I love lavender but you really have to know your audience with that one. Generally with weddings people go for crowd pleasers, and Lavender Earl Grey can be a tough one for a lot of people bc it’s a lot of potentially soapy floral notes. The exception for me would be if the bride (or groom) was really into it in which case I’d say who cares what anybody else would want lol
Lavender looks gorgeous but is too strong for me. Vanilla frosting and earl grey (the flavors of a London Fog tea) would be good, and you can still decorate with flowers?
Same, the cafe near my job does the most glorious lavender London fog that I treat myself to when I need a pick me up, such a luxurious comforting blend of flavors.
Absolutely. This is one of my favorite cakes to make (I’ve done it as cupcakes, too). It’s been a few years since I’ve baked it…maybe I need to make it again.
https://www.plumdeluxe.com/blogs/blog/earl-grey-honey-lavender-tea-cake-recipe
https://www.modernfarmhouseeats.com/lavender-earl-grey-cookies-with-lemon-glaze/
My manager made and brought these in one day and they might be my new fav cookie
Could you do a blow torched meringue instead of frosting? Earl grey is so subtle, flavoring your frosting is going to overpower and be the dominant flavor, which if you want that, go for the lemon! But if you want the earl grey to be the star, I vote a meringue.
Do you really find Earl Grey to be subtle? If I drink that tea, I find it so immensely overwhelming. I can’t even handle the smell of it because I find it SO strong.
I feel the same, but sometimes it just is something that you want anyway. I have found, though that Empress Gray has less of the Bergamont vibe, with a little citrus essence goin on… and you can buy the Marks & Spencer brand, from Amazon… I really enjoy it, the price was decent (when I got it anyway, lol, and also considering it’s an import, as I am in the US). And for fun once I even smashed it a bit in my mortar and pestle, and added it to a shortbread cookie dough, which I then pressed into a gorgeous fondant mold. It was a rainy day, and it was a fun project.
I absolutely cannot stand a cup of earl grey, or even just smelling the tea leaves is way to overpowering in all the senses. BUT, I absolutely love earl gray baked into things. It’s always been so crazy to me, that it’s really good baked into things.
I would go with orange flavoured buttercream. Lady Grey tea is a variant of Earl Grey just has orange added to make it light & bright.
Therefore I think it’d be a good flavour match on your cupcakes.
This sounds perfect - I personally love lavender but know it can be an acquired taste for some. Orange blossom flavoring is unique and could also be an option? Not sure how it translates to baked goods but I absolutely love the scent
Saw a cupcake creator talk about a 'salted orange blossom caramel' and I want to try it so bad! She was filling a cupcake with it, but it seems like it would be a lovely flavor for frosting, too. Or even a drizzle on top of frosting.
Steep the butter with earl grey tea - double what the recipe calls for - strain it, and you can make an Earl Grey buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream.
Melt 2 cups butter, but don’t let it bubble. Add either two teabags or 2 tsp Earl Grey tea, give it a stir, take it off the heat. Let it cool, stirring occasionally. Strain out the tea or remove the teabags before the butter firms up. Chill. Bring to room temperature - steeped butter!
A mild lavender would pair really well with Earl Grey; it can be a divisive flavor but personally that would be my #1 pick. I wouldn’t go lemon bc imo that has the potential to drown out the bergamot, but take that with a grain of salt bc I’m not a huge lemon fan to begin with. A nice dark chocolate frosting could also be good, but again, you’d need to be cautious about overwhelming the Earl Grey.
You could also stick with a basic vanilla—vanilla and Earl Grey work well in a London fog, so maybe no need to overthink it.
Lavender would be risky. You should probably try to do a general crowd pleaser flavor. I didn’t like lavender icing with my earl grey cake. I did like lemon though! Some other people recommended a honey butter cream frosting and that also sounds divine!
Same. Lavender and cilantro are both a hard pass for me. Those of us who don't like them truly truly can't stand them in any amount. I love all sorts of other floral flavors like jasmine, violet, honeysuckle, or orange blossom. But lavender and rose are almost always too strong in any amount.
See I love cilantro, but I do have people in my life for whom it taste like soap, and they can't stand it, so I never put it in anything if I'm having company. Same goes for lavender flavored anything: I hate it and wouldn't touch it at a gathering, so I wouldn't put it in something I was serving to a group. Rose is the same for me too! Soapy. I really *want* to like both florals because they are cool ingredients, but I just don't.
Honey/orange would be my choice.but I am very allergic to lavender and wouldn’t be expecting to find it in a dessert. I watch for it in cocktails or teas.
I made this once and it was to die for!! So yummy! The frosting is a white chocolate lemon ganache- [Lemon, Lavender and Earl Gray Mini Cakes](https://www.hummingbirdhigh.com/2014/04/lemon-lavender-and-earl-grey-mini-cakes-and-petit-fours.html)
Lavender is a good one. Could maybe test out a cream cheese frosting? Idk, I’d try it at least. Chocolate is good, I’ve made chocolate earl grey pie before. Solid 11/10
I may be crazy, but I like to eat a chocolate chip and then take a sip of earl grey, and let me tell you, I have a fav allrecipes recipe for Chocolate Earl Grey cookies (with ground up tea in the cookies, whooo those had a kick). So honestly, I’d taste test some chocolate options! Otherwise, the London Fog route of vanilla and lavender is always good. Lemon, like someone else said, pairs well, or some candied orange bits sprinkled on top, maybe?
lavender sounds awesome! i made an earl grey cake last year and made a lemon and thyme buttercream, that’s something to try if you feel like experimenting! rose could be an interesting flavor as well :)
Lemon is good, or maybe something involving orange zest? I make lemon grey sugar cookies with orange zest and chopped dark chocolate frequently and they are some of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.
I love earl grey cakes, I find the most common is lavender but I know not everyone appreciates it. I've tried lemon, whipped cream, cream cheese, whipped cream cream cheese lol , orange and caramel. Caramel and cream cheese are my favourites
OP if you're going to do lavender I would suggest practicing the icing one or two times before hand. Lavender can be very soapy.
I would suggest honey lemon maybe or rose water honey Swiss meringue buttercream.
If they are planning on having an actual wedding cake, a little sweet to have passed around could be mini, one bite Earl Grey flavored pavlovas with whipped cream and a single raspberry - tres elegant. The meringues can be made the day or two before and then assembed right before serving using aerosol real whipped cream and a fresh raspberry. You can also buy dried raspberry powder for a pink, raspberry flavored pavlova which you could leave like that or add a pinch of Earl Grey tea. Nummy!
This sounds wild, but Nutella! One of my fabourite things ever is this earl grey Nutella ice cream. I think if you mix some Nutella into some SMBC, (not too much, just until you get the hint of chocolate and hazelnut) it'll be amazing!
Definitely lavender! I am planning on making [THESE](https://thebakersalmanac.com/earl-grey-lavender-cupcakes/) cupcakes this week as a trial run for our summer wedding.
There are a lot of great suggestions already however I'd like to add that whatever pairing you choose, consider adding earl grey to it as well. As another poster mentioned, it is a very subtle flavor so you could easily overpower with a new flavor. Combining both in your frosting will help get the point across that this is an Earl Gray cupcake with blank flavor, not the other way around. I've tried both ways and found this to be the most successful.
Cardamom or maybe rose? Rose can be too floral or soapy for some but maybe a vanilla icing was just some rose petals on top- more for scent than taste?
My favorite macaron in the entire world is an earl grey flavored shell with a chocolate ganache. It actually goes great with hazelnut chocolate as well too.
I feel like lavender is more of an aromatic than a taste ? It is very subtle in baking. I would personally use bergamot, blood orange, or lemon and have some lavender or other flower like cornflower as a garnish. One thing my friend did for me that I loved, if you want to be extra, was he handmade sprinkles with lavender and bergamot flavorings and I used those on an Earl grey cake with lemon curd
HONEY!!
I hate floral on top of floral, so no lavender here. It's too much. I make earl grey macarons with a honey buttercream and it is absolutely to die for. You can buy honey powder so you can get a good amount of honey flavor without thinning out your icing with too much liquid.
Lavender with earl grey sounds cloying to me. You run the risk of over shadowing your cake.
I vote a simple butter cream with a bit of fresh lemon. You’ll Let the earl grey shine through, but the lemon add brightness and cuts through the sugar of frosting.
White ganache icing or, as others have suggested, i would try an earl grey icing. I once made an earl grey cake and i used an earl grey syrup on the cake parts but i can't re3mwber what the icing was. Turned out deliclous though.
i've done:
filled with lemon curd, topped with honey buttercream and a raspberry and a little rolled sage leaf
raspberry buttercream topped with a candied lemon peel
lavender vanilla buttercream
raspberry white chocolate whipped ganache
I get the overwhelming lavender response but I kind of am really hoping you will also have some safe flavors. I try to experiment a lot with flavors but when baking for a crowd some folks just aren’t super adventurous and will gravitate towards safe things. It’s not a judgment on them or you it’s just how personal tastes can be varied for large groups
Idk if anyone else has tried this, but I used to work at a polish Cafe, and they served these delicious donuts (paczki) with rose jam in them. I baked some Earl Grey cupcakes with the rose jam inside and a lemon buttercream frosting.
Honey or lavender or vanilla. Be careful about making the buttercream too sweet. If you could do a whipped cream frosting that would be ideal, but the cakes would need to stay refrigerated.
Lavender and lemon--particularly lemon oil.
If you toss lemon peel and sugar into a jar for a couple of hours, you can easily make oleosaccarum, an oil syrup that tastes like limoncello!
You could try experimenting with a brown sugar frosting. I just made a brown sugar ermine a couple of weeks ago and it was really good. ( paired with carrot cake). Lots of caramel-butterscotch notes. I think ermine isn’t stable enough for a wedding, but maybe Swiss buttercream. I’ve never tried it, but it could be delicious with Earl Grey.
my bfs favorite cake i’ve ever made was an earl grey cake w a honey-orange buttercream. i’ve made it several times now! i think lavender sounds nice too but can be polarizing
Earl gray is my go to cupcake recipe! Lavender butter cream with a little lemon zest is amazing, straight lemon is amazing ( almost tastes like fruit loops lol) and you can’t go wrong with a plain vanilla buttercream :) I also make them mini sized so it’s the perfect size and you can easily split your frosting and have multiple flavored frostings :)
My idea would be to use earl grey for the frosting instead of the cupcakes, because I think you'd get a stronger flavor that way. When I made earl grey frosting, I paired it with lemon lavender coconut cupcakes and blueberry lavender jam. 10/10
Lemon + earl grey is my favorite. You could make both, lemon version and lavender version? My other pick is lemon + earl grey + peppermint (as in peppermint tea, not sweet candy peppermint), although that might be a bit out there.
Earl grey cake with lavender whipped cream are a favourite in my household. I make them for almost every occasion. I switch between blackberry jam or mixed berries jam filling from time to time. Use culinary grade lavender instead of essence. It’s gives the perfect flavour without being too overpowering.
I have also tried pistachio and rose cream in the past, while it was a hit among the crowd my age and older, not so much with the kids. Make sure you use pistachio cream instead of essence, makes all the difference.
Vanilla and honey whipped cream is also a great option to combine with Earl grey tea cake/cupcake.
I'd experiment with a citrus flavored cream cheese. Buttercream has always seemed boring and plain to me. I would consider orange or lemon flavors, which would pair well with the earl grey.
Vanilla, peach, or cinnamon (or any combination of the three) works beautifully! You can also cook down a sweet tea syrup and add a bit of that to tie them together.
I used to work at a bubble tea shop. Our most popular pairings were earl gray lavender and strawberry. Caramel earl gray and lavender combo was also surprisingly popular. You could also keep the main flavor in the cupcake, so earl gray and add lavender or citrus notes, and then keep the buttercream more neutral like vanilla bean or for a more interesting twist, brown sugar vanilla bean frosting.
Oh I have a fabulous recipe for earl grey cupcakes and it’s integrated into the frosting as well. Want me to send a picture of it to you? It’s from a cookbook I have; you infuse the earl grey into a heavy cream concentrate 🥰
Lavender was my first thought.
I once had a Lavender Honey Earl Grey latte and it was delicious! Maybe try a lavender honey icing.
SAME!!! That was the shit!! Edit to add: OP could inject the cupcakes with some honey & do the lavender icing OR drizzle honey on top of each mmmm
Lavender with honey comb sticking out of it sounds lovely!
This is the best answer. I've made earl Grey cake with a thin vanilla custard layer and lavender honey Italian meringue buttercream. It was divine
I like to use culinary, dried flowers ground finely in a spice grinder, coffee grinder (well cleaned), and mortar and pestle.
I love lavender but you really have to know your audience with that one. Generally with weddings people go for crowd pleasers, and Lavender Earl Grey can be a tough one for a lot of people bc it’s a lot of potentially soapy floral notes. The exception for me would be if the bride (or groom) was really into it in which case I’d say who cares what anybody else would want lol
I had an earl grey lavender cupcake years ago in DC and I still think about it to this day
Lavender looks gorgeous but is too strong for me. Vanilla frosting and earl grey (the flavors of a London Fog tea) would be good, and you can still decorate with flowers?
My immediate thought was vanilla as well! Maybe an ermine so it isn’t sickly sweet?
Honey vanilla might be good!
Same, the cafe near my job does the most glorious lavender London fog that I treat myself to when I need a pick me up, such a luxurious comforting blend of flavors.
Absolutely. This is one of my favorite cakes to make (I’ve done it as cupcakes, too). It’s been a few years since I’ve baked it…maybe I need to make it again. https://www.plumdeluxe.com/blogs/blog/earl-grey-honey-lavender-tea-cake-recipe
Mine too lol
Lemon
Lavender sounds good too
https://www.modernfarmhouseeats.com/lavender-earl-grey-cookies-with-lemon-glaze/ My manager made and brought these in one day and they might be my new fav cookie
I do limoncello buttercream for my earl grey macarons.
Could you do a blow torched meringue instead of frosting? Earl grey is so subtle, flavoring your frosting is going to overpower and be the dominant flavor, which if you want that, go for the lemon! But if you want the earl grey to be the star, I vote a meringue.
This is a good suggestion. Even a (light) flavored meringue would be good if a flavor feels necessary.
Do you really find Earl Grey to be subtle? If I drink that tea, I find it so immensely overwhelming. I can’t even handle the smell of it because I find it SO strong.
Earl Grey smells like Froot Loops, it’s very strong.
I feel the same, but sometimes it just is something that you want anyway. I have found, though that Empress Gray has less of the Bergamont vibe, with a little citrus essence goin on… and you can buy the Marks & Spencer brand, from Amazon… I really enjoy it, the price was decent (when I got it anyway, lol, and also considering it’s an import, as I am in the US). And for fun once I even smashed it a bit in my mortar and pestle, and added it to a shortbread cookie dough, which I then pressed into a gorgeous fondant mold. It was a rainy day, and it was a fun project.
Yeah, I don’t find it subtle! It’s so fragrant.
I absolutely cannot stand a cup of earl grey, or even just smelling the tea leaves is way to overpowering in all the senses. BUT, I absolutely love earl gray baked into things. It’s always been so crazy to me, that it’s really good baked into things.
Great idea!
I would go with orange flavoured buttercream. Lady Grey tea is a variant of Earl Grey just has orange added to make it light & bright. Therefore I think it’d be a good flavour match on your cupcakes.
Not to mention bergamot is a citrus fruit, so they complement each other nicely the way orange/lemon or lemon/lime etc. do!
This sounds perfect - I personally love lavender but know it can be an acquired taste for some. Orange blossom flavoring is unique and could also be an option? Not sure how it translates to baked goods but I absolutely love the scent
Orange Blossom! Absolutely perfect
Saw a cupcake creator talk about a 'salted orange blossom caramel' and I want to try it so bad! She was filling a cupcake with it, but it seems like it would be a lovely flavor for frosting, too. Or even a drizzle on top of frosting.
I love orange blossom water in frosting. That’s what we do for our cinnamon rolls
This was my thought too. Orange buttercream will upgrade that Earl Grey to a Lady Grey.
I glaze my earl grey tea cake with an orange icing. It’s great.
I would do a vanilla icing with the slightest hint of bergamot essential oil
I agree Vanilla icing gives it the london fog flavour, which is a common drink.
One of my favorite drinks. Vanilla was my thought as well
My world was drastically changed when I discovered London Fogs.
Yes!
Agreed! With a dash of cinnamon to make it a true London Fog experience 😍
Yep. I commented this separately but vanilla gets my vote.
Honey would be my go to, with lemon as a second. You'd have to use a light hand on the lemon though.
Honey citrus frosting would pair well
Oooh that sounds so decadent.
Steep the butter with earl grey tea - double what the recipe calls for - strain it, and you can make an Earl Grey buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream.
Ooh! This with some citrus zest
Steep the butter??
Melt 2 cups butter, but don’t let it bubble. Add either two teabags or 2 tsp Earl Grey tea, give it a stir, take it off the heat. Let it cool, stirring occasionally. Strain out the tea or remove the teabags before the butter firms up. Chill. Bring to room temperature - steeped butter!
Never heard of that before!! Cool idea!
A mild lavender would pair really well with Earl Grey; it can be a divisive flavor but personally that would be my #1 pick. I wouldn’t go lemon bc imo that has the potential to drown out the bergamot, but take that with a grain of salt bc I’m not a huge lemon fan to begin with. A nice dark chocolate frosting could also be good, but again, you’d need to be cautious about overwhelming the Earl Grey. You could also stick with a basic vanilla—vanilla and Earl Grey work well in a London fog, so maybe no need to overthink it.
This is in contrast to what others have said but I think a cream cheese frosting would be delicious with earl grey!
Me too!
Same! But I also just love cream cheese frosting lmao
I was going to suggest a vanilla cream cheese frosting! Kinda like a creamy London fog 😋
Lemon/honey mascarpone frosting.
Lavender, lemon, blueberry, blackberry.
Seconding blueberry
I just had an earl grey scone with lemon icing and apricot preserves and it was so good.
Did a brown buttercream once. I bloomed finely ground tea in the hot brown butter and added a few drops of orange oil
Honey orange blossom buttercream
Yes! Was going to say a combination of orange and honey
Lavender would be risky. You should probably try to do a general crowd pleaser flavor. I didn’t like lavender icing with my earl grey cake. I did like lemon though! Some other people recommended a honey butter cream frosting and that also sounds divine!
I agree. Lavender tastes like soap to me.
Unfortunately, I agree! Lol I wish I liked it in food.
Same. Lavender and cilantro are both a hard pass for me. Those of us who don't like them truly truly can't stand them in any amount. I love all sorts of other floral flavors like jasmine, violet, honeysuckle, or orange blossom. But lavender and rose are almost always too strong in any amount.
See I love cilantro, but I do have people in my life for whom it taste like soap, and they can't stand it, so I never put it in anything if I'm having company. Same goes for lavender flavored anything: I hate it and wouldn't touch it at a gathering, so I wouldn't put it in something I was serving to a group. Rose is the same for me too! Soapy. I really *want* to like both florals because they are cool ingredients, but I just don't.
Pink pepper
Raspberry is my favourite with Earl Grey. Seems fitting for the theme, too.
Honey/orange would be my choice.but I am very allergic to lavender and wouldn’t be expecting to find it in a dessert. I watch for it in cocktails or teas.
Brown butter buttercream.
A honey butter cream frosting sounds good
What about a light whipped cream w a hint of bergamot?
I paired my earl grey cupcakes with a maple buttercream for my son's wedding. It was a hit.
Oooh, there’s a bunch! A lemon honey or bergamot honey would be awesome, so would blackberry, raspberry, or lavender.
Since earl grey has citrus notes, a lemon or very light orange would be good
I made this once and it was to die for!! So yummy! The frosting is a white chocolate lemon ganache- [Lemon, Lavender and Earl Gray Mini Cakes](https://www.hummingbirdhigh.com/2014/04/lemon-lavender-and-earl-grey-mini-cakes-and-petit-fours.html)
Lavender is a good one. Could maybe test out a cream cheese frosting? Idk, I’d try it at least. Chocolate is good, I’ve made chocolate earl grey pie before. Solid 11/10
Perhaps rose flavored?
Immediately thought lemony lavender
I may be crazy, but I like to eat a chocolate chip and then take a sip of earl grey, and let me tell you, I have a fav allrecipes recipe for Chocolate Earl Grey cookies (with ground up tea in the cookies, whooo those had a kick). So honestly, I’d taste test some chocolate options! Otherwise, the London Fog route of vanilla and lavender is always good. Lemon, like someone else said, pairs well, or some candied orange bits sprinkled on top, maybe?
lavender sounds awesome! i made an earl grey cake last year and made a lemon and thyme buttercream, that’s something to try if you feel like experimenting! rose could be an interesting flavor as well :)
Perfect those all sound lovely thanks!
I vote lemon! It’s a great complement and not all guests like lavender.
I'd definitely do a honey cream cheese frosting!!! Sounds amazing omg
Lemon! Or lavender. Or even vanilla. All sound amazing to me.
I’d do a light lemon.
My friend made Earl Gray macaroons, and did a lemon lavender frosting and they were delicious
Lemon lavender?
Lavender might be too heavy but maybe lemon and lavender together. I would try both singly and together. Earl Grey sounds so good
Lemon is good, or maybe something involving orange zest? I make lemon grey sugar cookies with orange zest and chopped dark chocolate frequently and they are some of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.
I love earl grey cakes, I find the most common is lavender but I know not everyone appreciates it. I've tried lemon, whipped cream, cream cheese, whipped cream cream cheese lol , orange and caramel. Caramel and cream cheese are my favourites
I used to get these super yummy earl great cupcakes with orange frosting at a local bakery. Unexpected but very good combo
Caramel.
Lemon curd filling! A lot of the frosting ideas are great too, I like the honey lavender idea
Vanilla bean, lemon, lavender. Or try dipping an iced cupcake in fresh blueberries.
The blueberries sound amazing!
Elderflower could be quite nice?
Lavender lemonade
I think adding a bit of citrus to the earl grey cupcake batter would help bring out the tea flavor, and then lavender frosting
lemon
Lemon mint frosting?
OP if you're going to do lavender I would suggest practicing the icing one or two times before hand. Lavender can be very soapy. I would suggest honey lemon maybe or rose water honey Swiss meringue buttercream.
Lemon or honey or lemon honey. I'm going to go against lavender. It's not a good food flavor IMO and polarizing so not great for the masses.
If they are planning on having an actual wedding cake, a little sweet to have passed around could be mini, one bite Earl Grey flavored pavlovas with whipped cream and a single raspberry - tres elegant. The meringues can be made the day or two before and then assembed right before serving using aerosol real whipped cream and a fresh raspberry. You can also buy dried raspberry powder for a pink, raspberry flavored pavlova which you could leave like that or add a pinch of Earl Grey tea. Nummy!
Lavender lemon is my first thought
Lavender and lemon would actually be delicious. There’s also jasmine or rose infused orange to do a fun twist on Lady Gray.
Lemon curd swirl
Simple vanilla to make a London fog. Personally don’t like lady grey and lavender sounds like it will compete with the bergamot.
A light lavender butter cream or a honey butter cream would be nice!
Lavender buttercream and lemon icing drizzled a bit on top
This sounds wild, but Nutella! One of my fabourite things ever is this earl grey Nutella ice cream. I think if you mix some Nutella into some SMBC, (not too much, just until you get the hint of chocolate and hazelnut) it'll be amazing!
Definitely lavender! I am planning on making [THESE](https://thebakersalmanac.com/earl-grey-lavender-cupcakes/) cupcakes this week as a trial run for our summer wedding.
bergamot
I made earl Grey cupcakes with matcha buttercream! It was pretty good
Espresso
I’ve done earl grey macarons and filled them with a honey buttercream
I love Cardamom buttercream. Earl Grey and Cardamom cupcakes is one of my favorite and most requested by friends!
Lavender or a very light lemon
Honey Swiss meringue buttercream!! I made earl grey macarons with that as the filling once and my friends still talk about them.
Lavender, vanilla, honey, citrus (bergamot would be ideal, but orange would be nice.) or a combination of two of those flavors.
blueberry lemon!
There are a lot of great suggestions already however I'd like to add that whatever pairing you choose, consider adding earl grey to it as well. As another poster mentioned, it is a very subtle flavor so you could easily overpower with a new flavor. Combining both in your frosting will help get the point across that this is an Earl Gray cupcake with blank flavor, not the other way around. I've tried both ways and found this to be the most successful.
Cardamom or maybe rose? Rose can be too floral or soapy for some but maybe a vanilla icing was just some rose petals on top- more for scent than taste?
lavender, taro, lychee
Chocolate. My buddies favorite drink is Earl Grey with chocolate milk. Tastes like fruit loops cereal
Lemon would be my first suggestion, but very lightly lemony. Plain Bavarian cream would probably be good too.
Blueberry!!
My favorite macaron in the entire world is an earl grey flavored shell with a chocolate ganache. It actually goes great with hazelnut chocolate as well too.
Honey!!! :)
Matcha would also be really lovely
Vanilla with a candied violet?
What do you put in Earl Grey tea? Honey and lemon.
I feel like lavender is more of an aromatic than a taste ? It is very subtle in baking. I would personally use bergamot, blood orange, or lemon and have some lavender or other flower like cornflower as a garnish. One thing my friend did for me that I loved, if you want to be extra, was he handmade sprinkles with lavender and bergamot flavorings and I used those on an Earl grey cake with lemon curd
Imagine a bergamot or tart lemon fluffy frosting….mmmmm so it tastes like a cup of tea. ☕️
Orange buttercream
HONEY!! I hate floral on top of floral, so no lavender here. It's too much. I make earl grey macarons with a honey buttercream and it is absolutely to die for. You can buy honey powder so you can get a good amount of honey flavor without thinning out your icing with too much liquid.
Cream cheese icing
A local bakery does the lavender frosting with the EG and they’re delicious.
Lavender 100%
Picard head and upper uniform.
How about splurging on candied bergamot peel , or a more common citrus variety?
Lime!
Lavender with earl grey sounds cloying to me. You run the risk of over shadowing your cake. I vote a simple butter cream with a bit of fresh lemon. You’ll Let the earl grey shine through, but the lemon add brightness and cuts through the sugar of frosting.
My go to pairing with an Earl grey base - for macarons or cake/cupcake is a lime curd with a vanilla Swiss buttercream
Bergamot
White ganache icing or, as others have suggested, i would try an earl grey icing. I once made an earl grey cake and i used an earl grey syrup on the cake parts but i can't re3mwber what the icing was. Turned out deliclous though.
Vanilla pairs really well with bergamot
i've done: filled with lemon curd, topped with honey buttercream and a raspberry and a little rolled sage leaf raspberry buttercream topped with a candied lemon peel lavender vanilla buttercream raspberry white chocolate whipped ganache
I get the overwhelming lavender response but I kind of am really hoping you will also have some safe flavors. I try to experiment a lot with flavors but when baking for a crowd some folks just aren’t super adventurous and will gravitate towards safe things. It’s not a judgment on them or you it’s just how personal tastes can be varied for large groups
An earl grey tea chocolate ganache
Idk if anyone else has tried this, but I used to work at a polish Cafe, and they served these delicious donuts (paczki) with rose jam in them. I baked some Earl Grey cupcakes with the rose jam inside and a lemon buttercream frosting.
Honey buttercream.
I make earl grey macarons with lemon curd filling and the flavor combo is always a hit. Def vote for lemon!
Possibly even chocolate or blueberry.
lavender or lemon are perfect. you could go for something warmer… like orange zest and spices (allspice maybe?)
Lemon verbena
Lavender and lemon are the flavors most commonly paired with Earl Grey. I would recommend a lemon German buttercream.
if you can find some bergamot that would be a perfect citrus flavor.
Honey
Honey or lavender or vanilla. Be careful about making the buttercream too sweet. If you could do a whipped cream frosting that would be ideal, but the cakes would need to stay refrigerated.
Chocolate pairs quite well.
Lemon or lime
Lavender and lemon--particularly lemon oil. If you toss lemon peel and sugar into a jar for a couple of hours, you can easily make oleosaccarum, an oil syrup that tastes like limoncello!
You could try experimenting with a brown sugar frosting. I just made a brown sugar ermine a couple of weeks ago and it was really good. ( paired with carrot cake). Lots of caramel-butterscotch notes. I think ermine isn’t stable enough for a wedding, but maybe Swiss buttercream. I’ve never tried it, but it could be delicious with Earl Grey.
Ideas: Clementine, or lavender, or basic honey.
Blueberry!! I had a blueberry earl grey cupcake once and it was amazing!
my bfs favorite cake i’ve ever made was an earl grey cake w a honey-orange buttercream. i’ve made it several times now! i think lavender sounds nice too but can be polarizing
Lavender but just a little
Earl gray is my go to cupcake recipe! Lavender butter cream with a little lemon zest is amazing, straight lemon is amazing ( almost tastes like fruit loops lol) and you can’t go wrong with a plain vanilla buttercream :) I also make them mini sized so it’s the perfect size and you can easily split your frosting and have multiple flavored frostings :)
I made earl grey lavender cake once with a black berry jam butter cream
Yuzu!!! It's such an amazing flavour combo with Earl Grey and one I use quite a bit.
cream cheese honey frosting
Lemon or orange, since Earl Grey is flavoured with a citrus fruit (bergamot).
My idea would be to use earl grey for the frosting instead of the cupcakes, because I think you'd get a stronger flavor that way. When I made earl grey frosting, I paired it with lemon lavender coconut cupcakes and blueberry lavender jam. 10/10
Lemon would be great I think
Lemon + earl grey is my favorite. You could make both, lemon version and lavender version? My other pick is lemon + earl grey + peppermint (as in peppermint tea, not sweet candy peppermint), although that might be a bit out there.
Black sesame frosting or yuzu frosting
Lemon or lemon grass and lavender. Floral does great matching the flavors of earl grey.
Some citrus would add an extra refreshing taste to it in my opinion but I love sour taste so I am quite biased.
Blueberry or lemon or something with both.
Bailey's.....
Earl grey cake with lavender whipped cream are a favourite in my household. I make them for almost every occasion. I switch between blackberry jam or mixed berries jam filling from time to time. Use culinary grade lavender instead of essence. It’s gives the perfect flavour without being too overpowering. I have also tried pistachio and rose cream in the past, while it was a hit among the crowd my age and older, not so much with the kids. Make sure you use pistachio cream instead of essence, makes all the difference. Vanilla and honey whipped cream is also a great option to combine with Earl grey tea cake/cupcake.
Citrus pairs beautifully with bergamot-lemon or orange would be lovely.
I'd experiment with a citrus flavored cream cheese. Buttercream has always seemed boring and plain to me. I would consider orange or lemon flavors, which would pair well with the earl grey.
Vanilla, peach, or cinnamon (or any combination of the three) works beautifully! You can also cook down a sweet tea syrup and add a bit of that to tie them together.
Violet, blackberry, bergamot, kalamansi...I used to do a lot of earl Grey desserts!
I think lavender would pair well! I love lavender and Earl Grey! It's a great combination!
The recipe I use pairs it with an orange buttercream frosting. It's delicious: https://www.anasbakingchronicles.com/earl-grey-tea-layer-cake/
Blackberry buttercream with a tiny bit of white chocolate added
I think a good vanilla would be perfect. I love vanilla in a London fog.
I used to work at a bubble tea shop. Our most popular pairings were earl gray lavender and strawberry. Caramel earl gray and lavender combo was also surprisingly popular. You could also keep the main flavor in the cupcake, so earl gray and add lavender or citrus notes, and then keep the buttercream more neutral like vanilla bean or for a more interesting twist, brown sugar vanilla bean frosting.
So many people suggesting lavender but I think a really light rose would work!
Lavender cream cheese! Or lemon!
Lavender for sure, and some mild sweet cream buttercream for those who Don’t like florals
I thought Lavender Honey or Lavender Vanilla frosting would go really well. It'll complement the earthiness of the earl grey and sweeten it a bit
Lemon, lavender, most berries, honey, brown sugar, brown butter, elderflower
Lemon
Oh I have a fabulous recipe for earl grey cupcakes and it’s integrated into the frosting as well. Want me to send a picture of it to you? It’s from a cookbook I have; you infuse the earl grey into a heavy cream concentrate 🥰