Lavender tea bread with lemon glaze is a sweet, floral infused bread perfect for drinking with tea or coffee. A heavier bread loaf, this recipe is easy for all baking levels and does well in any altitude. Make your own lemon glazed lavender tea bread with this easy to follow recipe.
Delicious Lavender Lemon Tea Bread
I love floral infused desserts. With a touch of sweetness, lavender can make a dish taste just a bit different but beautiful at the same time. Tea breads are heavier and perfect with a cup of black tea. With the added lemon glaze, it gives the bread an extra tart flavor too!
What is a Tea Bread?
A tea bread is a heavier set bread made specifically to be eaten while drinking tea and is usually baked as a bun, English in origin. In America, we commonly drink similar breads and pastries with coffee. Tea bread and tea loafs are not the same thing. A tea loaf is a bread made with spices and cinnamon, enjoyed with butter and not specifically made for tea.
Using Lavender in Recipes
This recipe includes basic ingredients like milk, eggs, butter and sugar. However, you will also need dried lavender buds. Lavender flower buds can be purchased online for consumption, be sure the ones you buy are safe for eating! You can always grow your own lavender and dry the herb yourself.
Be conscious of how much lavender you use, as too much lavender flavor can make your dish taste like perfume. If you want, you can use a bit less lavender, but a little lavender flavor really makes this dish unique.
Infusing the Lavender
Similarly to making a lilac posset, the lavender buds will need to be infused into the milk before being added to the cake batter. This allows the lavender flavor to really shine in the bread. Adding the buds without first infusing will prevent the lavender flavor from being detectible.
As an optional step, you can strain the lavender buds out of the milk, leaving the buds to be discarded. Lavender buds are edible but not everyone like to eat them!
Adding a Lemon Glaze
This recipe does not have lemon in the bread itself, but instead uses lemon juice in just the glaze. A little added tartness keeps the dish from tasting too sweet and really creates a well-rounded sweet bread recipe.
Enjoying This Bread with Tea or Coffee
Floral accents in desserts can sometimes make a dish or dessert taste too sweet. That’s why this sweet bread is perfect with unsweetened tea or black coffee. The bitterness of the hot drink cuts through the sweetness of the cake.
Want more lavender infused recipes? Check out this delicious and refreshing Blueberry Lavender Lemonade Cocktail. You may also like this Lilac Posset (an ancient custard) which can be made with lavender instead!
PIN THIS FOR LATER
Lavender Lemon Tea Bread
Floral infused and delicious, this lavender tea bread is a unique way to enjoy a sweet bread for dessert, or with coffee or tea.
Ingredients
Tea Bread Ingredients
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 2 tbsp dried lavender buds can substitute 3 tbps of fresh lavender
- 6 tbsp butter softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Lemon Glaze Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
Tea Bread Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or line your loaf pans with parchment paper.
-
Combine the lavender buds and milk in a small sauce pan and warm over medium heat. Infusing the lavender into the milk.
-
Heat the lavender buds and milk to a simmer. Remove the unfused milk from heat, and then allow it to cool slightly.
-
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
-
Beat your eggs into the mixture until the mixture is light and fluffy, then add the vanilla and mix completely.
-
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
-
Optional: if you don't like the idea of eating lavender buds, strain the lavender buds from the milk before adding to the wet ingredients.
-
Add and stir your dry ingredients into the creamed butter and sugar mixture, alternating with the milk and lavender until just blended.
-
Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan.
-
Bake the tea bread for 45-50 minutes in the preheated oven. (At high altitude, leave it in a bit longer than directed - about 5 ish minutes)
-
Check with a toothpick that the batter has comes out clean, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a baking rack.
Lemon Glaze
-
To prepare the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and remaining ingredients until smooth.
-
Pour the glaze over the bread while the bread is still warm, until the entire bread is coated in the sugary, lemon goodness.
-
Allow the bread to cool with the glaze and enjoy!
Terra Bootb says
This looks really good! I did not know what tea bread was before reading this. And I always have lavender growing in my garden so looking forward to giving this a try!
Alexis Farmer says
I’ve never had any kind of tea bread but it sounds yummy!
Barbara says
Who doesn’t LOVE a sweet bread? Lavender just makes it all the better!
Suz | TravelsWithSuz.com says
What!! Lavender tea bread sounds amazing! The lemon icing would be a great, complementary flavor.
There are large lavender farms here in New Mexico, and I love the lavender scented soap and lotions I get. I’ve had lavender flavored ice cream – fantastic – but never a bread. I’m saving this, thanks!
Chelsea says
Oh my gosh this looks so yummy and would be perfect paired with a hot cup of tea! I’m planning on trying it with plant-based milk since we are dairy free! Thanks for the recipe!
Sydney Delong-Eat Simply Sweet says
This sounds delicious!!
elaina says
Give me lavender anything, it is one of my favorites! And combined with tea, what else do you need. Looks delicious.
Darby says
This tea bread looks fantastic! + my mouth is watering just looking at the end result!
Emily says
That lemon glaze makes my mouth water!
Elizabeth says
It’s really good!
Sabrina DeWalt says
This sounds like it would be perfect with my morning coffee.
Amanda says
This tea bread looks scrumptious! Besides a tea, it would make a nice addition to a wedding shower or baby shower food, too. But it wouldn’t it be fun to have bake and then have tea with my little girls? Perfect!
Elizabeth says
You’re so right! It’s really pretty and would be great for a wedding shower!
Cindy says
This looks lovely. I will be baking some soon.
Kendra says
Yum! I love the flavor of lavender and lemon! Looks amazing!
Sandra Whitmore says
What an interesting idea. I am trying to imagine what that tastes like.
Marianne says
This looks delicious! I have made lavender sugar cookies before, and they were a hit! (I actually still have some culinary lavender in my pantry!) Might be time to try this recipe out!
Christina Furnival says
I want this and I want it now! Mmmm!
Cindy Moore says
I would love this tea bread! I’ll have to see if I can successfully veganize the recipe.
Marion says
In the recipe, it doesn’t say how many eggs to use. Could you add it? Thanks!
Elizabeth says
Oh so sorry! The recipe needs 2 eggs (I just updated it!)
JR says
I just made this and it is absolutely delicious! I am at a higher altitude and actually had to let it go another 10 minutes, but it turned out beautifully.
Highly recommend this recipe!!
Beth Nottingham says
Does this make one or two loaves? You used the singular word “pan”, and also the plural word “pans”.
I’m getting ready to make this, and I’m so excited! But I need to know if it’s just a single load before I start.
Elizabeth says
Sorry about the confusion, this makes one loaf (one pan). I hope you love the recipe! And I’ll get to editing that here shortly.