From cookies to cocktails, lavender is making a comeback in modern kitchens!
Wait – You can eat lavender?
One of the most common exclamations we hear at the farm and farmer’s market when people see our culinary lavender is “You can eat lavender?” The next (obvious) question is “What recipes is it good in?” Lavender (when used correctly) is a lovely, subtle flavor that adds a gourmet touch to otherwise simple recipes. For sweet dishes/baking, it pairs really well with vanilla, chocolate, and lemon.
I’m no food blogger, but I’m happy to share the occasional recipe for the lavender lovers (and lavender curious) out there. In honor of upcoming Valentine’s Day, here’s a simple, delicious lavender chocolate fudge recipe!
Craving lavender fudge, but you don’t have time to make it? We now offer our Lavender Chocolate Fudge online!
Lavender pairs really well with vanilla, chocolate, and lemon in sweet dishes.
Lavender Chocolate Fudge Recipe
INGREDIENTS
16 ounces chocolate chips
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tablespoon dried culinary lavender bud*
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
*Most online recipes call for only 1 tbsp, but I found that to be too subtle to taste. If you’ve never cooked with lavender before, start with 1 tbsp and taste when the chocolate has melted, before you pour into the pan – then increase a little at a time until you get to the flavor you want. Lavender enthusiasts might consider increasing the lavender even more, but I wouldn’t recommend more than 2 tbsp
DIRECTIONS
- Grind the lavender buds finely in a clean coffee grinder or with a mortar & pestle. Make sure there aren’t any full buds left.
- Melt the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a double boiler. Add the butter and lavender, and stir until smooth and melted.
- Pour into a pan lined with wax paper (approximately 9″ x 9″). Cover with Saran Wrap. Chill overnight.
- Cut into 1″ squares. Sprinkle fresh ground lavender or 1-2 whole lavender buds on top to decorate!
- Store in an airtight container. Serve in mini-cupcake or truffle papers, or wrap like “sweets” in twists of waxed paper.
Steps with notes & pictures
Grind the lavender buds finely in a clean coffee grinder or with a mortar & pestle.
Tip: Make sure there aren’t any full buds left. You want the lavender to be fine enough that it mixes evenly (rather than chunks of lavender, which could end up gathering in one piece and missing another entirely.)
Melt the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a double boiler.
As the chocolate begins to melt down, add the butter and lavender. Stir occasionally until smooth and melted. This can take 20-30 minutes.
Tip: Don’t rush this part of the process – you want the mixture to be nice and hot, and there should be *no* remaining clumps of chocolate. If it doesn’t get hot enough, it won’t set right.
Tip: If you’re like me and do not have a double boiler, don’t panic! Just use a small saucepan for the ingredients, and set it in a larger saucepan partially filled with water that you then boil on the stovetop (make sure it rests up on the top, and don’t let any of the water spill into the ingredients).
No time? Only one saucepan? You can also melt things in the microwave! I recommend going in 30 second intervals, so you don’t burn the chocolate.
Pour into a pan lined with wax paper (approximately 9″ x 9″). Cover with Saran Wrap. Chill overnight.
If the fudge doesn’t set, it could be the quality of the chocolate, proportions are off, or the chocolate didn’t get hot enough. But don’t despair! You can always scrape the chocolate back into the pan and heat it up, and try again!
Note: Yes, that is purple saran wrap. My mother’s motto in life is “If it comes in purple, I will buy it.”
Cut into 1″ squares. Sprinkle fresh ground lavender or 1-2 whole lavender buds on top to decorate!
Store in an airtight container.
Serve in mini-cupcake or truffle papers, or wrap like “sweets” in twists of waxed paper.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I considered using an Old Fashioned Fudge recipe as the base, but most of you don’t have a candy thermometer (or an hour for all the steps) so I decided to go with the quicker version. But if you’re an Old Fashioned Fudge kind of person, feel free to experiment with adding some lavender to your favorite recipe. The key with lavender is to start small and either finely grind up or strain out the buds when cooking with liquid – biting into a full lavender bud is rarely delicious.
Also – keep in mind that Lavender White Chocolate Fudge would also be amazing. Let me know in the comments if you’ve come up with any other fun adjustments! (I saw a recipe online that was lavender fudge with salted caramel on top…) Also, let me know what other kinds of recipes you’re interested in (cocktails? scones? savory dishes?) and I’ll plan what to share next!
pssssst – Thanks for reading our blog! Want to try cooking with culinary lavender? Enter code 9UF4K5RZ at checkout for 10% off!