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Real Solutions for Real Parents by Autumn Rose Reo

Lemon Lavender Cupcakes (Just like Magnolia Bakery)

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Wish you could take a little bit of Magnolia home with you? With this copycat recipe for their signature Lemon Lavender Cupcakes you can!

A trip to Magnolia Market in Waco is like a checking off the ideal bucket list: a place for the perfect farm house decor, a destination for just enjoying the simple things with friends among the green space, and of course, a taste for the bestest cupcakes (like lemon lavender ones) from Magnolia Bakery.

Magnolia Cupakes


There’s a reason that thousands of people stand in line just for the chance to order and bite into a few delectable treats and walk through Joanna’s sweet design. While we were there we ordered one of each and we’re lucky to get the last lemon lavender cupcake left. 

Magnolia Cupakes

And each bite was absolutely perfect. 

Like each and every bite was better the one before it and you just kept wanting more as you glanced around panorama style at the Pinterest-perfect place they’ve built. 

When we returned from our one-day journey, we yearned for a little piece of Magnolia Market to have with us all the time. So we planted our own piece of gardening heaven complete with lavender in our own little wine barrel and have enjoyed it all summer-long. 

Magnolia-Herb-Garden (40 of 18)

And we also yearned for that lavender cupcake. 

So of course, with lots of lavender, logically I had a hundred reasons to make my own.

Unfortunately I had one BIG one that kept me from cranking them out…the recipe. 

Magnolia Cupakes

And while we all feel like Chip and Jo are our besties (and should be), she isn’t about to share that recipe (at least not yet.) 

So I had to take matters into my own hands and make up my own. 

Magnolia Cupakes

After a few different tries having to slave over cupcake batter and icing recipes (and an education on all things lavender), I came up with what I think is a good reproduction. So much so that we even found the cupcake wrappers to put them in. While my icing skills still could have a little more practice, I was able to shoot a few photos before quickly gobbling these up. 

Magnolia Cupakes

And it was a good gobble. 

It’s like sunshine, cream, summer goodness – in a cute little round package. 

However, there’s always harvesting that lavender to enjoy this cupcake well after autumn and winter has set in. 

So if you get a chance to go to Magnolia especially during this, go. If you can’t, this recipe might help you cope until you do (or make it a lot more fun to watch them on TV.) 

 

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Lemon Lavender Cupcake (Copycat Magnolia Bakery)

  • Author: Autumn Reo of mamachallenge.com
  • Yield: 12
Print Recipe

Description

There’s nothing like this lemon lavender cupcake to make you and your mouth happy (just like a trip to Magnolia.)

Ingredients

Batter

  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 tbsp edible lavender, dried
  • 1 1/3 cups flour (preferably cake)
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Frosting

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon lemon extract

Instructions

For batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a processor/blender, combine milk and lavender and pulse until blended. Set aside.
  3. In a bowl, combine dry batter ingredients (except sugar) until blended. Set aside.
  4. With mixer, combine butter and sugar until fluffy. Blend honey, then eggs, one at a time and lastly add vanilla and lemon. Slowly combine both wet and dry ingredients together, folding in the lavender mixture last, dispersing in the mixture.
  5. Pour into cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Back for 15 – 18 minutes until golden. Remove and allow to cool.

For Frosting

  1. Add butter and sugar together in a stand mixer, adding cream slowly until smooth.
  2. Then beat on high for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add lemon and beat again for another 1 minute to blend.
  4. Spread on cupcakes or use a piping bag to complete the charm.

Notes

  • Add lavender or lemon zest to the top of the icing for an added treat!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 12
  • Calories: 432
  • Sugar: 38
  • Sodium: 123
  • Fat: 25
  • Saturated Fat: 16
  • Unsaturated Fat: 8
  • Trans Fat: 1
  • Carbohydrates: 49
  • Protein: 3
  • Cholesterol: 96

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Comments

  1. Oooh, I thought you meant the Magnolia’s in NYC….but I am sure these are just as yummy! Can’t wait to make them 🙂

    Reply

  3. The cupcakes look AH-Mazing! I am a huge lemon fan so these are right up my alley! I have never tried putting in lavender in anything! I need to try this!

    Reply

  4. Lavender seems to be a popular flavor these days. I see it listed as an ingredient more often when I’m looking for a recipe. I love lemon and I do like to try new combos in the kitchen so I’ll have to try these cupcakes.

    Reply

  8. Lemon and lavender smell so good! I have never had them in a baked good together though. I bet they are refreshing.

    Reply

  9. I love trying copy cat recipes. I will have to add this to my bake list for this weekend. They look so delicious.

    Reply

  16. I’ve never heard of that bakery but these cupcakes sure do look amazing! I would have never thought about lavender in a cupcake but it sounds delicious.

    Reply

  18. I’m making these cupcakes but the recipe has some problems. I figured out that the four frosting ingredients are listed in the middle of the cupcake ingredients, but the “2 teaspoons lemon” is confusing. Is that lemon extract, lemon juice, or lemon zest? I’m using lemon juice so I hope they come out okay.

    Reply

    • Peter, there are some changes that could be made to this recipe which would make it so much better. However, recipes are usually written in two parts, the ingredients and then the directions. In this case the author has written the ingredients for both the batter and the frosting, and then the directions for preparing both. The recipe calls for lemon extract in both the batter and the frosting. One teaspoon lemon extract for the batter and one tablespoon lemon extract for the frosting.

      Reply

  19. When you say “lemon” as the last ingredient, is that lemon juice, lemon pulp, what do you mean exactly? Also, is it not ok to use salted butter and omit the 1/4tsp of salt?

    Thank you!

    Reply

  20. I made this recipe yesterday and it has a long way to go to be similar to the Silos cupcakes. I followed the recipe exactly. The cupcakes had good flavor but came out very dry. I cooked them for 18 minutes. The frosting has a wonderful creamy consistency (how could it not with all that butter?) but the lemon is completely overpowering. My guess is that there is an error in the recipe and it should be 1 tsp. of lemon extract instead of 1 Tbsp. Maybe it should be 1 Tbsp. lemon juice? I commented yesterday, when I was making the recipe, about the confusing use of :”lemon” in the cake part of the recipe. Half my tasters either scraped off the frosting or tossed the whole thing.

    The posts seem to have comments like “this recipe LOOKS delicious.” Has anyone else actually made this recipe?

    Reply

    • I hate to hear that yours didn’t work out. I was surprised mine did on my first try so I’m going to repeat to where the hitch was in your experience. I did change the teaspoon from tablespoon. I didn’t use lemon juice mostly because it might work again all the dairy. Thanks for letting me know and I’ll definitely do a do over to see if there is something I can suggest for a perfect Magnolia cupcake.

      Reply

    • Peter, I can understand why your cupcakes do not taste like Silo’s lemon lavender cupcakes and I visit Silos baking company whenever I am in Texas. Baking is very different than cooking. Baking is a science and if the right ingredients are not added in the right quantities, at the right time in the preparation of your batters your cakes, cupcakes, and pastries are not going to be the quality you would like. Think about baking as a chemistry and as such, you should always weight your ingredients as opposed to using a measuring cup. Keep in mind that one type of flour does not weight the same as another flour i.e. cake vs all purpose vs bread vs OO. You should also take into consideration whether you are using a conventional oven vs a convection oven and always use an oven thermometer to insure that when you set your oven for 350 degrees your oven is in fact 350 degrees. If you have a newer oven you can often re-calibrate your oven on your own (see your owners manual).

      As professional pastry chef, I use one of two formulas that all professional bakers use when evaluating or inventing a recipe.
      1. The lean cake formula, which is used to make dense cakes such as fruit and pound cakes. This formula calls for less sugar and more flour.

      2. The high ratio formula has more sugar than flour. In other words when you compare the amounts of sugar and flour, there should be more sugar. Cupcakes fall into the high ratio formula categories. So if when evaluating your recipes for high ratio goodies, keep the following formulas in mind.

      1. Sugar equals Flour. The sugar should weight at least the same as the flour or ideally slightly more. For example, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar then you should use 1.5 cups of flour. Now this may seem confusing because the sugar looks less than the flour. However, pastry chefs never use cups (volume), they measure everything by weight. So you might consider purchasing a book on equivalents for baking (good quality books written by pastry chefs will have an equivalency table located in the back of the book) and a kitchen scale which can be picked up cheap on Amazon.

      2. Fat equals Eggs. Fat can come in any of the following forms; butter; oils; shortening; egg yolks. Keep in mind that eggs serve two purposes in baked goods, the egg white provides structure and the yolk adds moisture. In fact, egg whites can dry out your baked goods if your ratios are not correct. So if your recipe calls for 2 eggs and your cupcakes turn out dry, try substituting 1 of the eggs with three egg yolks.

      Shortening and egg yolks are the preferred ingredients for high ratio baked goods, because shortening contains emulsifiers it is much better at holding your cakes together. Butter can do the same thing, but you must insure that the butter is sufficiently aerated by creaming it. When butter is sufficiently aerated it will look pale in color and very fluffy. Eggs yolks are emulsifiers and must be added to the butter after proper aeration is achieved. You could also replace part of the butter with oil which produces a superb tender moist crumb because oil coats the protein structure far better than any other form of fat producing a moist smooth product.

      3. Liquids (which include the eggs) equals sugar. When I say liquids I am talking milk, water, juice, eggs etc. I realize that cooking oils can look like liquid, however, oil should not be confused with liquid. Oils, butter, shortening are all considered fats.

      the amount of leavening agent is also a very important consideration. Leavening agents are used to create light and fluffy cakes. Leaving agents create small bubbles in the batter. However, if you over-leaven the batter the bubbles get too big, pop, and you end up with a very dense heavy product.

      1. If your cupcakes are dry take a look at the eggs. Eggs serve two purposes in baked goods, the whites when mixed with flour are responsible for structure, while the yolks provide moisture. If your recipe calls for two eggs, try using one egg and three yolks. I promise you will not be disappointed.

      2. You should be sure to check your oven temperature. You can pick up a good oven tester cheap on Amazon.

      Both recipes (the cake & the frosting) call for far too much lemon extract and really lemon extract should be avoided. The flavor profile you’ll get from lemon juice vs. lemon extract is so completely different, When considering what to use; Lemon extract versus lemon juice, consider the fact that good pastry chef’s avoid the use of extracts with the exception of vanilla. I prefer to use fresh juices, purees, and nut flours. This insures that that the taste of the finished product will insure the palate tastes all of the flavors of the product. When using extracts you risk having one flavor overpower the others. Pure Lemon extract is very potent stuff. The ingredients are alcohol, water, and lemon oil which comes from the lemon’s peel. It lacks the tartness of the lemon which is often the preferred taste of lemon in baked goods especially the frosting that accompany the cake. For the cake I use both lemon juice and peel.

      Another question was the use of salted butter versus butter. Never use salted butter in a recipe unless it absolutely states salted butter (such as in Toll House Cookies). I also don’t suggest scrapping the salt in a recipe by using salted butter. Keep both types of butter in your staples. Unsalted butter should be used in all recipes and salted butter should be kept for things like vegetables and bread. I like to think of salted butter as table butter. It is great for corn on the cob, toast, potatoes, etc, but using it in your recipes can ruin a meal. Always salt to taste.

      Reply

  21. So excited to try this recipe! Sounds super delicious! I’m curious though, is the 1 cup of butter or 1/2 cup butter for the batter portion of the recipe? And when it says “2 tsp lemon” is that lemon extract? Does the 2 tsp lemon or 1 tbsp lemon extract go in the batter?

    Thanks so much!

    Reply

  22. Hi there!

    I just wanted to let you know that this recipe is phenomenal! I went to the Silos for the first time last week and have been craving some Lemon Lavender Cupcakes ever since. This recipe really does taste like it. Just a little lighter feel to the cupcake but SO good! My husband is raving!

    Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  23. My frosting wasn’t very thick. I followed the recipe but it wasn’t thick enough to spread. I used 2 tablespoons of cream. Should there have been more? I also whipped it for 4 minutes.
    Today was my first text. I’d like to make these for my aunts 90th birthday.
    Another goofy question. Do you bake the cupcake in the tulip wrappers?

    Reply

    • Happy 90th to your aunt! I didn’t have any issue with my icing, but adding more powdered sugar is always an option. I’m thinking to remake these soon since I get lots of requests. Yes the tulip wrappers act as your cupcake wrapper so just make sure your rack has room for them since they’re tall.

      Reply

  24. These are just like the silos. I have been search for the recipe since our visit in March. I would love to have some more copy cat recipes of their cupcakes and muffins.

    Reply

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