Lemon Lavender Cupcakes

These Lemon Lavender Cupcakes feature a sunny lemon flavor and a wonderfully light lavender frosting (with real lavender buds!) – you won’t be able to say no to these!

Hello world! I’m back. Again. And I hope you’re as excited as I am for these lemon lavender cupcakes cause let me tell ya, this one’s a keeper!

The weather’s been super wonky here in Brooklyn, NY. We recently had some 70 degree days with rain, but it’s been getting hot and humid lately. How’s a girl supposed to plan a beach day under these conditions?!

On another note, Frank and I booked our Disney/Universal trip for next month! We had a blast last year. It was my first time at both parks and I know this sounds corny, but it was absolutely magical. We have literally not stopped talking about the trip ever since so of course we had to go back! I’m super pumped.

Anyway, let’s move on to something more important.

These cupcakes. They are out of this world good.

First, we start off with my go-to lemon cupcake recipe! Nothing out of the ordinary here; your usual flour, eggs, butter, sugar, etc. And of course, lemon juice and lemon zest. Don’t leave those out. Don’t substitute either for lemon oil or extract; you want the real thing.

The result? Perfectly moist and fluffy cupcakes with a great lemon flavor. I’m sort of obsessed with lemon treats, so I want my lemon bakes to have a nice and strong (but not to the point where it gets too tangy) lemony flavor. You know what I mean? If you do, I’m giving you a virtual high five as you read this.

Next, the frosting. I do have a little confession to make here. I initially wanted to make strawberry lemonade cupcakes, featuring lemon cupcakes and a strawberry frosting. However, my batch of strawberry frosting didn’t turn out so well, so I tabled that and turned to lavender frosting instead. I will perfect the strawberry frosting one day!

This frosting is made with r e a l lavender buds. Culinary lavender buds are not hard to come by and are indispensable IMO; I’ve used them in a few recipes and have been very happy with the results every time. Get them if you can! I’ll hit you with a link of the ones I use below.

You don’t want to be heavy-handed with lavender; 1/4 teaspoon too much and suddenly, your treats taste like soap. Not good. I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of finely chopped buds in this frosting and I think that’s the perfect amount; there’s just a hint of lavender flavor there and it doesn’t tread into soapy territory. Of course, you are welcome to add as much as you like!

I had a great time making these cupcakes and photographing them and I hope you give them a try! As always, feel free to drop a comment below and rate the recipe if you do.

Here are the tools/ingredients I used in this recipe:
1) Microplane zester/grater aka my holy grail zester
2) Farberware 12-cavity muffin pan
2) Culinary lavender buds
3) Ateco 808 piping tip

Lemon Lavender Cupcakes

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• Author: Ann
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 180 minutes
• Yield: 16 cupcakes 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American

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Description

These cupcakes feature a sunny lemon flavor and a wonderfully light lavender frosting (with real lavender buds!) – you won’t be able to say no to these!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Lemon Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (brought to room temperature)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs (brought to room temperature)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• zest and juice from two medium lemons

Lavender Frosting

• 3/4 cups (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (brought to room temperature)
• 3 1/2 cups confectioner’s/powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped culinary lavender buds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon whole milk (if needed)
• 4–5 drops of blue/red food coloring or 1-2 drops of purple food coloring (optional)

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Instructions

Lemon Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 12-cavity muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl using a handmixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together at medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, or until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed until combined. Once combined, add the milk and lemon juice/zest until just combined.
5. Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners, filling each liner about 3/4 of the way up. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Lavender Frosting

1. Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed in a large bowl until creamy.
2. Switch your mixer to low speed and gradually add the powdered sugar and lavender buds. Increase the mixer speed as the ingredients start to combine and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract.
3. Using a piping bag fitted with an Ateco #808 piping tip, pipe the lavender frosting onto the cupcakes. Start from the middle and swirl upward.
4. Extras: You can add up to 4 cups of powdered sugar, depending on your desired consistency. If the frosting is too thick, feel free to add up to a tablespoon of milk. Add food coloring as you like.

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Notes

This recipe makes about 4 dozen mini cupcakes; all you need to do is bake them for around 11-12 minutes!

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cupcake
• Calories: 447
• Sugar: 52.3
• Sodium: 250
• Fat: 20.5
• Saturated Fat: 12.6
• Carbohydrates: 64.9
• Fiber: 0.5
• Protein: 3.2
• Cholesterol: 83

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