The Curvy Carrot

This was one of those recipes that I couldn’t wait to post.  I have others in the line-up, ready to go, but this one takes the cake (no pun intended) and got booted to first in line.

It’s starting to be blueberry season here.  The farmer’s markets have them, people here are picking them…it’s a really good time of year.  I found some blueberries here that were picked on a farm nearby, and I couldn’t help but buy three pints of them.  And, so, after eating a whole pint on my own, I decided I wanted to use the rest up for some sweet treats I was taking to a party.  Again, since I knew there would be a ton of people there, I opted for mini cupcakes to have a higher yield.  You can adapt this recipe easily for a full-sized cupcake, too (just bake the cupcakes for about 24-25 minutes instead of 15 minutes). The flavor of the cupcake was very muffin-like (remember those mini Hostess blueberry muffins that came out in the late 1990’s in the white plastic bags? I don’t know if they still exist, but the taste of these cupcakes quickly took me back to the days of high school where we would sneak those little muffins into calculus class and snack while we were supposed to be doing homework….)

I made up a quick cream cheese frosting to top the cupcakes…because, well, it’s cream cheese frosting.  And I love cream cheese frosting. I thought the tanginess of the cream cheese might balance out a little of the blueberry sweetness.  I also thought about rolling the blueberries in sugar before placing them on top of the cupcakes, but I opted against it because I didn’t want to cover up that gorgeous navy blue color.

I think blueberries are incredibly beautiful…they are one of the only naturally blue foods out there, and I also find them to be one of the most delicious foods out there.  Good thing they are good for us, right? Even in cream-cheese frosted cupcakes.

Blueberry Cupcakes

Servings:  Approximately 60 mini cupcakes

 

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 and 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 and 3/4 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cups milk, room temperature

2 cups fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish

For the cream cheese frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

12 ounces (1 and 1/2 bricks) of cream cheese, room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. For the cupcakes:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line your mini muffin pan with mini paper liners of your choosing.

3. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, the cake flour, the baking powder, and the salt.

4. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and the sugar, mixing on medium-high speed for about two minutes.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, thoroughly mixing after each one and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

6. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

7. Reduce the mixer speed to low, alternately add the flour mixture (in three batches) and the milk, starting with and ending with the flour mixture.

8. Using a rubber spatula, gently add the blueberries and mix until just incorporated.

9. Divide the cupcake batter evenly among your prepared liners, filling each liner about 3/4’s full.

10.  Bake the cupcakes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through the baking time, until the tops are springy and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

11.  Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

12. For the cream cheese frosting: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and light, about 2 minutes.

13. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

14. Add the vanilla and mix until combined and smooth.

15. Pipe as desired (I used my Wilton 1M) onto the cooled cupcakes.

16. Garnish each cupcake with fresh blueberries, if desired.

Source:  Cupcakes and frosting directly from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes.