and fresh blueberries on hand I thought they'd make a great combination and I wasn't wrong! :)

Below, I have shown the ingredients that I used, but you could certainly change a few things if you preferred.  For example, I felt like a more wholesome pancake and used wholemeal flour, but you could replace this with white flour, or even use 1 cup of each.  Also, you could use regular milk instead of the almond milk, and/or replace the creme fraiche with buttermilk or sour cream.  As mentioned, I used a pestle and mortar to crush the lavender, but you could use a food processor or coffee grinder.

Lavender Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups wholemeal flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp dried lavender (gently crushed in a pestle & mortar)
1 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs butter - melted
1-1/4 cups almond milk
200g tub creme fraiche
1 tsp vanilla
200g punnet fresh blueberries


In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, lavender, sugar and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, milk, creme fraiche and vanilla.

Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and gently mix until combined. The mixture will be a bit lumpy. Stir in the blueberries.

Heat a well greased pan and pour in a large spoonful of batter. Cook until little bubbles start appearing on the top, then flip over and cook a couple of minutes on the other side. Remove pancake to a plate and keep warm. Repeat until all the batter is used up.

Serve with lavender honey butter and an extra drizzle of honey, or whatever else takes your fancy.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Lavender Honey Butter

This is a lovely sweet herb butter that could be used in all sorts of different ways.  I especially made it to go with my Lavender Scones.


Ingredients

100g butter - softened
1 tbs lavender buds
1 tsp honey


Just like with my lavender scones, I used a pestle and mortar to grind the lavender buds.

Add the ground lavender and a nice squeeze of honey to the softened butter.  I used a wooden spoon to mix it all together.

When everything is mixed as evenly as you can, spoon the lavender butter onto a piece of cling film and roll into a small log shape.  Wrap and place in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Delicious with Lavender Scones or spread on toast or crumpets!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Lavender Scones

My beautiful daughter recently gave me a bag of organic culinary lavender.  I love lavender, not only for it's fragrance, but also for it's wonderful healing properties.  Among it's many benefits, including being a great stress and pain reliever, it also helps with digestion, upset stomachs and bloating.  These scones are my first attempt at cooking with lavender.

Lavender Scones

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 tbs caster sugar
2 tsp lavender buds
40gm butter - softened
1 cup milk
1/4 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)


First, I used a pestle and mortar to grind the lavender buds.  You could also use a food processor or coffee grinder.

Sift the flour into a large bowl with the sugar and ground lavender.

Rub in the softened butter with your fingertips until completely combined.

Mix the milk and creme fraiche together, then add to the bowl, gently stirring with a blunt knife until the mixture becomes a soft, sticky dough.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth.  Using your hands, carefully press out the dough to approx 2cm thickness. Cut into rounds (approx. 5cm) with a biscuit cutter or the rim of a drinking glass. Place scones onto lightly greased baking sheets, or into a lightly greased cake pan. Gently knead remaining dough scraps together and repeat the pressing and cutting out until it is all used.

Brush the top of the scones with a little milk.

Bake in a hot oven, approx. 220 degrees C, for about 15 mins.

Place the scones onto a wire rack immediately after taking out of the oven.

Delicious with Lavender Honey Butter.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥