Lavender Lemon Cupcakes are soft vanilla cupcakes flavored with lemon zest and lavender studded with blackberries. They are topped with luscious lemon cream cheese frosting are perfect for any occasion!
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I can’t think of a more perfect cupcake for spring than these fresh and floral Lemon Lavender Cupcakes! They will brighten your day no matter what time of the year you make them!
I discovered how delicious lemon and lavender are together when I made this Lemon Lavender Blackberry Cake. I made this cupcake version because cupcakes are easier to share than layer cakes!
If you’re looking for more lemon treats, try my Lemon Sour Cream Cookies or more this Olive oil Meyer Lemon Tart.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Lemon lavender cupcakes are moist and tender.
- They are flavored with lemon and lavender. Lavender adds the perfect hint of floral flavor just like my these Lemon Lavender Scones! For another floral flavored treat, try my Rosewater Shortbread Cookies!
- Lemon cream cheese frosting is luscious and full of fresh lemon flavor!
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: Use room temperature unsalted butter for the cake and the frosting.
- Lemon zest: Lemon zest adds so much fresh, tangy flavor!
- Eggs- Use 1 and 1/2 large, room temperature eggs. Eggs add structure, flavor, and moisture to these cupcakes. To use 1/2 an egg, mix the egg in a bowl. Pour in half the egg.
- Culinary Lavender- English Lavender is the most common type of lavender used for cooking. You can find culinary lavender online. Locally, you can sometimes find it in farmer’s markets, health food or Middle Eastern stores.
See recipe card below for detailed instructions and a complete list of ingredients.
Instructions
- Combine the flours, baking powder, lavender and salt. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and mix two more minutes.
- Stir in half the dry ingredients with a spatula. Stir in the sour cream (or yogurt) followed by the milk. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Evenly fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full. Stick one blackberry in the center of each cupcake. Bake for 15-19 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Cool completely before frosting.
This homemade lemon cream cheese frosting is so delicious AND so easy!
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the cream cheese on medium until combined. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar, 1/4 tablespoon of the pureed blackberries (milk or cream), lemon zest, vanilla extract and salt. Beat 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add up to a little more blackberry puree or milk until desired consistency. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Since these cupcakes feature lavender AND since we are just days away from spring, I had to pipe the frosting on in a floral style. This was my first attempt at piping hydrangeas and I love how they came out!
You need a star tip and a piping bag. I used my Wilton 1M tip. A Wilton 2D tip can also be used.
Transfer the frosting to the bag and place the tip directly over the cupcake. Apply pressure to the bag as you pull directly up and away. When you release, you’ll make a star/petal-like design.
Pipe around the edge of the cupcake then fill in the middle. Make sure to pipe each “petal” close together so you don’t end up with gaps.
WHAT COLOR SHOULD I MAKE THE FROSTING?
I pureed a few blackberries and added the blackberry puree to the frosting to thin it out and give it that pretty lavender tint. You can definitely use food coloring instead. I prefer blackberry puree since we also have blackberries in the cupcakes.
Expert Tips
- If the product doesn’t say “culinary lavender,” look to see what its recommended uses are. It should say it can be used in tea, baking, cooking, etc.
- I recommend using a microplane to grate the lemons. A microplane has a long, narrow blade with sharp edges. It’s perfect for zesting citrus.
Recipe FAQs
Lavender cupcakes have a taste that’s similar to the way lavender smells. It’s lovely and floral, but can be an overpowering taste if too much is used.
You can make lavender infused syrup or milk from lavender flowers, use lavender extract or use lavender flowers. Since I had already bought some culinary lavender, I use that in this recipe.
Store these cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. I would recommend frosting them right before serving for best flavor.
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Lavender Lemon Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Lavender Lemon Cupcakes
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup almond flour or all purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon culinary lavender
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 ½ large eggs room temperature*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain whole fat yogurt
- ¼ cup milk
- 12 blackberries 1 per cupcake
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 ½ ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 ¾ cups –2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- up to ¾ tablespoon pureed blackberries or milk**
Instructions
Lavender Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake tin with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, lavender and salt. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand held mixer cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg.* Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and mix two more minutes on medium high speed.
- Stir in half the dry ingredients with a spatula. Stir in the sour cream (or yogurt) followed by the milk. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Use a 1/4 cup measure or an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter and evenly fill the liners 3/4 of the way full. Stick one blackberry in the center of each cupcake. Bake for 15-19 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Remove from oven. Cool cupcakes in tin for ten minutes then remove and transfer them to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the cream cheese on medium until combined. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar, 1/4 tablespoon of the pureed blackberries (milk or cream), lemon zest, vanilla extract and salt. Beat 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add up to a little more blackberry puree or milk until desired consistency. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- To frost the cupcakes like hydrangea flowers, use a star tip (I used a Wilton 1M). Start piping along the outer edge of the cupcake and spiral inward.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
*This site contains affiliate links which means that I may receive commissions for purchases made through these links. Please know I only link to products that I use and can recommend based on my experience!
Barbara Ward
Truly the ultimate when it comes to cupcakes