The Best Lemon Lavender Muffins Recipe (So Soft & Tender!)
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Full of bright lemon flavor and a hint of sweet lavender, these lemon lavender muffins are like sunshine in a cup! They come together so quickly and add a special touch to brunches, bridal showers, parties, and more.
I love the flavor of culinary lavender in baked goods. It has an unexpected fruitiness and floral notes and reminds me of those Parma Violet candies from when I was a kid. There’s a delicate balance to using lavender and if you’re not careful, your recipes taste like soap.
After trying and tweaking these muffins over and over again, they’re just the right balance of lemon and lavender. The muffins have a lovely lemon flavor with a hint of lavender. I think you’ll love them just as much as we do!
Do you love the flavor of lavender? Don’t miss my other lavender recipes like my lavender sugar, lavender extract, lavender honey, and this easy lavender liqueur!
What are lavender muffins?
These are basically the most wonderful lemon muffins elevated with a little homemade lavender extract and a lemon lavender glaze. Since lavender is a strong flavor, it’s best to add it to support a bright flavor like lemon. The floral and citrus flavors together are so lovely! They’re perfect for any occasion, but we especially enjoy them in the spring!
Why you’ll love this lemon lavender muffin recipe
Equipment
For these lemon lavender muffins, you’ll need a muffin tray, muffin liners, stand mixer or electric mixer with a medium bowl, a small bowl, a kitchen scale, measuring spoons, a wire rack, a small whisk and bowl for the glaze, and a spoon to scoop the batter into the tins.
Ingredients for Lemon and Lavender Muffins
Muffin Ingredients
- Plain flour – Classic all-purpose flour is the base of this easy recipe. Be sure to scoop your flour into your cup and scrape off any excess when measuring.
- Baking powder – This ingredient helps your muffins rise so they can be nice and fluffy.
- Kosher salt – The salt reacts with the baking powder for a fluffy muffin every time.
- Sugar – Of course, these sweet muffins need a little sugar!
- Sour cream – Although you can also use buttermilk or Greek yogurt, I find sour cream adds the perfect tenderness.
- Lemon zest and juice – You’ll need a little lemon juice and the zest of one whole lemon.
- Lavender extract – I typically add 1/2 tsp to the batter, but really, the lavender in the glaze adds plenty of flavor! I always use my homemade lavender extract.
- Coconut oil – I like to melt coconut oil and let it sit for a moment before using. You can also use vegetable oil or melted butter.
- Eggs – Let your eggs come to room temperature before mixing.
Lemon & Lavender Glaze Ingredients
- Powdered sugar – When mixed with liquids, powdered sugar makes a spreadable glaze that hardens over time.
- Lavender extract – Add just a small amount of lavender extract for a burst of fresh lavender flavor.
- Fresh lemon juice – I love using lemon juice in my glazes because it makes them taste like lemonade!
- Purple food coloring – This is optional, but I love how the food coloring makes it easy to know there’s lavender inside.
- Dried lavender buds – If you’d like, sprinkle a few dried buds over the glaze before it hardens.
How to Make Lavender Muffins with Lemon
This recipe was adapted from the perfect base muffin recipe by Baked by an Introvert.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line your muffin pan with silicone liners or paper liners.
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) together in a small bowl. Sift the baking powder to ensure it doesn’t have any clumps.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, lavender extract, and coconut oil. Beat until incorporated.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat after each one.
- Gradually mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.
- Scoop your muffin batter into your muffin liners, trying to add the same amount to each one.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. If using silicone liners, remove the muffins from the liners.
- In a medium bowl, gradually whisk the glaze ingredients together. Drizzle it over the top of each muffin. Sprinkle lavender flowers over the glaze before it sets.
- Allow the muffin glaze to set completely before storing them in an airtight container.
Storing
You can store these lemon lavender muffins in an airtight container either in the fridge or on the counter. On the counter, they will last approximately 3-4 days. In the fridge, they will last a couple of extra days.
You can freeze a batch to enjoy anytime you’d like! Simply bake a batch, let them cool completely, and freeze them in a freezer-safe bag. Allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight before eating.
How to Serve Lavender Lemon Muffins
These are a perfect feminine touch to your brunch table or a Mother’s Day lunch. I like to eat mine with a hot cup of tea or my morning coffee. They look beautiful served next to fresh flowers on a vintage milk glass cake stand!
Tips & Variations
- For a more intense lavender flavor, increase the amount of extract in the glaze to 1/2 tsp.
- Substitute Greek yogurt or buttermilk for the sour cream.
- Concentrated lemon juice is a good substitute for fresh as well.
- If you aren’t a fan of coconut oil, you can either use vegetable oil or melted butter. Just be sure to let the butter cool for a few minutes so it doesn’t curdle the eggs.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter or the muffins will become dense and chewy.
- You’ll get even softer muffins using cake or pastry flour.
- Feel free to fold in about 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries for blueberry lavender muffins.
FAQs
Lavender is delicious in baked goods and it has a subtle, floral flavor that tastes great with fresh lemon. However, it’s extremely easy to overdo it. Start with a culinary lavender. Not all varieties of lavender have a good flavor. Subtle varieties like English lavender are the best for baking.
Make your own lavender extract to add a subtle lavender taste to your cakes and muffins. Start with less than you think you need. You can always add more, but you can’t remove it if you overdo it!
Consider adding lavender to frosting, whipped cream, cheesecakes, cookies, and more. It’s really a versatile ingredient and deserves more attention!
I like this organic French lavender from Anthony’s. Since a little goes a long way, one bag will last you a while! I bought my bag a year ago and have used it for tons of recipes and projects.
You can absolutely use regular all purpose flour and get good results! Be sure to make sure it is fresh. The softest batch of lemon lavender muffins I ever made used Greek yogurt and white pastry flour! However, I’ve had great experiences using regular AP flour in all of my muffin recipes. Just don’t try to substitute whole wheat! It’ll hide the lavender flavor and dry out the batter.
Related Recipes
- Vanilla Muffins
- Matcha Scones with Raspberry Glaze
- Date Scones
- Pink Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Lemon White Chocolate Scones
Soft & Fluffy Lemon Lavender Muffins Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer or hand mixer with a bowl
- 1 muffin pan
- 12 silicone liners or paper liners
Ingredients
Lemon Lavender Muffins
- 2 cups all purpose flour, 260 g (or pastry flour)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar, 200 g
- 3/4 cup sour cream, or Greek yogurt or buttermilk
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 zest of lemon
- 1/2 tsp lavender extract
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil, cooled; or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Lavender Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp lavender extract, up to 1/2 tsp to taste
- 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 4-5 drops purple food coloring, optional
- dried lavender buds, optional
Instructions
Preheat the Oven
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line your muffin pan with silicone liners or paper liners.
Make the muffins
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) together in a small bowl. Sift the baking powder to ensure it doesn’t have any clumps.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, lavender extract, and coconut oil. Beat until incorporated.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat after each one.
- Gradually mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.
- Scoop your muffin batter into your muffin liners, trying to add the same amount to each one.
Bake the Lemon Lavender Muffins
- Bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. If using silicone liners, remove the muffins from the liners.
Prepare the Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients together. Drizzle it over the top of each muffin or dip the muffins and let any excess drip off. Sprinkle lavender flowers over the glaze before it sets.
Store
- Allow the muffin glaze to set completely before storing them in an airtight container.
Just whisk it all together. 🙂
Mine turned out great!
Delicious! Just the right touch of sweetness for a late spring day!
Powdered sugar dissolves in the liquid from the lemon juice. You just mix it together.