Lavender cupcakes with Earl Grey icing

Craving a cupcake? Skip the boring chocolate and vanilla and opt for something a little more eccentric. This recipe for lavender cupcakes topped with Earl Grey icing is anything but ordinary.

You can’t help but feel at ease with each bite of these fluffy, yet floral, rich, yet comforting, lavender cupcakes with Earl Grey frosting. The lavender flavor is subtle. Just beware; the icing is so good you’ll find it hard not to spoon-feed it to yourself! It’s like a cup of tea, only way better.

Lavender cupcakes with Earl Grey icing recipe

Cupcake recipe slightly adapted from Kitchen Chronicles

Yields 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon blue food coloring
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2-1/2 tablespoons dried lavender, chopped
About 2/3 cup light cream

For the frosting:

1 stick butter, softened
About 3 cups powdered sugar
2 Earl Grey tea bags
4 tablespoons boiling water

Directions:

Beat butter and sugar until creamy

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with liners and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large metal mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric stand mixer until combined.

Add eggs, vanilla & food dye

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until creamy.

Stir in the food coloring and mix until you get a deep purple.

Stir in flour, baking powder, lavender and cream

Using a spoon, stir in the flour, baking powder and chopped lavender.

Mix until batter is fully combined. Stir in cream.

Bake for 13 minutes

Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with batter and bake for about 12-14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry.

Make icing

Meanwhile, pour the boiling water over the tea bags and let steep about 10 minutes.

To prepare the frosting, beat the butter and 2 cups powdered sugar together until a thick, creamy frosting forms. Add the liquid tea to the frosting and add remaining 1 cup powdered sugar.