Lemon Lavender Mini Cupcakes!
Vendors for the Event
Girl’s Night Out (GNO). A necessity for every woman every once in a while. You need that time to hang out with the gals and have a ball! But sometimes I’m lame and lack ideas for a solid GNO. So, when my pal Laura of Ophelia Floral said she was going to host this GNO at ROAR for ladies to come make flower arrangements, eat, drink and hang I was super stoked. She wonderfully asked me to participate and make the hors d’oeuvres and desserts! I was so excited to make some floral inspired treats.
The event itself was extremely fun and it was wonderful to meet so many talented women all in one place…and the venue ROAR is spectacular. If you are ever thinking of hosting an event or workshop, definitely check out the space! But be sure to follow Laura on insta and Facebook for all her future events, you don’t want to miss out!
Table of Contents
Food for the Event
Now about the treats I made….the first thing that came to my head was lemon lavender. I am a sucker for those flavors and needed a recipe to make with that profile in it. So I thought on it for a bit and finally came up with the idea for cupcakes. I really wanted to make the other food with flowers as well…unfortunately on my shopping trip for those ingredients, somehow everywhere I normally buy edible flowers were no longer carrying them.
So I opted for some fruits and veggies that were bright and fresh and shaped a little bit like flowers. I made flatbreads with gruyere cheese, sliced asparagus, and roasted heirloom tomatoes (recipe to come). Also on deck was a large charcuterie and cheese board, as well as peach caprese kabobs drizzled in balsamic vinegar. So although they didn’t include flowers, they kind of represented them in shape…yeah? And I made some hibiscus tea because it’s my obsession.
So, back to the lemon lavender cupcakes… I needed a little inspiration from Sweetapolita for this one. Although hers are big and beautiful, my mini-cupcakes were a blast to make and her buttercream recipe was very inspiring! This is such a fun little cupcake and treat, and tastes pretty amazing. Feel free to add some decor, but I made a candied lemon for the top and they were a hit. So I hope you try it too and love it as much as I did!
Ingredients for Lemon Lavender Mini Cupcakes
- whole milk, at room temperature
- lemon juice
- eggs, at room temperature
- vanilla extract
- cake flour, sifted 3 times
- cups sugar
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- unsalted butter, at room temperature
- lemon zest (rind) of 1 lemon
Ingredients for Lavender Frosting
- unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- powdered sugar, sifted 2 times
- whole milk
- dried Culinary Lavender
- vanilla extract
Ingredients for Candied Lemon
- sugar
- water
- lemons
- Bowl of ice water
How to make Candied Lemon
- Start with your candied lemons so that they have time to harden and dry (also start step 1 of frosting). Slice the lemons into horizontal slices and then in half or in quarters like you would cut a slice of lemon for a glass of iced tea. Remove all seeds.
- Boil a pot of water on the stove. Once boiling add the lemons to the water for 1 ½- 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and place slices into ice water.
- Add 2 cups of water on top of 2 cups of sugar in a small-medium pot. Heat until there is a simmer and sugar is dissolved, then add lemons. Let this sit on the stove for 1 hour on simmer.
- Once the lemons are translucent remove and place on a cooking rack with parchment paper underneath to catch the syrup. You can save leftover syrup in pot for simple syrup that can be added to drinks, candies, etc.
How to make Lemon Lavender Mini Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. And prepare your mini cupcake sheet with baking liners or grease.
- In a small bowl combine your milk and lemon juice. Let it sit for 2 minutes to curdle.
- In a separate bowl add eggs, 1/4 cup curdled milk, and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Using your paddle attachment in your mixer combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt. Mix on the stir setting for 1 minute.
- Add in the butter and mix on a low speed for another minute. Then add the remaining curdled milk and mix. Mix this combination for about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add in the egg and milk mixture in 3 parts. Beat for about 30 seconds between each addition or until well combined. Then add the lemon zest and stir.
- Scoop out batter into lined cupcake sheet. Almost up to the line.
- Bake for about 11-12 minutes. Test with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before adding frosting and decorating.
How to make Lavender Frosting
- Hours before making the frosting, add the lavender to the whole milk in a small glass or porcelain bowl. Cover tight and place in the refrigerator for about 2-4 hours. The longer it sits the more flavorful it will become.
- Using your mixer and the paddle attachment again, whip the butter for 8 minutes on medium/low speed. The butter will become very creamy!
- Strain the lavender from the milk and pour the milk into the butter as well as the vanilla. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the powdered sugar in 3 batches. The frosting should become very light and fluffy.
- If you would like to add that purple color (which I did, but you can’t tell well in the photos) add a few drops of purple food dye until well mixed.
FAQs on Lemon Lavender Cupcakes
You can top with lemon zest, candied lemons (shown), fresh lemons, edible flowers, sprinkles, etc. I wouldn’t recommend topping it with uncooked lavender, as the flavor and texture aren’t great like that.
Yes, you can. It should make 18-24 of them. You’ll need to up your bake time and keep a close eye on them. Check for doneness with a clear skewer or toothpick.
Other Cake Recipes to Try
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Mini Cupcakes:
- 1 cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 eggs room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups cake flour sifted 3 times
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 lemon zested
Frosting:
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted 2 times
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 Tbsp dried culinary lavender
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Candied Lemon:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
- 4 small lemons sliced
- 2 cups ice water
Instructions
Candied Lemon:
- Start with your candied lemons so that they have time to harden and dry (also start step 1 of frosting). Slice the lemons into horizontal slices and then in half or in quarters like you would cut a slice of lemon for a glass of iced tea. Remove all seeds.
- Boil a pot of water on the stove. Once boiling add the lemons to the water for 1 ½- 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and place slices into ice water.
- Add 2 cups of water on top of 2 cups of sugar in a small-medium pot. Heat until there is a simmer and sugar is dissolved, then add lemons. Let this sit on the stove for 1 hour on simmer.
- Once the lemons are translucent remove and place on a cooking rack with parchment paper underneath to catch the syrup. You can save leftover syrup in pot for simple syrup that can be added to drinks, candies, etc.
Mini Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. And prepare your mini cupcake sheet with baking liners or grease.
- In a small bowl combine your milk and lemon juice. Let it sit for 2 minutes to curdle.
- In a separate bowl add eggs, ¼ cup curdled milk, and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Using your paddle attachment in your mixer combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt. Mix on the stir setting for 1 minute.
- Add in the butter and mix on a low speed for another minute. Then add the remaining curdled milk and mix. Mix this combination for about 2 minutes.
- Slowly add in the egg and milk mixture in 3 parts. Beat for about 30 seconds between each addition or until well combined. Then add the lemon zest and stir.
- Scoop out batter into lined cupcake sheet.
- Bake for about 11-12 minutes. Test with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before adding frosting and decorating.
Frosting:
- Hours before making the frosting, add the lavender to the whole milk in a small glass or porcelain bowl. Cover tight and place in the refrigerator for about 2-4 hours. The longer it sits the more flavorful it will become.
- Using your mixer and the paddle attachment again, whip the butter for 8 minutes on medium/low speed. The butter will become very creamy!
- Strain the lavender from the milk and pour the milk into the butter as well as the vanilla. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the powdered sugar in 3 batches. The frosting should become very light and fluffy.
- If you would like to add that purple color (which I did, but you can’t tell well in the photos) add a few drops of purple food dye until well mixed.
Assembly:
- Assemble the cooled cupcakes with frosting and a candied lemon.
- Enjoy!