Where, exactly, is spring?
Can we summon it with a lavender latte?
All I want is to sip a lavender latte in the sunshine.
I can’t believe we’re under a foot of snow right now. It’s wild. When I planned the recipes to share from the book, I imagined this lavender latte fitting perfectly into the first week of spring — it feels so spring-like and is an easy way to ease into the season.
Lavender just says spring to me. And it’s officially iced coffee season, unless you’re like me and think it’s iced coffee season year-round.
Quick story: this was the very first recipe I knew I wanted to include in The Pretty Dish. Out of more than 150 recipes, back in 2016, this lavender latte was one of the first I felt confident about. It was one of my earliest official recipes—alongside a pistachio latte—because I was deep into a coffee phase.
I first tried a lavender latte at Smallman Galley and it was fantastic. I became obsessed with recreating it at home. Lavender and vanilla together aren’t new to me; my love for the pairing started in a silly way — with a candle.
Embarrassing, maybe, but lavender-vanilla candles always reminded me of ice cream shops, with a hint of waffle-cone sweetness. Years ago I made lavender white chocolate popcorn, which was my first experiment cooking with lavender. That felt like a big step because I’d often been put off by floral flavors and scents.
But lavender paired with vanilla is just divine. It’s subtly sweet without being cloying, and it has a flavor that makes you lean in and ask, “What is that?” — in the best way. It’s lovely hot, but my favorite is iced: it tastes like sippable ice cream.
You have to try it. Below is a quick how-to video and the recipe to make your own iced lavender vanilla lattes.
Iced Lavender Vanilla Lattes
Yield:
1
15 mins
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Ingredients
Lavender Vanilla Syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons dried culinary lavender
- 2 sprigs fresh lavender
- 1 vanilla bean split in half
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Latte
- 6 ounces milk cow’s, almond, coconut, etc.
- 2 shots espresso
- 2 tablespoons lavender vanilla syrup
- fresh lavender sprig for garnish
Instructions
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In a saucepan over medium-low, combine the sugar, water, dried lavender and the split vanilla bean. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat and let cool completely. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the lavender and vanilla pod bits. Stir in the vanilla extract. Store the syrup in a sealed container in the refrigerator; it makes about ½ cup.
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To assemble the latte, fill a large glass with ice. Add the milk and 2 tablespoons of the lavender vanilla syrup and stir to combine. Pour in two shots of espresso and stir again. Garnish with a fresh lavender sprig and serve immediately.
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I appreciate you so much!
I’ll be craving these forever.