A Birthday Treat – Honey Lavender + Cashew Milk Magic Latte

This weekend on our labor day trip out west, we picked up some delicious peaches in Palisade, CO.  The peach guy also had dried lavender for sale. So, of course, we purchased a couple bunches of those too. All week long, I have been dreaming of what to do with the lavender.

I don’t know what it is with me and lavender, maybe my mom bathed me with lavender for my first year of life or something…. but on September 7th the last two years, it has called my name, beckoning me into the kitchen to make some delicious birthday treat.

Last year, I made this dark chocolate lavender cake with earl gray mascarpone cream. I told Heath that’s what I wanted to do for my birthday, is bake my own birthday cake, then eat it, then share it with friends. So that’s what we did. I am not a baker, but I loved every minute in the kitchen with him making this cake. I think I was so attracted to it because it looked so fancy and beautiful in the pictures and it had literally all my favorite things combined in one cake! Lavender, tea, + dark chocolate. Although not as pretty as Local Milk’s pictures, it was one of the best cakes I have ever tasted. And absolutely worth the time spent in the kitchen.

This year, I didn’t have the energy to bake a birthday cake. We have been busy and are going into a busy season so we also just didn’t have the time. Instead, I came up with this lavender honey latte recipe. It was so fun to make, perfectly floral & sweet, and lasted all of 5 seconds in my cup (oops!).

The inspiration for the latte came from a couple places. Mckel Hill, in her Nutrition Stripped cookbook, has a recipe for a lavender vanilla syrup which she puts into a nut milk to make lavender vanilla almond milk. Also, sometime recently I saw a post on instagram of a latte made with straight cashews, honey, and coffee instead of a pre made almond or cashew milk. I thought it was brilliant and have been experimenting with it since I saw the post.

Although I love making plant based milk in my blender and having them for the week for smoothies or lattes, I just have been too lazy, or busy, not sure which one — to make any. So the trick is… you just place the raw cashews right into the blender, mix it with your coffee and it becomes a frothy dairy free latte! amazing right????? I even tried this trick with my smoothies lately and it has worked like a charm!

Jubilee Coffee, here in Denver has a honey lavender latte and I have also had a really yummy one at the Stanley Marketplace. Honestly, this latte tasted just as great! But less $$$ and made in the comfort of my pajamas.

So without further ado, here is my Honey Lavender Latte with Magic Cashew Milk recipe.

You will need: 2 tbsp Dried lavender buds, 1/4 to 1/2 cup raw cashews, 8-16 ounces of brewed coffee, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup water.

Things that made mine extra special: we used our pastor Brian’s honey from his backyard honeybees. Coffee from Leadville, CO and Lavender from Palisade, CO. Leadville is the place where we were engaged, so not only is this latte flavorful and used with local ingredients, but it has the warm fuzzy component of memories infused in it too 🙂

To make the lavender syrup:
1. First, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a saucepan.

2. After the water has come to a boil,  add 2 Tbsp lavender buds, and 1/2 cup honey. Reduce the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes (or until thickened).

3. After the mixture has thickened, let it cool for 20 minutes.

5. Strain the mixture so you are left with a syrup free of lavender buds (but full of lavender flavor!) Strain it into a small container for storage.

To make the latte:

6. Now that you have your syrup, it’s time to make your coffee! This method is up to you! I used a french press, but feel free to use your favorite method of coffee brewing to make 8-16 oz of coffee.

7. Magic Cashew milk time…. place 1/4 cup of raw, unsalted, unroasted cashews into a blender. (use 1/4 cup cashews for 8 oz of coffee, and 1/2 cup for 12-16 oz).

8. Measure 1-2 tbsp of the honey lavender syrup you just prepared. I found that around 1.5 tbsp was a good amount for 12 oz latte. But, I would advise starting with 1 tbsp syrup and adjust to taste after that. I think 1 tbsp works well for 8 oz, 1.5 tbsp for 12 oz and 2 tbsp for 16 oz, but it really depends on how strong you want the lavender taste to be, so adjust to your preference!

9. Now that you have cashews and syrup in the blender, add 8-16 ounces of coffee. Blend on high, and the end result should be a frothy, flavorful, and dairy free latte!!!!!

It is the perfect little treat for a special occasion or a weekend morning. Treat yourself to this beautiful, fun, warm drink! & let me know what you think!  Happy Weekend!