My family has really enjoyed all of the cooking and baking I’ve been doing lately. My husband loves it- of course- because he comes home to a home cooked, hot meal (not every night because I am also a big fan of not wasting food and enjoying left-overs!) . My daughters like the food (most of the time) but mainly, they like trying the dessert, the sweet stuff. Come on, these are MY daughters we’re talking about here. Sometimes, my oldest daughter will be flipping through a magazine or looking at cookbooks with me, and will point to something and say “I want that for dinner.” or “Can you make that for me?” I think she has learned that you can’t just point to something and then voila, it appears. .
I hope that she is learning to appreciate the time for cooking and food and trying new things. . ok, she’s 5 . I won’t get ahead of myself.
The only thing that might be traumatizing to the girls- or maybe just my husband- is that I have to take photos of the food before we eat. And I am usually shooting my husband’s dish b/c I always serve him more. 🙂 Patience is a virtue, right? I’m also learning a lot about my youngest (1 1/2 years old)- who has an extremely loud voice and cry (takes after her mamma I guess). When she sees dessert or fruit, she goes crazy. . kicking her little, chubby legs against the high chair in anticipation of me giving her a piece. With my first daughter, I think I was really cautious about giving her sweets and stuff and I think was able to wait until she was like 2. . but with my 2nd? Forget about it. She – of course- partakes in everything we try. . even down to the ooey, gooey, chocolately dessert. I can’t deny her of that.
So, my oldest asks me “Mom, what are we baking this weekend? Can we bake some cupcakes?!” I had come across this recipe a while back and knew I had to try it. To me, these taste more like blueberry muffins (which I guess is what a blueberry cupcake would taste like right?). But don’t let the word “muffin” fool you. These are so yummy and good and if you want to forego the frosting, eat them when they come right out of the oven when they are HOT. OMG. To die for.
I must give a shout out to Week of Menu’s blog for her amazing recipes and especially for all of her wonderful, beautiful desserts and cupcakes! I saw this recipe on her blog and knew I had to try it! We visited my friend’s church on Sunday, Imago Dei, and I had the pleasure of putting these out for everyone to try. A woman came up to me later and asked me if I had baked the “muffins” and I said yes and she told me she absolutely loved them, especially the frosting and that she ate 2 and was taking 2 more home. That just made my Sunday! 🙂 You’ll have bowls and bowls and stuff all over the kitchen and lots to wash after you are finished but it’s all worth it!
Hope you enjoy!
Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Blueberry Cake
(I was able to bake about 24 cupcakes)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 4 large eggs
- 1.2 oz (34 grams) freeze dried blueberries, pulverized in a mini food processor
- 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk or heavy cream
- 1/2 cup pureed fresh blueberries
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix together buttermilk or heavy cream, blueberry pueree and vanilla extract. Set aside until needed.
Using a stand mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar and lemon zest in a mixing bowl until pale, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in pulverized blueberries.
Mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two batches of buttermilk mixture. Mix until just combined, scraping down bowl as needed. Scoop batter into cupcake tins.
Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean, about 22 to 24 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool in tins for 10 minutes, and then remove cupcakes and place them on a cooling rack.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
(Makes enough to frost 24- 30 cupcakes depending on how much frosting you use)
- 1 cup of butter, softened
- 8 oz of cream cheese, softened (but not too soft!)
- 1.2 oz (34 grams) freeze dried blueberries, pulverized in a mini food processor
- 3-5 cups of confectioners sugar
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl (stand mixer), mix butter until it is softened and uniform.
- Add cream cheese and beat together until it is uniform.
- Add pulverized blueberries. (the more you add, the deeper blue you will get)
- Add 3 cups of sugar to the mixture and mix. Add more sugar if necessary and if your frosting consistency seems too soft. I should have added more sugar. Mix again until mixture is creamy and spreadable. Add more sugar if necessary, otherwise prepare to frost cake.
