Lemon Cupcakes with Lavender Buttercream Frosting
Lemon Cupcakes with Lavender Buttercream Frosting are bursting with the sweet flavors of the season. Soft, lemon cupcakes that are topped with a creamy buttercream frosting with the subtle taste of lavender.
Fact: I like cupcakes.
Correction: I LOVE cupcakes. ❤️ 🧁
When it comes to baking, they are my favorite things to create. They are just fun. Of course, being they are an easy transportable dessert, too, makes them a perfect dessert.
I’m just forewarning you guys now: there may be multiple cupcake recipes on this site. Hope you don’t mind. 😉
Our first cupcake recipe is for another one of my favorites, lemon. These also have the added bonus flavor of a lavender buttercream frosting.
Have you ever baked with lavender before?
A few things to note about lavender:
- Be sure to use culinary lavender. You can also use lavender for candles, soaps, etc. So, be sure it’s the stuff that is safe to eat.
- Don’t go overboard with it. A small amount will give you plenty of flavor.
- If you use dried lavender, be sure to chop it very fine. You don’t want to be eating large pieces of lavender in your dessert!
- For this recipe: I used lavender extract, but, you can use dried culinary lavender in place of it. Use 1 teaspoon (finely chopped!)
- The lavender products I used can be found at the bottom of the recipe card.
Enjoy 🍋
Lemon Lover? Check these Out!
- Mini Lemon Pies
- Lemon Meringue Pie for One
- Lemon Loaf Cake
- Lemon Buttermilk Bars
- Two Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
- Crustless Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce
linking up and weekend potluck
Lemon Cupcakes with Lavender Buttercream Frosting
Lemon Cupcakes with Lavender Buttercream Frosting are bursting with the sweet flavors of the season. Soft, lemon cupcakes that are topped with a creamy buttercream frosting with the subtle taste of lavender.
Ingredients
FOR CUPCAKES:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- dash of salt
- zest from 4 lemons
- 1/2 cup ( 1 stick) butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
FOR FROSTING:
- 3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 tsp lavender extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 TBSP milk
- purple food coloring, optional
- Culinary dried lavender, optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 count muffin pan or line with cupcake liners.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. . Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.. Add in egg and egg whites, then, vanilla and lemon zest. Gradually, add in flour mixture, milk and lemon juice. Alternating between the three. Beat until fully combined.
- Divide batter evenly into pan. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
FOR FROSTING:
- Beat butter until fluffy. Gradually, add in powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Add in lavender extra, food coloring and milk. Adding/subtracting milk to achieve desired consistency. Frost on cooled cupcakes. If desired, garnish with culinary dried lavender before serving.
Notes
- adapted from pioneer woman/how sweet eats
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 293Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 97mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 1gSugar: 49gProtein: 4g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on abiggreenhouse.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate
These are beautiful cupcakes and I am in love with the Lavender Frosting! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
Thank you Miz Helen!
Yum! I had no idea that lavender extract was a thing! These cupcakes look so good. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thank you Sarah!
Absolutely fantastic recipe. Lemon and lavender balance each other and lemon juice in cupcake makes the icing less sweet. Even my mom, who doesn’t like sweet stuff said that it was delicious. Thank you!
Yay! Thanks Svetlana! So glad she liked them.
I made these for my wife last night. The kitchen smelled incredible! Cupcakes were moist and the buttercream was creamy and smooth. I always substitute heavy whipping cream for milk in my buttercreams to make them a little more fluffy. If you’re reading this comment, beware that lavender extract is strong! Stick to the recipe. Thanks again! Definitely a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed them Rich..thanks for letting me know. Love the whipping cream idea for the frosting!
Just a quick question, but when you write 1 1/2 cups flour, do you mean only a 1/2 cup of flour or one and a half cup of flour?
Thanks, sorry but it is my first time really baking!
No worries Angela 🙂 This recipe requires 1 cup, plus, 1/2 cup of flour. Hope you enjoy them!
Do you think I can freeze the cupcakes I frosted for a couple of days? I need to travel with them about 4 hours and thought it would be easier to just frost them once I get there.
Hi Kathy- Yes, freezing the cupcakes will be fine..with or without the frosting. Enjoy!
What am I to do with the lemon zest?
Hi Tish- It’s mixed into the batter in step 3.
I’m going to give these beautiful cupcakes a try, but I don’t see where the zest comes in to play… does it really matter what stage I add it in?! Thank you!
Hi Sarah- Add the zest with the vanilla ( see step 3). Enjoy 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Just made them 🙂 Delicious!! I even used the lavender flowers. Yum
What a lovely idea Katie! So glad you enjoyed them.
Just made these in a mini cupcake tin (made 18 cupcakes) – ended up baking for 15 minutes instead of 20. I was using powdered sugar without cornstarch, so I sifted it before making the frosting to avoid clumps. Otherwise, I followed all the directions as written. These cupcakes came out SO AMAZING. The flavors of lemon and lavender are perfectly balanced. I will definitely be making this recipe again.
I tried this recipe, however, the cupcake came out very heavy. What did I do wrong?
They did have great flavor.
Thank you,
Brad
Hi Brad- Sorry to hear your cupcakes didn’t turn out. I can’t say for sure, but, the batter may of been over mixed? This can give you a dense/heavy cupcakes. If you give them another whirl, let me know how they work out.
How much frosting does this yield? Would it be enough to frost a 2 tier, 8 inch cake?
Hi Storm- This will give you about 1- 1 1/2 cups of frosting. For a a full layer cake,you will probably need a bit more, depending on how much frosting you want to use.
Would this work for a cake or would some changes have to be made?
Thank you for sharing your recipes
Hi Marta- I haven’t tried using this batter for a cake, but, I don’t think it would be a problem doing that. However, I’m not sure what size pan would work best..maybe an 8 or 9 inch square/round? Please let me know how it works out, if you give it a try!
Hi @Erin/Big Green House,
I did try to make a cake. I doubled the recipe to make sure I have enough of batter, but it didn’t rise much. It came out quite flat, but the cupcakes I made (from the leftover batter) came out amazing. Now I know why it’s a recipe for cupcakes 🙂 I am still going to finish up the cake (not going to waste this goodness),and the recipe seems super great for cupcakes, so thank you 🙂
Thanks for the update Marta! Bummer on the cake, but, glad you enjoyed the cupcakes 🙂