Pop these babies into your mouth for a burst of healthy botanical goodness! This recipe for no-bake lavender cake balls is simple, ultra healthy, and sweet tooth satisfying. They’re vegan, gluten-free, sweetened only with maple syrup, and covered in a luscious sugar-free Earl Grey icing.
HERE YOU’LL FIND:
All About Lavender & Its Health Benefits
More Lavender Recipes You’ll Love
Earl Grey + Lavender = Heaven
How to Make No-Bake Earl Grey Lavender Cake Balls
More Botanical Sweets You’ll Love
FAQs
Recipe for Lavender Cake Balls
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All About Lavender
Lavender is so much more than just a pretty flower. It also has a long history of use in food and medicine. In fact, there’s a plethora of research on the health benefits of using lavender essential oil.
From aromatherapy to a variety of topical applications, lavender has proven to be good medicine. Perhaps its most well-known use is as an anti-stress and anxiety herb, but it has several other science-supported uses as well.
The Health Benefits of Lavender
Here are some of the medicinal properties that make lavender such an amazing herbal medicine.
- Diuretic: Diuretics help the body get rid of excess sodium by increasing the amount of fluid we’re getting rid of through urine. May be helpful in treating high blood pressure.
- Carminative: Carminative herbs help to stimulate digestion in a way that helps to prevent symptoms of poor digestion such as gas and bloating, indigestion, nausea, etc.
- Antimicrobial: Antimicrobial herbs demonstrate activity against harmful microbes such as bacteria and fungi.
- Mild sedative: Sedative herbs help to calm the nervous system and can be beneficial in reducing stress and anxiety.
- Antispasmodic: Antispasmodic herbs help to soothe muscle contractions and prevent spasms that may present as painful stomach cramping, muscle tension, and more.
- Anti-inflammatory: Anti-inflammatory herbs have a broad effect of decreasing inflammation in your body.
How Lavender May Support Your Health
So what does all that mean for you? Here’s some of the ways lavender may help to support your health and wellness.
- Improve sleep quality
- Ease inflammatory skin conditions such as sunburn, eczema, psoriasis, and even small scrapes and cuts
- Ease other painful inflammatory conditions such as menstrual cramps, migraine headaches, and muscle tension
- Support healthy digestion so that you absorb more nutrients from the food that you eat
- Manage stress, anxiety, and depression
Want to dive deeper into the food and medicine of lavender? Check this out:
All About Lavender – 19 Science-Supported Health Benefits & More
More Lavender Recipes You’ll Love
Strawberry Lavender Tart ✺ Lavender Tea
✺ Elderberry & Fig Galettes with Lavender-Tulsi Honey ✺
Lavender Matcha Latte ✺ Lavender & Pink Peppercorn Popcorn Salt
Lavender Simple Syrup
Earl Grey + Lavender = Heaven in Your Mouth
Earl Grey is definitely one of the most widely recognized teas in the world. It’s the quintessential British tea without which no proper tea party would be right.
This black tea is flavored with oil from the rind of the bergamot fruit, a citrus fruit whose taste has been compared to a cross between orange and lime, with a hint of grapefruit. Basically, it’s all the flavors of citrus in one convenient little fruit.
You know how lavender and lemon go together like peas and carrots? The same goes for lavender and pretty much all citrus, making lavender and Earl Grey a fancy epicurean match made in heaven on earth. The deep earthy flavors of the black tea, the bright and floral hint of bergamot, and the sweet floral scent of lavender are all perfect for each other.
After we stir lavender flowers into these no-bake cake balls, we’ll drizzle them with a sugar-free Earl Grey icing.
The Health Benefits of Earl Grey Tea
Earl Grey is an antioxidant-rich tea that can be a lower caffeine alternative to coffee for some. And while you hear oodles of information on the benefits of green tea, the benefits of black teas like Earl Grey are equally impressive.
As a rich source of antioxidants, drinking tea, whether it’s green, white, or black, has been shown to have many potential health benefits. A diet rich in antioxidants is inextricably linked to lower risk for cancer, and has also been found to be supportive in:
- dental and gum health
- urinary health
- cardiovascular health
- helping to lower cholesterol levels
- lessening oxidative stress that may lead to signs of premature aging
Any negative health effects associated with the consumption of black tea have to do with its caffeine content. Too much is no good.
How to Make No-Bake Earl Grey Lavender Cake Balls
The following will take you through the basics of making these no-bake lavender cake balls. For the full recipe, scroll to the bottom of this post. This recipe is adapted from Minimalist Baker’s No-Bake Sugar Cookie Bites.
Equipment You’ll Need
- Medium Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- Mortar & Pestle (unpolished granite seems to work the best) or Spice/Coffee Grinder
- Small Cookie Sheet (or even a large dinner plate)
- Wax or Parchment Paper
- Small Cookie Dough Scoop (or Tablespoon)
Ingredients
FOR THE LAVENDER CAKE BALLS:
- Oat Flour
- Almond Flour (not Almond Meal)
- Fine Grain Sea Salt
- Lavender Flowers (dried)
- Coconut Oil
- Maple Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract (optional, but highly recommended for a more authentic cake flavor)
FOR THE EARL GREY ICING:
- Earl Grey (I recommend loose leaf for a higher quality option, but tea bags work too.)
- Coconut Butter (I’ve used THIS brand for years!)
- Optional Toppings: Desiccated Coconut or Freeze-Dried Strawberries
Method
- Make the cake ball “batter.” Mix together all ingredients for the cake balls until thoroughly incorporated. It’s that easy!
**If your lavender is not already powdered, powder the dried flowers in a mortar and pestle or spice/coffee grinder.
- Roll the cake balls. Use your small cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon to portion out the cake balls. Scoop, roll into a ball, and then place on a cookie sheet (or large plate) lined with wax or parchment paper.
- Allow cake balls to set in freezer. Place the cookie sheet (or large plate) in the freezer for ~10-15 minutes while you make the icing.
- Make the Earl Grey icing. To make the icing, you’ll need melted coconut butter. At room temperature, coconut butter tends to be pretty solid. To melt it, I’ll set the sealed jar into larger pot or bowl of hot water and let it sit for about 10 minutes or until it’s melted enough to stir (it seems to always separate a little bit as it cools) and pour.
Once it’s melted, you’ll measure out the needed amount and stir in the powdered Earl Grey tea leaves. (Again, use your mortar and pestle or spice/coffee grinder to powder the tea leaves.)
- Ice the cake balls and garnish as desired. Then, you’ll remove the cake balls from the freezer and drizzle a little icing over each. Garnish if desired, then set back in freezer for another 10-15 minutes for icing to harden.
- Enjoy! You can store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Sweet Tooth?! Try These Other Botanical Sweets
Stinging Nettle Cake ✺ Strawberry Pop Tarts with Pistachio & Rose
Lemon Rosemary Tart with Rose Hip Jam ✺ Gingerbread Donuts
Elderberry & Thyme Sweet Corn Muffins ✺ Cinnamon-Rose Pear Upside Down Cake
No-Bake Lavender Cake Balls FAQs
What does lavender cake taste like?
You know how lavender smells? That’s how lavender cake tastes! It’s sweet and floral, with subtle hints of evergreen, mint, and citrus. It’s a strong flavor that can be too perfume-y and overwhelming if used incorrectly. With lavender, a little goes a long way. More is not necessarily better in this case and can actually leave your cake a little too reminiscent of soap.
But when it’s done just right, lavender cake is divine.
How do I store no-bake lavender cake balls?
Store your lavender cake balls in a sealer container in either the refrigerator or freezer.
How long do no-bake cake balls last?
Stored in the refrigerator, no-bake cake balls can last up to 7 days. And they’ll keep in the freezer for up to 1 month. If keeping them in the freezer, just remove from freezer and allow to sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes before enjoying. These no-bake cake balls are best enjoyed cold or at room temperature. However, my preference is straight out of the refrigerator!
For more plant magic & herbal wellness in your life, be sure to follow along on ➡️ Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter, & snag my herbal 📚 eBooks Nourishing Herbal Gifts & Holiday Pies from the (Un)Bakery. 🌿 And please don’t forget to tag me in your snaps 📸 @_botanyculture_. I love to see all the plant magic you make happen!
No-Bake Lavender Cake Balls
(vegan, gluten free, sugar free)
Course: Dessert, SnacksCuisine: Vegan, Gluten-FreeDifficulty: Easy15
cake balls30
minutesThis recipe is adapted from Minimalist Baker. Powdered lavender flowers and a touch of almond extract are added for that classic lavender cake flavor. And to make this the perfect snack for your tea party dreams, these no-bake lavender cake balls are frosted with an utterly delectable, sugar-free Earl Grey icing. These cake balls make for a healthy, antioxidant-rich, and anti-inflammatory sweet treat.
Ingredients
- No-Bake Lavender Cake Balls
1 cup oat flour* (You can make your own (see Notes) or try THIS certified gluten-free brand.)
1 cup almond flour (not almond meal)
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon powdered lavender
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use THIS brand.)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I use THIS brand.)
- Earl Grey Glaze & Toppings
2 tablespoons coconut butter, melted**
1 teaspoon Earl Grey tea, powdered
desiccated coconut, optional for topping
powdered freeze-dried strawberries, optional for topping
Directions
- To Make the Cake Balls
- In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients for the cake balls and use a fork thoroughly combine. You want the dough just moist enough so that when you roll a ball of it, the ball holds together on its own. It shouldn’t be crumbly. If it doesn’t quite hold together, add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil or maple syrup at a time until it does, but be careful not to add too much liquid.
- Use a small cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon to portion out the cake balls. Scoop, roll into a ball, and then place on a cookie sheet (or large plate) lined with wax or parchment paper.
The easiest way to roll these cake balls is to take each scoop of dough, and gently roll it between your palms. Once it’s formed into a relatively smooth and uniform ball, you can finesse it by using the fingers of one hand to keep rolling it in the palm of your other hand. This allows you more control over perfecting the shape. - After you’ve rolled all the cake balls, place the cookie sheet (or large plate) in the freezer for ~10-15 minutes while you make the icing.
- To Make the Earl Grey Icing
- In a heat-safe glass jar or small measuring cup, stir the powdered Earl Grey leaves into the melted coconut butter. Infuse the Earl Grey into the coconut butter by setting this glass jar small sauce pan over low heat for about 5 minutes. The heat will result in a stronger flavor.
Alternatively, you could just stir the Earl Grey leaves into the warm coconut butter and call it done. I prefer to heat the two together just for a few minutes. - Remove the cake balls from the freezer and drizzle a little of the icing on top of each one.
If desired, garnish the cake balls. Great options are desiccated coconut, crushed freeze-dried strawberries, or extra lavender flowers. - Then set the cake balls back in the freezer for another 10-15 minutes for icing to harden. Now the cake balls are ready to enjoy!
You can store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- *OAT FLOUR: To make your own oat flour, add rolled oats to a blender and process until powdered. You could put this through a mesh strainer to get out any larger pieces, but unless you have noticeable chunks of oats in the oat flour, I don’t find this necessary. **If you are incredibly intolerant of gluten, be sure to look for rolled oats (or oat flour) that are certified gluten-free. Those that aren’t may have trace amounts of gluten from being processed in facilities where gluten-containing products are also processed.
- **HOW TO MELT COCONUT BUTTER: At room temperature, coconut butter tends to be pretty solid. To melt it, you can set the sealed jar into larger pot or bowl of hot water and let it sit for about 10 minutes or until it’s melted enough to stir (it seems to always separate a little bit as it cools) and pour. Another option is to set the sealed jar of coconut butter in a small pot filled with water on the stove. Heat slowly on low until the coconut butter is melted.
- A NOTE ON POWDERING HERBS: You can easily powder herbs one of two ways. One way is to use a mortar and pestle. Another way is to use a spice or coffee grinder. Both of these are handy to have in the kitchen, however, I find that if powdering smaller amounts of herbs as is the case for this recipe, a mortar and pestle is a little bit easier. The unpolished granite ones tend to work the best. The herbs don’t need to be a perfect powder. Spice/coffee grinders may require a little more bulk to do their job.
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DISCLAIMER: The information given in this article is intended for educational purposes only. Always consult with your healthcare practitioner before consuming certain herbs & medicinal foods, especially if pregnant, nursing, or taking any prescription medications.
