Lavender Tea Bread
Inspired by a trip to Downton Abbey in England, enjoy a slice of our Lavender Tea Bread (tea loaf) for your next “tea,” a very moist sweet loaf cake with a warm glaze. It’s a light quick bread infused with fresh lavender and it’s amazing!
Today I’m sharing a delicious Downton Abbey Lavender Tea Bread that I was able to enjoy while I visited the Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed years ago in the town of Bampton.
Lavender Tea Bread
Well, today’s recipe is sort of like a cake, but in the shape of a loaf. You can use fresh lavender, or you can buy it dried. I mostly use dried, and I buy it from World Market. It’s called “French Lavender” and it comes in a square package in the herb section. You can also find it on Amazon.
Read more: Lavender Tea Bread
Why I love this recipe
- It’s easy to make – and freezes well.
- The flavor is different than the average quick bread, so everyone loves it.
- The glaze is a lovely lemony sweetness & it serves nicely sliced up on a “breakfast board.”
What is tea loaf?
I like to think tea loaf is the same as tea bread, but it’s different. They’re both an English cake, but tea loaf is made with fruit and cinnamon, and traditionally served sliced served with butter. Tea bread is actually “tea buns” to be eaten with tea. And if you love lavendar, also try our Banana Lemon Bread with lavendar!
Gather these ingredients
- Milk
- Fresh lavender, finely chopped (or 3-4 tsp. dried)
- Butter, softened
- White sugar
- Lemon zest
- Eggs
- Greek yogurt, or plain or vanilla
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
Make the glaze:
- Powdered sugar
- Lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
How do you make Lavender Tea Bread?
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan (or 3 small pans; 3 1/2 x 6-inch pans).
- Combine the milk and lavender in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat to a simmer, then remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly. [DO NOT RECOMMEND USING LAVENDER INFUSED OIL.]
- With a hand mixer, in a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and lemon zest until the mixture is light and fluffy; add in Greek yogurt, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; gently mix into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk and lavender, until just blended.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
- Bake for 45-50 minutes (loaf pan). For the 3 small pans, bake for 30 minutes.
- To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Poke holes with a fork into each loaf (about 6-8 times per loaf). Spread glaze over hot cake. Cool in pan 20 minutes on a wire rack; remove each loaf from the pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Tips and substitutions:
- What lavender to use: I recommend you use fresh ground lavender for this recipe, but you can always double the amount and used dried (just not as flavorful). DO NOT USE LAVENDER INFUSED OIL.
- The bread is fabulous, and I’m updating this post with a little advice from a reader, who just made the bread and gave me some sage advice. Less is more (when you use dried lavender).
- Use a little over a tablespoon in this recipe, and it comes out perfectly.
- Substitute milk with cream, or half and half. You can also use a creamer (sweetened) if you like it a little sweeter.
- Yes, you can substitute the 1 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of honey + 2 Tablespoons of coconut sugar!
- Pan size: I’ve tested this recipe using both a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. You can also make 3 small loaf pans.
- Storing: You can cool the bread, wrap tightly and freeze up to 3 months.
Planning a Downton Abbey Party?
Plan a little Downton Abbey party? Here’s my post with tea sandwich recipes. And possibly you’ve tried my Pear Potato Soup recipe? I think Mrs. Patmore would approve!
Lori, at RecipeGirl.com, has a Downton Abbey dinner party menu if you’re feeling courageous and want to host a party this week. Do it! And come back and let me know how it goes.
More quick bread recipes to try:
Get the Recipe:
Lavender Tea Bread
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lavender, finely chopped (or 3-4 tsp. dried)
- 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt, or plain or vanilla
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Glaze
- ⅔ cup sifted powdered sugar
- 3 tsp. lemon juice
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Equipment
- 9-inch loaf pan (I like this ceramic one from Goodcook)
- Hand mixer (I like that this Cuisinart mixer has 5 speeds)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan (or 3 small pans; 3 1/2 x 6-inch pans).
- Combine the milk and lavender in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat to a simmer, then remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly.
- With a hand mixer, in a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and lemon zest until the mixture is light and fluffy; add in Greek yogurt, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; gently mix into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk and lavender, until just blended.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
- Bake for 45-50 minutes (loaf pan). For the 3 small pans, bake for 30 minutes.
- To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Poke holes with a fork into each loaf (about 6-8 times per loaf). Spread glaze over hot cake. Cool in pan 20 minutes on a wire rack; remove each loaf from the pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I was quite pleased with this tea bread enjoyed making it and of coarse eating it!
Don’t mean to ask a silly question but are you using lavender flowers or just the lavender leaves.
Lavender leaves! Just made it last night again, so good. We buy French Lavender (whole) leaves at World Market.
THis looks os good! Lavender is such a lovely flavor to compliment tea!
I had been looking for a lavender recipe and made this – it was so delightful! Made a couple tweaks – I added 1/2 tsp lemon zest during the butter and sugar creaming, and 1/2 tsp lemon juice during the wet ingredients phase. After the batter was done I added blueberries to make a Blueberry Lemon Lavender Cake. Thanks for the recipe.
Made this amazing smelling bread today using my home grown lavender out of my garden . Almost coming out of the oven but still was jiggly after 45 minutes in my preheated 325 degree oven . Put it back for 8 more minutes…… waiting …….
I’m the meantime put the icing together using lemon juice and lemon zest . I’m so ready to sink my teeth into Yummiest. Excited about having my family try it . I will post a picture later . For now …….. nom nom nom ? Debbi
This bread was a hit! I can’t wait to make it again. For the icing I did lemon juice instead of water and it was fantastic. Next time I will try what Rosmarie suggested below for a bit of a healthier version. This is a must try recipe!
This is a lovely post. The executive chef at the castle, Paul Brooke-Taylor, is a very good friend of mine. I’ll send him a link to this post so that he can enjoy it too! I’m enjoying all of the recipes.
Fun, I just found him on instagram!
This was one of the best tea breads ever! My family loved it. I did make some revisions with my second loaf because of heart health issues. I substituted 4 tablespoons of the butter with plain or lemon yogurt and used 1/2 cup honey plus 2 tablespoons of sugar instead of one cup of sugar and it was as delish as my first loaf! I also used lemon extract instead of vanilla in the bread and icing as well due to preference. My sister added some lemon shavings on top of her icing and said it was a hit with her family as well ! Have already made this multiple times !
This is wonderful. I added lemon zest to mine for a lemon & lavender cake. So summery!
This bread is not only easy to make, but it’s delicious!! It was a hit at work and at home!