Lavender Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting

Published April 17, 2013. Updated December 30, 2018

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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 :).

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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.

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72 Comments

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  • Erika

    Hello. I am making these for a bridal shower this weekend. I need about 24 cupcakes. Do you recommend that I double the recipe or make 2 separate batches? I know sometimes doubling can thrown things off. Thanks :)

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I think they’d be just fine to be doubled since it’s a small batch. I hope everyone loves them!

  • Lynn

    These turned out perfectly for me and they were so delicious! The icing to cupcake ratio was just right as well. I didn’t have vanilla bean so I added a couple tablespoons of honey (along with the vanilla extract) to make it a Honey Vanilla frosting and it was a success. I liked that it made exactly 12 nice sized cupcakes as well. Kudos on the recipe!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe Lynn! Thanks for leaving a review and for the tip!

  • Annie

    these look delicious! can’t wait to make them this week for a coworker’s birthday! i just have to know: how did you get that lovely lavender color for the frosting? red and blue food coloring? what ratio?

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Sorry I don’t remember the ratio at all but yes it was red and blue, I believe more red than blue.

  • jennifer

    These are gorgeous! I look forward to trying them…..possibly for a wedding this summer. Regarding the liners you used in the pics…..these are what they request for the wedding, but all I can find are white. What would I call these & where might I find them online? Thanks so much! Jennifer

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      These actually where a white I believe they were just rather thin. I think they just came out of the pastels of a no name brand. I wish I could tell you exactly, sorry!

  • Shayna Harris

    Hello! I am a HUGE lavendar fan (scent AND food) and am really excited to try this recipe! My question is regarding the butter in the cake recipe. Is that salted or unsalted? I am assuming unsalted but I wanted to make sure. I hope you are having a lovely day and look forward to trying more of your recipes out!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Yeah that would be unsalted in the cupcake portion – sorry I didn’t put that! I hope you love them Shayna!

  • Beth Scheer

    Jaclyn, I can say I’ve had lavender ICE CREAM at an Ice Cream Parlor in New Hope,PA and must say I was amazed with the delicate, yet powerful taste. I was amazed with Violet also and wished at the time I could work on a Cake or candy recipe for those ingredients. But demands of our lives put it on the back burner. I WILL be making these. It has been a long time waiting and glad I didn’t have to do the hard work…LOL. Thank you so much for posting a ” I ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY THAT RECIPE”.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I hope you love them Beth! I would love to try lavender ice cream! Definitely going on my list :).