I’ve been dreaming of the perfect lemon lavender cake for quite some time now. But while I have a lemon cake recipe that I already love, I was a little scared to try making lavender buttercream because of how easy it is to overdo the flavor. So in my best effort to not let the buttercream taste like soap, I tried something new. I infused some milk with culinary lavender, added it to the buttercream, and ended up with the perfect amount of flavor. It pairs so perfectly with this lemon cake and the whole concoction is a pure delight to eat!
This recipe starts with layers of my favorite zesty and moist lemon cake. If you’re wondering why there’s no fresh lemon juice in it, it’s just because that part of the lemon doesn’t tend to be powerful enough to flavor cake batter. Instead, this cake is flavored with lemon zest and lemon extract to give it the perfect punch. Cake flour gives this lemon cake an extra soft crumb while the sour cream adds plenty of moisture to make it the ideal texture. It’s tasty all on its own, but the lavender buttercream transforms it into something whimsical!
To give the buttercream just the right amount of lavender flavor, you’re going to need some dried culinary lavender. I found mine on Amazon, but you might be able to score some from your local natural grocery store. It’s important that the lavender is culinary-grade to ensure it’s been harvested at the right time, has a pleasing flavor profile, and has been processed in such a way that you can safely add it to edible goods. Trust me, it matters to get the culinary stuff.
You’ll be steeping the lavender in some simmering milk (just like a tea) to create lavender milk, which you’ll add to the buttercream at the end of the recipe. Making the buttercream purple is completely optional, but I love the color I created with a few drops of AmeriColor Regal Purple. It reminds me so much of lavender!
To decorate, I frosted the cake with lavender buttercream before using a small spatula to create diagonal swipes all around the sides. Then, I used Wilton Tip 2D to pipe swirls all around the top, spaced about ½ inch apart, before sprinkling more culinary lavender on top of the cake. I finished the look by placing some candied lemon slices in between each lavender buttercream swirl. I followed this recipe to make the candied lemon slices, but halved the recipe and used one small lemon for the slices.
However you choose to decorate, this cake is so light and refreshing, earthy, aromatic, and just such a beautiful flavor pairing! It’s sure to make any spread stand out and I hope you love it as much as I do.
UPDATE 2026: I recently updated the cake portion of this recipe to include my favorite lemon layer cake after some of you noted that the cake was on the dry/dense side. The new recipe is much more soft and moist, but if you prefer the old version you can follow this recipe for the cake layers instead.
Lemon Lavender Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2 1/2 Cups (265g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp grated lemon zest about 1 medium lemon
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp pure lemon extract
- 1 1/2 Cups (360ml) buttermilk*, room temperature DIY recipe in notes
Lavender Buttercream
- 1/3 Cup (80ml) whole milk
- 2 Tbsp (8g) dried culinary lavender
- 1 1/2 Cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 1/4 Cups (630g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
- 2-4 drops purple food coloring* optional
Garnishes
- 6 candied lemon slices*
- 1 Tbsp dried culinary lavender
Instructions
Make the Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177ºC. Grease and line three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans.
- Add the sifted cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and lemon zest until fragrant and well combined, about 1 minute. Add the butter and cream it together with the lemon-sugar mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add the egg whites one at a time. Add the vegetable oil and lemon extract and beat at high speed for one minute.
- Turn the mixer off and add the cake flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed until just combined, then slowly pour in the buttermilk. Mix until smooth and fully combined, about 30 seconds.
- Pour the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 28-32 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool for 5 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans. Transfer the cake layers to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Make the Lavender Buttercream
- 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.
Assembly
- Once the lemon cakes are completely cooled, level them to your desired height before filling and stacking with lavender buttercream. Crumb coat the cake with lavender buttercream, then place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the buttercream set firm.
- Frost the cake with a layer of lavender buttercream and smooth the sides with an icing smoother until level (don't worry about creating an extra smooth finish for this one). Swipe a small icing spatula diagonally though the buttercream as you rotate the cake to create the texture pictured. Use the remaining lavender buttercream to pipe swirls on top of the cake with Wilton Tip 2D, leaving about 1/2 inch gap between each swirl. Sprinkle the swirls with more dried lavender and place a candied lemon slice between each one.
Notes
- The lemon cake can be baked ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1-2 days. Alternatively you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to two months. Thaw them at room temperature before you fill and frost them.
- The lavender milk (from Step 1 of the lavender buttercream 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.
Did you make this lemon lavender cake 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!
Can I add blueberries to the cake without changing anything in the recipe?
Hi Kirin! Blueberries will sink in this batter BUT I have a lemon blueberry cake recipe here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/lemon-blueberry-layer-cake/ I would make the cake from that recipe and pair it with the lavender buttercream from this recipe. Enjoy!
I haven’t made this yet but I LOVE all things Lavender. Question about 1 ingredient-revipe says garnish w/culinary powder. Is that a typo or a separate ingredient?
Hi Hope! Thanks for catching that in the ingredients list – it should be 1 Tbsp dried culinary lavender (for sprinkling on top of the buttercream swirls if you want to replicate the cake pictured design-wise). I’m excited for you to make this!
Hi, I am planning to make this cake for a friend’s wedding. What do you think about substituting whey for buttermilk? I make my own yogurt and strain it, so I have a bunch of whey…but I certainly don’t want to risk it if it won’t turn out as well.
Thanks!
Nicole
Hi Nicole! I have to confess I don’t have much experience with whey, so I can’t say how it will turn out as a buttermilk replacement. After Googling it, whey does seem to be an adequate replacement though, so it will be an experiment but likely to work. Let me know if you try it!
What are your thoughts on steeping lavender into the milk that goes into the cake batter?
Also, how much volume of milk ends up going into the buttercream after it’s been strained through a sieve?
Hi Charmineh! That sounds delicious, I’ve done it with earl grey tea before and I think steeping lavender for the cake batter would be lovely. The amount of milk that goes into the buttercream ends up being about 4 Tbsp after steeping, so if you decide to steep the milk for the cake batter I would add an extra 1/4 Cup of milk and then remeasure afterwards to make sure you end up with 1 Cup of lavender milk to add to the batter. Hope that helps!
Hi there!
I cannot find cake flour in the UK, are there any substitutes?
Thank you!
Hi Josh! You can make a homemade version of cake flour using this recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/homemade-cake-flour-recipe/ keep in mind that since plain flour is used as a base the metric measurement will weigh more since that kind of flour is heavier per cup than store bought cake flour. If you’re measuring by weight, the gram measurement for 2 3/4 Cups of homemade cake flour will be more like 363g.