Vegan Lavender Buttercream

This vegan lavender buttercream is creamy and smooth, with a subtle, light floral flavour. Learn how to make this pretty frosting using culinary lavender! It is the perfect fresh addition to your cakes and cupcakes.

I love everything lavender. The fragrance is so beautiful and calming, and when added to desserts it provides a subtle, floral, earthy, and fresh flavour that is just so wonderful.

When travelling in Tasmania, we made sure to visit the lavender fields and while I’ve never been able to time my trip with the fields in full bloom, it’s always a great visit to try some local lavender treats. On my last trip I came home with a packet of dried culinary lavender and have been enjoying playing around with the flavours.

This buttercream was first created to combine with my earl grey cupcakes which became a signature flavour in my baking repertoire. Since then my love for lavender buttercream has only intensified.

I encourage you to give this a try as even if you are sceptical of lavender flavoured desserts (you’re thinking it may taste like soap?) as the flavour of this buttercream is much more delicate and subtle. I think you’ll love it.

Key Ingredients

The base of this lavender buttercream remains the same as most of the vegan buttercream recipes on my site.

Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Dairy-free butter – this is the key ingredient to make this the best frosting. Use a quality dairy-free butter substitute here for the best flavour and texture. I love and always use Nuttelex Buttery which is an Australian product. In the US, the closest alternative is Earth Balance which I understand to be very similar.
• Vanilla – I always add vanilla to my buttercream to enhance the flavour.
• Icing sugar – I use the icing sugar mixture from the supermarket, not the pure icing sugar. The only difference is the mixture has a little bit of cornflour added which means it’s less likely to clump together and turn rock solid.
• Culinary lavender – You want to make sure the lavender you’re using has been harvested specifically for using in food products. You can easily buy this on Amazon (affiliate link).
• Dairy free milk – any dairy free milk here works, with my favourite being either almond milk or oat milk.
• Salt – technically optional but if you don’t want the frosting to be super sweet, then a pinch of salt can cut through that and give you the best flavour.
• Gel food colouring – optional but without it the buttercream will be a slightly off white colour rather than the beautiful hue of lavender that we associate with the flavour. I use and love the Americolor gels (affiliate link). For this colour I use a few drops of Violet with a little drop of deep pink to get my desired shade.

Step-By-Step Instructions

This recipe is similar to making regular vegan vanilla buttercream or vegan lemon buttercream. You’ll need a handheld or stand mixer for best results.

The first step is essential for creating our soft and subtle lavender flavour. Steeping the lavender in the dairy free milk for a few hours or overnight, allowing the lavender to infuse its flavour into the milk.

From here, simply strain the lavender flavoured milk and use it in your buttercream.

To make the buttercream, start by beating together the dairy-free butter and vanilla for 1-2 minutes until creamy.

Add 2 cups of icing sugar and beat on medium speed until well combined. Incorporate an additional cup of icing sugar and continue mixing.

As the mixture thickens, gradually add the lavender infused dairy-free milk in small increments until you achieve a thick, creamy consistency. If the frosting appears too thin or tastes too ‘buttery’, add an extra ½-1 cup of icing sugar. Conversely, if it’s too thick, add a small amount of dairy-free milk.

Lastly, add a pinch of salt to taste along with a few drops of your food colouring and continue mixing until the buttercream becomes super creamy.

Store the covered frosting in the refrigerator or proceed to pipe it directly onto cooled cupcakes or cake.

Recipe FAQs