Lavender Cupcakes With Honey Buttercream
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Lavender Cupcakes With Honey Buttercream
Deliciously fragrant, soft, and fluffy! It’s so fluffy!! Lavender cupcakes with honey buttercream just go together. These cupcakes are the perfect sweet addition to a tea party, baby shower, wedding, celebration, or just because!
If you’re a fan of lavender, then you’ll love these.
We grow lavender in the summer months and I’ve always tried coming up with different ways to use it. We’ve finally found a way for the lavender plants to grow in abundance or maybe we’ve just been lucky. Either way, I started drying my own lavender because why not?
When I pictured a spring or summer cupcake recipe, I immediately thought of our lavender plants.
When it came to pairing lavender cupcakes with frosting, I instantly thought about the little hard working bees who help out our small herb and vegetable patch. Lavender and honey cupcakes sounded like a Pinterest perfect recipe. 🤭
So Do The Cupcakes Taste Like Soap?
Baking with lavender can be tricky because there’s a fine line between fragrant and tasty or eating a bar of soap. A bite of soap sounds a bit unpleasant. I’ve tested this recipe with varying amounts of lavender and settled on 2 teaspoons (3 teaspoons was too soapy for me).
The taste of lavender desserts truly depends on your taste buds and how much lavender you enjoy. I recommend making this recipe exactly as written and adjusting next time if needed. Everyone’s taste buds are different and with something as fragrant as lavender, just keep in mind you may need to adjust the amount.
What Kind Of Lavender Can I Use?
I’ve used the lavender that I’ve dried straight from my garden (no pesticides) and I’ve also tried store bought brands.
Look out for good quality culinary dried lavender buds. Good quality means bright blue or purple colored buds, no leaves or sticks, and they should have a very fresh fragrance. If you have a local spice store I recommend checking them out or a Whole Foods.
How Do You Make Lavender Milk?
Transfering the lavender flavor is easily done by boiling milk over the stove and steeping the dried buds for 15-20 minutes.
Do this at the start of the recipe so that it has a chance to cool down and the hot milk will have soaked up that lavender goodness. By straining the buds, you won’t have any grittiness or dried bits in your cupcakes.
After I stain the lavender milk, I like to add the discarded buds to the compost pile! Sometimes I strain the milk twice just to be sure there’s no bits.
Also – lavender milk can be used in your tea or coffee lattes too, YUM!
Ingredients
Let’s go over what ingredients you need to make the best lavender cupcakes and how they work in this recipe.
- Unsalted butter – make sure it’s room temperature! Butter adds flavor, tenderness, moisture, and contributes to the cupcakes texture.
- Vegetable oil – you can substitute canola oil. This adds moisture and helps create a tender texture.
- Granulated sugar – adds moisture and sweetness
- Eggs – make sure they’re at room temperature! Adds structure, moisture, and a richness.
- All-purpose flour – adds structure and stability.
- Baking powder – adds a lift to your cupcakes.
- Salt – I use kosher salt or table salt. Adds flavor!
- Milk – you can substitute for buttermilk (tangy), whole milk, or a non-dairy milk.
- Dried lavender buds – good quality culinary dried lavender buds. You can substitute with 1/2 teaspoon lavender extract if you don’t have dried lavender buds.
Honey Buttercream
I went back and forth about what frosting I should pair with lavender cupcakes, but I finally decided on honey buttercream. In the summer we grow lavender plants and I thought about all the little bees that hang out around them.
Lavender and honey are a match made for the warm seasons!
This recipe uses my easy American buttercream as a base so although it will crust a little, it won’t be as *crusty* because of the addition of honey. The honey keeps the frosting nice and smooth!
Powdered sugar and honey are both sweet, but the ratio I use doesn’t make it overpowering. Keep in mind, it’s important what honey you use! Every honey is different and I use local honey instead of the store bought which usually has added sugars and water.
Honey Buttercream Ingredients
- Unsalted butter – make sure it’s room temperature!
- Powdered sugar – also known as confectioners sugar
- Honey – the honey you use will change the flavor because honey’s vary! If possible, use local honey which is pure honey, which is not watered down and has no added sugar.
- Vanilla extract – adds lots of warmth and flavor
- Salt – I use kosher salt, or table salt. Adds flavor!
Tips To Make Lavender Cupcakes
- Make sure all of the cold ingredients are at room temperature. When everything is at room temperature, everything mixes together much better and you’ll avoid over mixing.
- Beat the butter for 30 seconds before adding the sugar so it’s smooth and creamy.
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and rotate the muffin pan halfway through the baking time.
- Don’t over bake! For moist and fluffy cupcakes, set the timer for the lower time amount and check by inserting a toothpick into the center. A toothpick shouldn’t have any wet batter on it, a few moist crumbs are OK.
Storing
Cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
RECIPE CARD
Lavender Cupcakes With Honey Buttercream
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand held mixer)
Ingredients
Lavender Milk
- ¾ cup whole milk, or milk of choice (171g)
- 2 tsp dried lavender buds
Lavender Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (180g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (226g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (25g)
Honey Buttercream
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (113g)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (230g)
- ¼ cup honey I use local honey (85g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
Lavender Milk
- Bring the milk to a boil over low-medium heat. Add in the dried lavender buds and let them steep for 15-20 minutes.¾ cup whole milk, or milk of choice, 2 tsp dried lavender buds
- Strain the buds and set the lavender milk aside.
Lavender Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F(175°C). Add cupcake liners to a muffin tin. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp kosher salt
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter on high speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar and whip together on high speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Add the vanilla extract and the eggs and mix on medium speed for 30 seconds. Then add the oil and mix until everything is combined.2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 large eggs, room temperature
- Add half of the dry ingredients and half of the lavender milk and mix on medium speed, then add the remaining amounts. Mix until everything is just combined.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared tin, and fill about ⅔ of the way full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Honey Buttercream
- Using the paddle attachment and a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the butter on high speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on low. Then add the other cup and mix. After all the powdered sugar is all added, scrape down the sides of the bowl.2 cups powdered sugar
- Add the salt, vanilla extract, and honey and whip everything on medium speed for two minutes. Change the speed to low and mix for an additional 5 minutes. (This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups of buttercream frosting.)1 tsp vanilla extract, pinch kosher salt, ¼ cup honey
Assemble
- After the cupcakes have cooled completely, equip a piping bag with the 1M piping tip. Scoop the buttercream into the bag and twist and tie the top.
- Start a swirl from the inside out to create a pretty swirl. Optional: sprinkle a few dried lavender buds. (Note that the dried lavender buds have a strong taste)
- Cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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