Cupcakes are such a fun party addition. I hosted a bunch of girls at my apartment for my birthday and it isn’t a party without cake. But, I wasn’t in the mood for an every day kind of cupcake. I wanted something a little more girly, a little more sophisticated and something that would wow my guests. Well, these Blackberry Lemonade Cupcakes will do it.
These cupcakes are refreshing because of the combination of lemons and blackberries. I was inspired by Pinterest to make these cupcakes but when I used the first batter recipe, which included buttermilk, it curdled. It was a major fail. After a dramatic moment of thinking I just won’t have a birthday cake, I put my grown up pants and my thinking cap on. How about just taking an awesome vanilla cake recipe and enhancing it with lemon extract? So, that’s what I did. The great thing about lemon extract is that I could control the taste and just reduce the vanilla extract in the original recipe to get my recipe. If you really like lemon, you can always add in a dash more lemon to get the taste you want. Remember—some of the lemon will bake out in the oven.
Now that blackberries are in season, you have to try this recipe! The blackberries will be sweeter right now and make it even better.
Hope you enjoy!
Blackberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Makes about 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcake (Adapted from Martha Stewart)
1/2 Cup of Unsalted Butter, at room temperature (1 Stick)
2 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1 1/2 Cups of Granulated Sugar
3 Large Eggs, at room temperature
1 Cup of Milk
1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
1 Teaspoon of Lemon Extract or Lemon Juice
Blackberry Buttercream (Adapted from Baker by Nature)
1 Cup of Fresh Blackberries
2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
1 Cup of Unsalted Butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
1/4 Teaspoon of salt
4-5 Cups of Confectioners Sugar (start with 4, add extra cup if you need it)
Splash of vanilla
The How-To
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Line the cupcake tin with your favorite liner and set aside. Starting with the dry ingredients, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar at a medium speed until combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Reduce the speed to low and add in half of the dry ingredients and let it mix together. Then, add in the milk, vanilla and lemon extracts. Then, add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix together until just combined (don’t over mix!). Fill each of the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way up and bake until golden brown and the toothpick comes out clean, which is about 16-18 minutes depending on your oven.
For the Buttercream: In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the blackberries and lemon juice, stirring constantly for about 6-8 minutes. The berries will be soft enough to mash, which you will do using a potato masher. The mixture will look like a jam and will have a thicker consistency. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and using the masher to push the puree through, leaving behind the seeds. Let it cool before mixing it into your icing or it will melt the butter!
Once the blackberry puree is cooled completely, it is time to make the buttercream. Beat the butter and the puree together. Once combined, add the dash of vanilla extract. Then, combine the confectioners sugar one cup at a time. Once the sugar has been added completely, add in the salt and mix completing for about 90 seconds. And, FROST!
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