Blueberry Cupcakes With Blueberry Buttercream Recipes

LEMON CUPCAKES WITH FRESH BLUEBERRY BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 12 mold cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; whisk well and set aside.
• In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Add in the sugar, lemon extract and lemon zest and beat until well combined. Add in the egg and egg yolk and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined (this should take about 5 seconds). Add 1/2 of the sour cream and mix until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour and sour cream, being sure to mix on low until just combined. Turn mixer off. Using a rubber spatula, quickly fold in the lemon juice.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes are cool, frost and decorate. The cupcakes may also be frozen, unfrosted, and stored in a freezer safe bag, for up to 2 months.
• In a small saucepan combine blueberries and lemon juice; bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly and gently smashing the blueberries smooth, until thickened into a deep, dark blueberry reduction, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and push the puree though, leaving any skin/large chunks behind. Allow mixture to cool completely before using. If you'd like to have enough blueberry puree to drizzle on the cupcakes, double this recipe and set half aside for decorating.
• Once the blueberry puree has cooled, place the softened butter in a large bowl or in the body of a stand mixer. Using a handheld mixer, or with the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, beat butter on medium-high (scraping down the sides as needed) until completely smooth; about 2 minutes.
• Add in a 1/4 cup of the blueberry puree and beat until completely combined; about 1 minute (don't worry if the mixture looks weird at this point).
• Add in the confectioners sugar, one cup at a time, on low speed. Once all of the sugar has been added, add in the cream and salt, then beat on high-speed for a full 2 minutes - this thickens up the frosting and makes it nice and fluffy.
• Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

BLUEBERRY CUPCAKES WITH BLUEBERRY BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF) and line a cupcake baking tray with 12 cupcake cases.
• In a bowl, mix together all blueberry cupcake ingredients except for the blueberries.
• Mix until a smooth batter forms, but do not over-mix.
• Fold in the blueberries until they are evenly distributed.
• Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, fill the cupcake cases about 3/4 full with the cupcake batter.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven at 180 ºC (350 ºF) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• Remove the cupcakes from the cupcake baking tray and allow to cool before decorating.
• In a saucepan, bring the blueberries and lemon juice to a boil. The blueberries will soften and release their juice.
• Simmer until the juice is significantly reduced in volume and a thick, jam-like consistency is reached (about 5 - 10 minutes).
• Pass the cooked blueberries through a sieve to remove their skins. Use a spatula or spoon to press the blueberry "jam" against the sieve so as to extract all of the reduced juice.
• Allow the reduced juice to cool completely before adding it to the buttercream. If it is too warm, it will melt the butter, which you most definitely don't want.
• Using either a hand mixer with the beater attachments or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until pale and somewhat fluffy.
• Add 1/2 of icing/powdered sugar and beat the butter/sugar mixture on medium to high speed for about 5 minutes.
• Add the remaining 1/2 of icing/powdered sugar and beat the mixture for a further 10 minutes (5 minutes medium speed, 5 minutes high speed). At this stage, the buttercream should be very pale, creamy and fluffy.
• Add the cooled reduced blueberry juice, all at once, and beat the buttercream at high speed for 1 minute.
• Using a spatula, scrape along the mixing bowl walls to check that all of the blueberry juice has been incorporated. If it hasn't, mix again for 1 minute.
• Using an 18 mm open star nozzle and piping bag, pipe the blueberry buttercream on top of the blueberry cupcakes. (Note 2)
• The cupcakes keep well in a closed container in a cool dry place for about 3 - 4 days. (But only if you hide then really well...)