Giant Gluten Free Lavender Earl Grey Muffins

Both of these flavors are some of the dreamiest out there, so be ready to drift off into a tea time daydreamscape of whimsical proportions. I am a HUGE tea drinker: I start off my day with a very large mug of black tea, usually English Breakfast, though my second go-to is earl grey, hence the penchant for these giant gluten free lavender earl grey muffins with perhaps my favorite glaze of the giant muffin series thus far. These giant muffins were born out of a longing for the similar lavender earl grey cupcakes I made for the first time last year (still one of my best recipes to date) but lacking the time and effort required to make them. Here is a MUCH simpler, faster and more fun version of the same perfect flavor combo!

Back to the giant muffins! So far we’ve made these giant poppyseed muffins, giant blueberry muffins, giant chocolate chip muffins, giant double chocolate muffins, giant banana nut muffins, giant strawberry rhubarb muffins, giant apple streusel muffins, these giant lemon raspberry muffins, giant cherry chocolate chip muffins, these giant coffee walnut muffins, these giant pistachio apricot muffins, these giant orange marmalade muffins, these giant zucchini muffins, these giant mango muffins, these giant peach muffins, and these giant chocolate zucchini muffins!!

Tips for the Delicious Giant Lavender Earl Grey Muffins:

A few tips for getting these to turn out perfectly:

• Get that flavor! These muffins are full of gorgeous lavender and earl grey flavor. Both are rather delicate notes, but here are some things we recommend. Steep that milk (in recipe below) for a WHILE – don’t skimp on this. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes – I usually let mine sit for 20-25, so you really get the earl grey and lavender notes. Here’s a link to the dried lavender buds you’ll need. If you want to get some, here’s a great brand for culinary ground/powdered lavender. This stuff is strong, so you only need a little, but it’s lovely. Lavender extract is also a great way to go! Earl grey wise, any tea brand that you like will do – just be sure that it’s the ground tea in bags, not loose leaf tea in little bags.
• Use the right-size of pan! Apparently, Costco keeps their giant muffin pans as a trade secret because we can’t find them ANYWHERE on the internet and you can find EVERYTHING on the internet. Bravo, Costco, for a secret well-kept. However, we’ve found a way to crack the code and gone ahead and just used these brilliant 4-inch cake pans because, after careful inspection, we’ve discovered that Costco muffins are exactly 4-inches in diameter! HA! Take that, Costco-bakery-lords. I never thought I’d be regularly using 4-inch cake pans but here we are. I’ll just need to make a bunch of tiny cake recipes next!
• Let your batter REST, per the recipe, for at least 30 minutes. For two reasons: 1) the batter thickens as it rests; and 2) something somewhere said that baking powder needs a bit more time to “activate.” Don’t quote me on this, who knows if it’s actually true.
• Don’t over-mix your batter! Muffins need a lot of lift, especially these giant ones, and if you over-mix your batter, you’ll end up with flat or sunken muffins which is no fun.
• Use a good 1-1 gluten free flour mix! We use the Bob’s Red Mill one (the baking mix), though we’ve heard good things about Cup-4-Cup. We’ve only tested this recipe with this one so if you want them to turn out exactly like ours, we recommend snagging a bag of that specific 1-1 gluten free flour.
• Do NOT open the oven door during baking time. Tape it shut if you have to! You can certainly turn on the oven light and peek and the gloriousness that is a set of rising muffins nearly-ready to be devoured, but do not open that door! Opening the door will immediately lower the oven temp and prohibit your muffins from rising correctly. If you’re in the last few minutes of baking and need to test to see if they’re done, open the oven just a tiny bit and reach in and just tap the top of one – if it springs back it’s done, if it presses in like a foam mattress topper, it’s not and needs a couple more minutes!
• These will keep in an airtight container (or in ziplock baggies) for a week or so – and they freeze REALLY well! So if you want to make a batch and save a bunch, put them in a sturdy plastic container or a freezer plastic bag and pop them in there. Then microwave for about 30-45 seconds (from frozen) before eating! I even like popping mine in the microwave for 10-15 seconds from room temp to get them all warm and floofy again before eating.
• GLAZE: glazes are a super easy way to elevate your muffin game. The glazes we use are essentially just powdered sugar and a liquid – in this case, lavender earl grey milk and melted butter. The key with glazes is getting the consistency right – you want to be able to drizzle or pour the glaze, so it needs to be able to move a bit, but you don’t want it to just pour off your muffins completely. You want to get to a thicker consistency (it should be thick when you stir it), that slowly pours when you lift up your stirring spoon. This will ensure that your glaze stays mostly on top of the muffin and that it stays opaque and doesn’t run off in a giant puddle. If your glaze seems to thin and runny, just add more powdered sugar! Vice versa if it seems waaaay too thick and you can’t even get it to pour, add a touch more milk.

Print Recipe

Giant Gluten Free Lavender Earl Grey Muffins

These fluffy giant muffins are packed with earl grey and lavender for the perfect tea-time treat

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Resting time30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: costco muffins, earl grey, easy, giant, glaze, gluten free, lavender, muffins, simple, tea, tea cake

Servings: 6 giant muffins

Calories: 500kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Six 4-inch round cake pans (link below to the ones we use)
• Cookie sheet

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 Cups white sugar
• 1 Cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1/4 Cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 Cup milk steeped with earl grey and lavender – instructions below. Reserve 1/4 Cup for glaze
• 3 earl grey tea bags ground tea, not loose leaf
• 1 Tbsp dried lavender buds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground culinary lavender or 1/2 tsp lavender extract
• 2 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum added (if it doesn't have xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum) link below to the one we use
• 1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
• 1/4 Cup arrowroot starch
• 2 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt

For the glaze:

• 1 1/4 Cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1-3 Tbsp reserved lavender + earl grey milk from above
• 1 tsp melted butter
• purple food coloring optional

Instructions

• First, make your earl grey + lavender milk! Heat the 1 1/2 cups of milk in a small saucepan until it just starts to simmer. Turn off heat, add two of the earl grey tea bags and 1 Tbsp of dried lavender buds and stir, then let sit to steep for 10-20 minutes. Once steeped, strain the milk to remove tea bags and lavender. Remove about 3 Tbsp of the milk and reserve for the glaze.
• Then, make the muffin batter! It will need to rest at room temp for 30 minutes before baking. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, sour cream, vanilla extract, and 1 1/4 cup of the lavender earl grey milk until thicker and smooth. Add in the gluten free 1-1 flour, sweet rice flour, arrowroot starch, baking powder, ground lavender (or lavender extract), the entire contents of the last earl grey tea bag (make sure it's ground up, not loose leaf in a bag) and salt and stir until just combined (do not overmix). Then let the batter sit either on the counter for at least 30 minutes before baking (you can let it rest in the fridge for longer if you want).
• Once the batter has rested preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and place your six 4-inch cake pans on a cookie sheet. Spray each pan with cooking spray, then spoon batter into each one evenly (they should be about 3/4-5/6 full). Bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops spring back with touched (do NOT open the oven while baking or the muffins will not rise fully, only open the oven a tiny bit to check if done). Let cool nearly-completely before turning out and glazing.
• While the muffins are cooling, make the glaze! In a medium cereal bowl, stir together all of the glaze ingredients, starting with 1 Tbsp of the reserved lavender earl grey milk and adding more as needed) until fully combined and very smooth (this may take some working). Check the consistency of the glaze: you're looking for a glaze that can drizzle over the muffins, but doesn't flow too quickly or it will simply run off and not hold on top of the muffins. Add more powdered sugar if it seems too thin/runny.
• Then use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the muffins, and serve! You can let the glazed muffins sit at room temp for 30-45 minutes for the glaze to harden, then put into zip-top bags and keep in the fridge or freezer for up to a week. Best-served slightly warm, so pop them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds from room temp!

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

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber