Lavender Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting

Published April 17, 2013. Updated December 30, 2018

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

If you have not yet tried lavender cupcakes now is the time. I was hesitant to try these myself, because I’m so used to lavender simply being a scent for candles, body lotion and air fresheners so to mix that with food and make something with lavender seemed somewhat risky. I’m telling you these are unbelievably delicious!

lavender cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting.

I’m so glad I finally made these cupcakes. I just created a basic yellow cupcake and blended in some honey, lavender and whole milk to compliment as well as mellow out the flavors from the lavender.

I read somewhere soaking lavender in milk helps tone down the flavors (and I’d have to agree with this which is why I let the lavender and milk mixture rest while preparing the rest of the ingredients for the cupcakes).

These delicate and dainty cupcakes are perfect paired with the fluffy vanilla bean frosting, it makes them fancy with a gourmet touch. I colored my frosting with some pink and sky blue wilton gel colors (just because that’s what I had on hand), if you have violet and pink that would  work great too.

Also, you may notice that I did garnish the tops of these with the dried lavender, I think I may prefer them more without that and like I said before I would use fresh lavender sprigs just to garnish them for looks (not eating) otherwise I would use white or purple sprinkles. Enjoy!

PS sorry for the shortage of pictures lately, I’m trying to get used to my new camera. It’s a whole new learning experience :).

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

5 from 1 vote

Lavender Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting

Soft and deliciously dainty lavender flavored cupcakes with a sweet, luscious vanilla bean frosting.
Servings: 12
Prep30 minutes
Cook20 minutes
Ready in: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Vanilla Bean Frosting

Instructions

  • FOR THE CUPCAKES: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor combine milk and lavender and pulse about 1 - 1 1/2 minutes until lavender is well chopped, scrapping down inside of processor once during processing. Pour into liquid measuring cup (be sure to scrape out all of milk and lavender from sides and lid), set aside and allow to rest.
  • In a mixing bowl whisk together cake flour, baking powder and salt for 30 seconds, set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, whip butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.
  • Blend in honey. Add eggs one at a time and mix just until combined after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
  • Working in 3 separate batches beginning and ending with flour mixture, add dry ingredients alternating with milk mixture, mixing just until combined after each addition.
  • Fill paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full and bake in preheated oven 19 - 21 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool several minutes in muffin tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
  • Cool completely then frost with Vanilla Bean Frosting. Store in an airtight container.
  • FOR THE FROSTING: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter and vanilla bean seeds on medium-high speed until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scrapping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  • Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Pipe or spread over cupcakes. For best results use the day prepared.

Notes

*I recommend using a salted butter containing no more than 100 mg sodium per 1 Tbsp serving.
Nutrition Facts
Lavender Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting
Amount Per Serving
Calories 451 Calories from Fat 225
% Daily Value*
Fat 25g38%
Saturated Fat 16g100%
Cholesterol 93mg31%
Sodium 136mg6%
Potassium 89mg3%
Carbohydrates 55g18%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 44g49%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 802IU16%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 51mg5%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

Categorized:

Leave a Comment

Rate this recipe




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

72 Comments

  • Jodie Paradis

    Is there a specific reason why the frosting would have to be used the same day that it is made?
    Also, is this a very soft frosting? Wondering how well piping designs would hold up.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      It’s just the fluffiest the days it’s whipped up but you could refrigerate then bring to room temp later and use.

  • Shawn

    if i cant find vanilla beans can i use a vanilla paste instead and if so how much would that be, my sister is getting married in Oct and I need to perfect this before

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      The back of the vanilla bean paste jar should say the equivalent as concentrations can vary, if it doesn’t I’d start with 1 tsp.

  • Linda P

    Can you replace the lavender leaves/flowers with Lavender Essential oil? If so, anyone know how much to use.

    • Linda

      Check DoTerra. There use to be a recipe for Lavender cupcakes using their Lavender EO

  • Cherie

    Can I use lavender flavor (extract) instead of the dried lavender? And how much?
    Thank you!

  • Amanda

    This recipe is wonderful. I’ve made it three times now (and will be starting my fourth time tomorrow) and they are always a HUGE hit, especially with kids, which surprised me. I did start adding some orange zest(about a teaspoon) and I use orange blossom honey when I can find it. I think that the added floral components really bring out the lavender flavor while helping tone down that “soapy” flavor that using lavender can have.

  • Lavender & Vanilla Bean Cupcakes | the quiet baker

    […] once I expanded the search to lavender desserts, these beautiful lavender purple cupcakes caught my eye… not to mention they were topped off with vanilla bean buttercream! Followed […]

  • Lauren

    Hi Jaclyn, I am making these cupcakes for a baby shower this weekend. I found a recipe to make lavender vanilla sugar (Joy the Baker http://joythebaker.com/2010/10/lavender-vanilla-sugar/). Do you think the lavender flavor would be too overwhelming if I substituted the regular granulated sugar with this lavender sugar? Also, if used, should I omit or decrease the vanilla extract since vanilla beans are used in the sugar? Thanks for your help!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Sorry for the late response! I wouldn’t recommend using both the lavender sugar + more lavender it would probably be a bit to much.