Blueberry Cupcakes!

I grew up in “farm country” so we spent a good bit of the summer in our garden or picking fresh fruit.  We picked blueberries, sour cherries, and wild raspberries which my mom would then freeze to use in pies for the rest of the year.  While picking fruit seemed like such a chore, it was certainly the best way to buy large quantities of fresh fruit.

The local produce store had a special on fresh blueberries this weekend so of course I had to buy a few containers.  That means it’s time for Blueberry Cupcakes!  I saw a couple of other recipes using mashed blueberries in the batter but the color came out weird, like a purple green shade.  This recipe from Martha Stewart uses whole blueberries with a sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon on the top with cream cheese frosting.   Now THIS is a blueberry cupcake!

Note:  the recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes.  The batter came all the way to the top of each cup.  I might try not filling each cup as full in order to get more cupcakes out of the batch and because they spilled over a bit.  I’ll use experimenting as a reason to bake them again!

Blueberry Cupcakes

• FOR THE TOPPING
  • 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

   

• FOR THE CUPCAKES
  • 1 2/3 cups cake flour (not self-rising – see tip below)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 6 ounces blueberries (1 1/4 cups)

   

• FOR THE ICING
  • 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 1/4 cup high-quality blueberry jam, such as Hero, strained (3 tablespoons)

   

1. STEP 1  Make the topping: Mix together granulated and brown sugars and cinnamon.
2. STEP 2  Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in upper third of oven. Line cups of a standard muffin tin with baking cups. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour. Fold in blueberries.
3. STEP 3  Divide batter among baking cups. Add topping, pressing to adhere to batter. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 20 to 21 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tin, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
4. STEP 4 Make the icing: Beat together butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and gradually beat in vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat 1 minute. Spoon jam on top of icing, and without stirring, spoon icing into a disposable pastry bag. Snip off a 3/4-inch opening in tip, and pipe swirled mounds of icing on top of each cupcake. Although best if eaten immediately, cupcakes can be refrigerated up to 6 hours and brought to room temperature 45 minutes before serving.

TIP: To make cake flour from white flour, follow these steps from Joy the Baker.

Step One:  Measure out the all-purpose flour that you’ll need for your recipe

Step Two: For every cup of flour you use, take out two tablespoons of flour and return it to the flour bin.  Throw the cup of flour (minus the two tablespoons) into a sifter set over a bowl.

Step Three:  Replace the two tablespoons of flour that your removed with two tablespoons of cornstarch.

Step Four:  Sift the flour and cornstarch together.  Sift it again, and again and again.  The cornstarch and flour need to be well incorporated and the flour aerated.  Sift the flour and cornstarch mixture about five times.