I love everything about lavender, especially the flavor. It’s light and refreshing, earthy, aeromatic, and just downright delightful. So after buying some dried culinary lavender on a whim last week, I decided to try making the perfect lavender buttercream. I actually ended up with a lot more lavender than expected, so aside from perfecting this lavender buttercream recipe I’ve been planning to make all sorts of things with it: lavender simple syrup for my coffee and no churn lavender ice cream to name a few. But first, just look at this buttercream.
One Reader, Morgan, says: “This recipe is out of this world!!! We topped a lemon zest cake (from scratch) with this for a sweet 16 party and had to save it in our family’s recipe book. The lavender frosting was so on point, our foodie loving (confectioner trained) family was blown away!” ★★★★★
This lavender buttercream is perfectly flavored. In the past, I’ve used lavender extract to flavor buttercream and while it’s a fine way to add flavor, it’s really easy to go overboard with. I’ve also heard of grinding up the dried lavender to use as flavoring but that’s also easy to overdo. So instead, I decided to steep the lavender in simmered milk to extract the flavor. It ended up being really fun and also added the most stunning flavor to the buttercream. It’s just right!
What is Culinary Lavender?
If you want to cook or bake with lavender, you’re going to need culinary lavender. There are a few qualities that make lavender culinary:
- It’s the right cultivar, or variety, for flavoring edible things
- It’s harvested at just the right time
- It’s been processed for culinary use. This involves drying the lavender and sifting it multiple times so that only the buds remain.
I used this culinary lavender I found on Amazon, but you can sometimes find it at natural grocery food stores. It is worth looking for that culinary stamp of approval because using the wrong type of lavender can result in a bitter or soapy taste depending on the cultivar. If you want the flavor to be spot on, use the good stuff!
After making sure you’re using the right lavender, you’ll start this recipe by bringing the whole milk to a simmer, removing it from the heat, and stirring the lavender in. Then, you’ll let it steep for 15 minutes before straining the lavender out. What’s left is about three tablespoons of light purple lavender milk and it’ll be just the right ratio for flavoring the buttercream.
This lavender buttercream is perfect for using as a filling, frosting, or piping details. I recently paired it with my favorite lemon cake recipe and it was absolutely heavenly! Other ideas for flavor pairings: chocolate cake, vanilla cake, or strawberry cake. I especially want to try pairing lavender with strawberry next!
Lavender Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup whole milk
- 1 Tbsp dried culinary lavender
- 1 Cup (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
- 2-4 drops purple food coloring* optional
Instructions
- Add the whole milk into a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the milk begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the dried culinary lavender. Let the lavender steep in the milk for 15 minutes, then strain the milk through a fine mesh sieve set over a small bowl. Press all the excess milk out of the lavender buds before discarding them. Allow the lavender milk to cool completely before adding it to the buttercream.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (a hand mixer works fine too!) cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light in color, about 5 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add the lavender milk, vanilla, salt, and food coloring (if using) and continue mixing on low speed until fully combined and smooth, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
Notes
- The lavender milk (from Step 1 of the recipe) can be made 2-3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring it back to room temperature before adding it to the buttercream.
- The lavender buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency.
- Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
- Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe.
Did you make this lavender buttercream recipe? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create with my recipes!
Consistency was good. I personally would want more lavender to come through- and I even doubled the amount of lavender when I steeped the milk with it.
Hi there! My niece wants me to make cupcakes with lavender frosting for her birthday, and this recipe looks phenomenal. I have both lavender paste and Bulgarian lavender extract (food grade) in my pantry. Do you have any thoughts on using either of these ingredients as a suitable substitute for the culinary lavender flowers to flavor the milk? I would sincerely appreciate your insight!
Hi Kat! Yum. Those lavender flavor agents sound amazing! I know that it’s easy to go overboard with lavender, so I would start small with whatever you choose. The extract is probably more concentrated than the paste. You won’t need to steep the milk since you’re not extracting the flavor from dried flowers, so I would use my vanilla buttercream recipe as a base (https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe/), reduce the vanilla to 1 tsp and add 1/4 tsp of lavender paste (add 1/4 tsp more if need be after tasting). Hope that helps!
This is a very tasty recipe, I’ve made it twice now and theres only one thing… The lavender flavor isn’t very strong, so I ended up combining the frosting with some lavender and sugar that I blended in the food processor. If any of y’all have the same issue, I would recommend trying that. (one part lavender, two parts granulated sugar. Blend until it is very fine. I added two tablespoons of this to my frosting along with the lavender milk.)
Thank you so much Sugar and Sparrow for this recipe.
This is delicious! It’s pretty easy to overflavor buttercream but this is just right. Do you think this method would work for flavors besides lavender as well? Like maybe mint, or lemon?
Yay, Margaret! I’m so happy you love this recipe. I’ve tried this method with teas and it works well, and I bet it would work with other ingredients like mint and lemon. You’re inspiring me to try it with mint!
Making this with a lemon cake, quick question though, have you noticed a difference between simmering the milk with the lavender and letting it cool versus just steeping the milk with the buds in the fridge overnight? The last way is how I’ve always done it, I’ve seen heating it up before, so just wondering if it will make a big difference versus longer time to steep. Thanks!
Hi Michelle! There isn’t much of a difference. Both ways will extract the perfect amount of lavender flavor 🙂
This buttercream is amazing! Can I add hi ratio shortening & meringue powder to make this heat stable? Will it change the taste?
Hi Teresa-Ann! Yes, you can absolutely sub in hi ratio shortening for half or all of the butter + 1 Tbsp of meringue powder to make it heat resistant. It shouldn’t change the flavor. Glad you love this recipe!
nommmyyyy
Can you use half butter and shortening for the frosting?
Hi Crystal! Yes, you totally can.
I made this recipe for my neighbor. She loved it!!
Thank you for sharing
Yay, Mary! That’s wonderful to hear!
Hello Whitney,
I just made your Perfect vanilla cupcakes and lavender frosting. Wow is all I can say. I can’t recall having better vanilla cake. And this lavender frosting is just soooo good. I’m enjoying your cookbook too. Thank you so much!!
Oh my gosh, Mamie! That makes my day! I’m so glad you’ve been loving these recipes and my cookbook!!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! Thankyou so much!
Yay, Jessica! I’m so happy to hear that!
How can I make this without milk or cream? Can I use water instead?
Hi Irina! Water won’t work as you’ll need something with enough fat to hold everything together. If you’re not doing dairy I would suggest coconut milk, soy milk, or another milk alternative.
Can almond milk be used and if so, same amount?
Hi Tina! You can use almond milk but the flavor of the almond milk will come through slightly. As long as you’re okay with that I’d say go for it!
We just made this and this recipe is out of this world!!! We topped a lemon zest cake (from scratch) with this for a sweet 16 party and had to save it in our family’s recipe book. The lavender frosting was so on point, our foodie loving (confectioner trained) family was blown away! A true luxury! Thank you for sharing this!
I’m so happy to hear that, Morgan! What a compliment!! Glad the recipe was a hit and your family was impressed 🙂
Made this a few times and it’s delicious! I’m now attempting to make it again but vegan. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Yay, Mariel! So happy you love this recipe and let me know how the vegan version goes!
This recipe is absolutely perfect! Just remember to use high quality ingredients and you will be very impressed with the results. This recipe is a keeper!