Yesterday was CupcakeCamp Atlanta! I love baking. I adore Earl Grey tea and it’s subtle bergamot flavor. I’ve been obsessed with the combination of Earl Grey and lavender together since falling in love with Mariage Frères‘s Earl Grey Impérial. I have seen plenty of Earl Grey cupcake recipes before but typically with a lemon buttercream which didn’t excite me as much as the prospect of lavender. As always, use good quality ingredients for the best results. Thanks to everyone for voting me as Most Unique Flavor! I am thoroughly entertained by my Kinky Cupcakes prize.

Earl Grey Lavender Cupcakes
(Yields about 16 cupcakes)

1 cup milk, at room temperature
3 tablespoons (3 teabags) ground Earl Grey tea leaves*
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender, finely chopped
2 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons self-rising flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

* I ground my loose tea leaves in a mortar and pestle.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the ground Earl Grey tea leaves and dried lavender. Cover and let it sit and infuse for about 30 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until it is pale and smooth, which should take 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.

Sift the two flours together into a separate bowl. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the infused milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour, milk and tea leaves have been added.

Spoon the mixture into the cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until slightly raised and browned. Insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake to make sure they are done.

Remove from the oven and leave the cupcakes in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool. Once they are completely cool, you can frost them with the lavender buttercream below. 

Lavender Buttercream

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg white

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon lavender extract
Violet coloring, to your preference

Whisk the egg white and sugar together in a large metal bowl over a pot of simmering water until the sugar is smooth in the mixture.

Remove the mixture from the heat and whip until it turns white and doubles in size. Add the lavender extract and coloring, whipping throughly into the mixture. Add the butter and continue to whip until completely smooth. It will take some time! Once the cupcakes have cooled to room temperature, spoon the frosting into a pastry bag and decorate or just grab a knife and apply. If you attempt to frost before they have cooled, your buttercream will melt! I also sprinkled clear sugar sprinkles on top since these aren’t super sweet cupcakes. Decorate to your preference!