Lavender Cupcakes

lavender cupcakes

The most beautiful lavender season is summer, I know. But I kind of feel that lavender should belong to fall. Maybe its fragrance, its colour, its name. Everything feels so…fall.

lavender cupcakes

I infused the hot milk with the dried lavender before adding it into the cake batter. I find this process crucial in order to have the herb flavor in your cupcake, yet not too overwhelming. Just the way you feel the scent of fall.

Ingredients (12 regular sized or 36 mini cupcakes):
Lavender Infused Cake
2/3 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons dried lavender
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
Lavender Buttercream
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 to 2 drops food coloring gel
1 tablespoon dried lavender

Directions:
To prepare cupcake, heat milk in microwave until just start boiling. Put dried lavender in milk and let it steep for 30 minutes, or until the mixture is at room temperature. Strain the milk to remove the dried lavender. Reserve 3 tablespoons for buttercream frosting.
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin liners.
In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well and set aside.
Add sour cream and vanilla into the milk mixture. Mix well and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix canola oil and sugar on medium-high speed until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add eggs until just blended.
With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the liquid mixture, mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes for regular sized cupcake or 8 to 10 minutes for mini cupcakes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely.
To prepare buttercream, beat butter for a few minutes in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add powdered sugar and turn your mixer on low, beat until the sugar incorporates with the butter. Add vanilla, heavy cream and the reserved lavender infused milk, beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes, or until buttercream becomes light and fluffy. Add food colouring and beat until you get the light purple colour.
Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream and sprinkle with dried lavender before serving.

26 comments

  1. Hi. I just Love Lavendar & I only had a few recipes for it- LavendarTea Cakes & Lavendar Tea Bread. Thanks for sharing This one-I want to make these in the Spring & Summer for Church Fellowship/ Afternoon Teas/ Parties, BBQs etc.They look delicious & have great color!

  2. Quick question – it says 2 teaspoons dried lavender for the cake and 1 tablespoon for the buttercream, when steeping the 2/3 milk for both do I put 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons of dried lavender in together?

    1. Hi Rachel, the one tablespoon dried lavender at the end of the recipe list is for garnish. All you need to make the cupcakes is 2 teaspoons dried lavender and 2/3 cup milk. Once the milk is flavoured, reserve 3 tablespoons for buttercream, and use the rest for the cakes. I apologize for the confusion. Hope I’ve answered your question. :)

  3. Not sure if you’re still getting comments, as this is kind of old, but with the first step, right before the milk boils, I assume you just take it off heat and let it steep? Thanks!

    1. Hi Brandon, yes, when the milk starts boiling, you take it out from the microwave, put in dried lavender and let it steep for 30 minutes. :)

    1. Hi Bree, not 100% sure about all the changes. But I was told by a fellow blogger who do “high altitude baking” all the time because of where he lives. The golden rule, for cake baking, is to increase temperature to 25F higher and use less baking powder. Hope it helps. :)

  4. I am a bit confused, it says to add tea mixture, but in the ingredients it doesn’t mention a tea mixture. What kind of tea mixture is used? is it also infused in with the lavender and milk?

    1. My apology, Allison! I meant milk mixture (lavender-infused milk). Deeply sorry about the confusion.

    1. Hi Sarah, I used a plain round tip to icing the cupcakes. My icing was not stiff, in fact quite soft, and it definitely helped. :)

  5. Have wanted to try making these for awhile as I love lavender. Finally did today – and I must say they are even better than I expected. The idea of infusing the milk with the lavender was brilliant. The lavender taste is subtle but delicious. Thanks for sharing! :)

  6. Hi, just curious, have you used this recipe to make a layered frosted cake? I am looking to make a layered frosted lavender cake and am having trouble finding a good recipe. This looks delicious and I would love to try if you think it would work for a cake?

    1. Hi Kristi, yes it would work perfectly! The recipe can probably make a 5-inch 3-layer cake. If you are looking to make a bigger cake, you may want to double the recipe. If there is too much batter for a cake, you can always use the rest to make muffins/cupcakes and freeze them for future use! :)

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