Oatflour Banana Cupcakes with Lavender Cashew Cream Icing

These guys were perfect. I'd been experimenting with vegan oatflour cupcakes and muffins for awhile and they kept coming out kinda dry or starchy in the middle. But these fellas, were moist, not gooey or undercooked, and not oily and dripping with grease like the ones you buy from the grocery store. The cashew cream icing sort of adds a symmetry to the inside of these cupcakes. It isn't overly sweet or liquidy. It's just fluffy and ooofffttt.

I made these cupcakes in the dead of night (as is the case with most of my baking experiments). My family has a tendency to get a wee bit overly excited a eat my creations up before I get a chance to take a proper photo. So, I've taken to leaving a note to remind them to restrain themselves. This time it read "Please don't eat us yet! :(" But I also went ahead and took an instax photo just in case.

Okay, one last thing before I get to the actual recipe. Let me just say that lavender is amazing. I'd always found it weird. I would be like "Whut? You're eating a flower? Is that even sanitary?" But oh my goodness it's delicious. Like eating shampoo, but not revolting. I can also personally vouch that you aren't going to get infected with a deadly parasite and rushed off to the ER. Won't happen, I swear. (But I also refuse to be held liable if by some freaky turn of fate it does happen)

This recipe makes 6 mini muffins
You'll need:
1 banana
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoon flax
3/4 cup oatflour (I just make mine out of rolled oats by blending them up into a flour consistency in my food processor)
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup almond milk

Mash up the banana and add the coconut sugar and flax, stir it up to combine. Next add the oatflour, baking powder and salt, mix 'em up again. Finally add the almond milk. Stick the batter into a cupcake pan (don't forget to put them in the little paper cupcake thingies (their name escapes me, GAH)), and bake at 180 C for 15-18 minutes (until a knife or toothpick comes out clean).

For the icing:
You'll need:
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cashews
1 baNANANANA
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons honey or agave
2 lavender flowers (or 1 tablespoon lavender buds)

Add everything to the food processor and whizz it up for ages and ages and ages....for eons really....and pray to your god of choice that it comes out smooth.

Take the cupcakes out of the oven (you didn't forget them in your lumpy icing why-can't-you-just-be-smooth-curse-you-cashews wrath, did you?) and top with your icing (that by now should be smooth, but also contains some blood, sweat and tears). Maybe add a note if it's the middle of the night and your fambam or roommates or the homeless guy down the street who somehow got a key to your house is prone to eating your late night baked goodies.