Gluten Free Earl Grey Lavender Cupcakes

When I was about eight or nine years old, my grandma gathered all three of us granddaughters, my cousin Sean, my little (at the time, now she towers over me) sister, and me, into the family room of her Ashland hills house and pointed through the fragile glass doors of a carefully-treasured case to the three sets of china that she had waiting for us. One for each granddaughter, differently-colored for differently-personalitied girls. Green and gold with straight-edged patterns, pale blue and silver in little floral loops, and blush-pink, full of little roses. That one was destined for Kendra, whose middle name is Rose, and who was about 4 years old at the time so thought it was a perfect plan to give her that one one day. The cool blue went to cousin Sean, seven months older than me and all the wiser. And the green was my pick – I never liked a painting or an image that didn’t have some green in it, it felt desert-like or off somehow. So it’s fitting that, two decades later, I have a 3×3 foot box carefully tucked into a corner of my closet, full of foam pieces and shredded paper and bubble wrap, and an entire set of green and gold china that someday I’ll have a dining room table large enough for and courage great enough to take it all out and actually use it once and a while. For now, it’s a beautiful and dangerously-breakable hidden gem that graces the dusty storage space beneath hangers and dresses and camping gear and baskets of yarn for the darned blanket I’ll crochet next week when we’re all still stuck inside, running out of things to do.

The cups and saucers and plates and serving platters were forever to be padded away in the taped-shut box in the closet, had it not been for these cupcakes! There’s something about earl grey and lavender that exudes the same feel that china or silver spoons do, and placed together, they’re pretty darn elegant (as my grandmother so rightly put it). Thankfully, these cupcakes forced me to use yet another thing I had “stored” away (literally just sitting on my counter for a year waiting to be cleaned): this fantastic silver teapot. In all honesty, you could barely tell it was silver when I picked it up in the back of a local thrift shop more than twelve months ago, but after a tinfoil-lined soak in boiling water and baking soda, this piece has a new lease on life – shiny enough to come alive in Beauty and the Beast (and to see a reflection of every frazzled hair on my head after a whirlwind morning of baking).

All that to say, sometimes it’s just lovely to bring out any nice little things you have and dress them up a bit. Even if we can’t get dressed up and go out – at least our china and teapots can make an appearance. And these gluten free earl grey lavender cupcakes did not disappoint for treats to match such elegant tableware. They took a bit of recipe-finagling, testing, and re-working, but in the end they turned out quite well. A soft, spongy cake, soaked with earl grey syrup and filled with more of the same and finely ground lavender from the English Lavender Farm in southern Oregon (check them out if you haven’t – they ship fast!), and topped with a silky, lavender earl grey buttercream. Just perfect for an afternoon tea party that, let’s be honest, we’re all needing right now because a tea party seems like just the ticket for staying sane while stuck at home (or not, according to some Lewis Carroll characters). In any case, make them if you want a top-notch treat! They may look a bit daunting with the number of steps and ingredients, but as long as you can get some lavender shipped to you (or sneak out to the local park and pick a handful) and have a few bags of earl grey on hand, you’ve got it covered. If you’re into floral desserts like I am, try out these simple but elegant rose financiers (can be made in muffin pans instead of financier pans!), or these pistachio and rose cookies! Stay well everyone!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free Earl Grey Lavender Cupcakes

Floral and elegant, these earl grey lavender cupcakes are topped with a silky buttercream and filled with earl grey syrup and finely ground lavender

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time18 minutes mins

Cooling time20 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: cupcakes, earl grey, floral, gluten free, lavender, tea

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cupcake pans

Ingredients

For the lavender syrup:

• 1 Cup water
• 1 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 Cup dried lavender buds
• 2 Tbsp honey

For the earl grey syrup:

• 3 Cups water
• 1 1/2 Cups white sugar
• 3 Tbsp earl grey loose leaf tea or tea bags

For the cupcakes:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 Cup milk with 1 earl grey tea bag
• 2 tsp ground earl grey (contents of tea bags)
• 2 Tbsp earl grey syrup
• 3/4 Cup canola oil
• 1 Cup white sugar
• 3/4 tsp finely ground culinary lavender or lavender syrup less is more!
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if the mix doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1/2 a teaspoon)
• 1/2 Cup almond flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the buttercream:

• 2 Cups salted butter room temperature
• 4 Cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lavender syrup less is more!
• 3 Tbsp earl grey syrup
• 1 tsp ground earl grey tea (contents of a tea bag)
• purple food coloring optional

Instructions

• First, make the syrups. In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients for the earl grey syrup and cook over medium low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase temp to medium heat and stir occasionally until syrup begins to boil. Immediately turn off heat and let the tea steep for about 8 minutes, then pour syrup through a sieve into a bowl, rinse out the pan, and pour the tea-less syrup back into the pan and cook on medium heat for 8-10 more minutes or until liquid is a bit more syrupy. Remove from heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl to cool. Repeat all of this for the lavender syrup: combine all ingredients in the same small sauce pan, bring to a boil, turn off heat, let lavender steep for about 10-12 minutes, then pour liquid through a sieve into a bowl, then pour back into the pan without the lavender and continue to cook until syrupy and thicker, then remove and let cool.
• Then, make the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line two cupcake trays with paper liners then set aside. Heat the milk in a mug in the microwave for one minute, then steep one earl grey teabag in it for 5 minutes. While the tea is steeping, in a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil and sugar until lighter and creamy. Add in the ground earl grey, earl grey syrup, vanilla, and ground lavender (or lavender syrup). Once the milk-tea is steeped, pour in and beat together until combined. Add in the flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt and beat until combined. Pour batter into the lined cupcake pans (each should be about 2/3 -3/4 full). Bake for 17-18 minutes (longer and the cupcakes will be dry) – until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
• While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream frosting! In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in 1 cup of the powdered sugar at a time until completely combined. Then add in the earl grey and lavender syrup, vanilla, ground earl grey, and purple coloring (optional), and beat together until smooth. Taste frosting and adjust any of the flavors as needed (lavender goes a long way so I recommend not adding more!). Scoop frosting into a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes, then serve!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cupcakes!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber