Week 24: Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes!

Hello!  Three more posts to go and three more hours till I leave!  If I had to pick my favorite fruit I would have to pick blueberries.  And what goes better with blueberries than lemon!  Blueberries were starting to come into season, so I figured it was time to make a lemon blueberry cupcake!  Plus it’s still following my summery cravings!

For my last work retreat at SNHU, we went and decorated pottery.  I of course decorated a cupcake stand and made it match everything in my kitchen.  This was the first time I was able to use it in photos!!

I got this week’s recipe from: http://annies-eats.com/2011/05/06/lemon-blueberry-cupcakes/

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Yields: 16 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

¾ cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour divided

¾ cup cake flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 2 tbsp. lemon juice

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, at room temperature

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cupcake pans with 15 cupcake liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the ¾ cups all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest.  Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Blend in the milk.  Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries in the remaining 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.  Using a spatula gently fold the berries into the cake batter.  Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about ¾ full.  Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Zest of 1 large lemon

Additional blueberries, for decoration

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth.  Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest.  Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.  Decorate with fresh blueberries! Below are a few ways you can decorate using the blueberries!

 Love always, aloterella :)