I have said it before and I’ll say it again; is there a problem that a good cupcake cannot fix? These lady grey cupcakes will certainly do the trick, no matter what the occasion. They are a little different (so sure to impress) but still one of the easiest cakes to make. That is a win-win if you ask me!
One of my favourite things about the weather finally starting to cool down here in Brisbane is that it becomes the perfect time for sleepy mornings, serious Netflix marathons, and of course, multiple cups of tea. I have an entire shelf in my pantry dedicated to different types of tea, yet somehow I always end up reaching for the Lady Grey. With a subtle flavour, it is a variation of Earl Grey with the inclusion of citrus and it is just delicious. Perfect with or without milk, however you like to take your tea.
After coming across quite a few different recipes that used tea I decided it was time to combine my love of tea with my love of cake. Enter these perfectly soft vanilla cupcakes with a subtle flavour of bergamot and citrus flowing through thanks to the lady grey tea infusion.
So let’s talk about the lavender frosting. It is a little unusual and I’ll admit, I was a little sceptical myself at first but oh how it just works! I had started seeing the most beautiful lavender cakes in pictures and I was curious more than anything so I decided to give it a try myself.
The biggest thing here? You do not use a lot. Lavender is powerful stuff and I think using it comes with a high risk of it giving your foods a ‘soapy’ flavour as it is just so fragrant. Used in moderation, the floral notes of lavender just pick these cupcakes up into crazy good land. Remember you still want to taste the flavour from the tea in the cupcakes, so the balance of lavender in the frosting needs to be subtle, not overpowering.
This cupcake batter is very similar to my BEST Vanilla Cupcakes and like them, I have made these completely dairy-free by using almond milk and my favourite, Nuttelex Lite in place of butter. This combination seems to be perfect in cupcakes as the almond milk gives the cakes a soft crumb and I haven’t had a bad baked good yet using Nuttelex Lite, it’s never oily and tastes great!
I actually think these have been the most popular cupcake to pass through my kitchen with them disappearing in record time! These cakes make the perfect morning or afternoon tea treat and are even better to impress a crowd with something a little different to the normal vanilla cake. Plus, how pretty do the look with that light purple frosting?!
I would love to know if you give these a go so please make sure you tag me on Facebook or Instagram if you do! Happy baking 🙂
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with #eightforestlane as I would love to see.
Lady Grey Cupcakes With Lavender Frosting
Ingredients
For The Lady Grey Cupcakes:
- ½ cup almond milk
- 2 Lady Grey teabags
- 170 gms dairy-free spread*
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup SR flour
- 1 cup plain flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
For The Lavender Frosting:
- 1 tablespoon of dried lavender
- 2 tablespoon of almond milk
- ½ cup dairy-free spread*
- 3½ cups icing sugar
- Pinch salt
- blue & pink food colouring
Instructions
For The Lady Grey Cupcakes:
- Heat milk in the microwave for 1 minute or until warm. Place teabags in milk to infuse for 30 minutes or until milk has cooled to room temperature. Preheat oven to 180C and line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcakes cases, and another with 2 cases as this recipe yields 14 cakes.
- With an electric mixer, beat dairy-free spread* and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating until combined.
- Slowly sift in flours, baking powder and salt, ½ cup at a time making sure it is mixed through each time. Slowly pour in infused milk and mix through until the batter is light and creamy.
- Spoon into patty cases so that they are ¾ full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden on top and the cake is springy when lightly touched.
For The Lavender Frosting:
- Combine 1 tablespoon of dried lavender in 2 tablespoon of milk. Let this infuse for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.
- In a large bowl, beat dairy-free spread with an electric mixer and begin adding in sifted icing sugar ¼ cup at a time ensuring all has been combined before adding more.
- After about half the icing mixture has been combined, mix in 1 tablespoon of the lavender milk to the icing before continuing to add in the remaining icing sugar. If the mixture gets too stiff, add in a teaspoon more of the lavender milk.
- Once all the icing sugar has been combined, add a pinch of salt to taste which will cut through the sweetness of the frosting and mix through. I also added a few drops each of blue and pink food colouring to the mixture so I got the desired ‘lavender’ colour.
- Spoon frosting into a piping bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
What is your favourite tea? Have you ever cooked using tea? I’d love to hear your favourite tea recipes!
Andrea M Trevino
Can you use lavendar paste?
Sally
Hi Andrea! I haven’t tried myself but it should work fine!
Christine
We picked up some lavender extract from the lavender fields on Long Island, and I was trying to think of a way to try it! I happened to have early grey tea, so I whipped up these cupcakes. We don’t eat egg, so I used a flax egg instead and it was perfect. I also didn’t have self rising flour, so I used AP and added 1/2 tsp of baking soda. Worked out well.
Unfortunately, I tried a different icing recipe because I didnt have any butter spread on hand, and it didn’t turn out so great! I have the most difficult time with icing. The one I tried ended up being too runny to use with an icing piper but it does taste okay. Maybe next time I’ll get the icing right. But the cakes are seriously delicious and I will be making them again!
Sally
Thanks Christine, glad you enjoyed them! Sorry to hear your icing didn’t work. I always use a butter substitute in all my icing recipes as I have found it really makes the best frosting. I hope you try again with the buttercream as written here and see if you have success!
Peter
So. Damn. Good.
Sally
Glad you enjoyed them!
Jenna
These looks amazing!!! Im definitely going to give them a go!!
Sally
Thanks Jenna 🙂 Let me know how you go!
Mardene Carr
For the sake of my waistline I am stepping away. I love cupcakes and these look fab
Christie
I’ve never actually tried tea flavoured cupcakes, but they’ve always intrigued me. That lavender frosting looks gorgeous, too! x
Lynda@fitnessmomwinecountry
Sally, these are gorgeous! Our daughter is graduating in June from 8th grade and we are working on a soft theme for the night. These are going to be added to the dessert list. I love the idea of lavender thank you so much for sharing.
Now if mine can look as beautiful as yours, I will be very happy.
Helen
I have only ever had lavender frosting at a bakery, so thank you for sharing something we can make at home. These look amazing!
Mayara
I am a cupcake addict and these look absolutely gorgeous!!! I will definitely have to try this!
Heather @ Simply Save
These sound so good! The frosting looks beautiful too!
Chrissy
These look amazing and lavender frosting! I love lavender, I will try These! Thank you xxx
chloe | boxwood avenue
Oh my these look amazing! I like baking with lavender, but haven’t tried tea yet! These just might be it!
Sally
Thanks Chloe 🙂 Let me know how you go if you do make them! They are my new favourites 🙂
Sarah Christie
OMG lavender frosting , I am so going to try this its sounds incredible and I love lavender, the smell, taste ooh and cocktails, these cakes looks fab I am going to try them x
Sally
Thanks Sarah! I was a bit nervous to cook with Lavender but I am so happy at how it turned out! Let me know how you go if you do try it 🙂