Blueberry Cupcakes for Baby Bakers Birthday!

I suppose she really isn’t a baby anymore as she’s just turned 2! My eldest doesn’t like blueberries so; I assumed that the little one wouldn’t like them either. How wrong I was, blueberries were recently on offer and so as a treat to myself I bought some. I had them in a bowl and was snacking on them when I was distracted by one of the many distractions of a stay-at-home-mom. When I turned around Baby Baker ate them all!! It was perfect timing as I wasn’t sure what to make her for her birthday and after that incident it was like a light bulb going on overhead! Blueberry Cupcakes!!

These are taken from Making Cupcakes with LOLA, a London based cupcakery, by Victoria Jossel & Romy Lewis. They are titled Blueberry White Chocolate Cupcakes, and I tried the white chocolate icing, but it didn’t work out. I think I didn’t let the ganache cool enough and it curdled the cheese a little. It was lumpy instead of being smooth. So, I decided to just use a cream cheese frosting with these.

With fruit it is hard to make into a cupcake instead of a muffin and these were a little like a muffin, more then a light fluffy cupcake. But it was definitely lighter then a muffin. Either way they were good, my now 2 year old gobbled them up!! Here's how to make them!!

150g/1 ¼ cup self-rising flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

90g/ 2/3 cup ground almonds

120g/1 stick butter, cubed and soft

180g/ ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp (caster or superfine) sugar

a few drops of vanilla extract (I used ¼ tsp)

grated zest of ½ lemon (I didn't use because my hubby is citrus intolerant)

2 eggs (medium)

90ml/ 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp plain yogurt

120g/ 1 ¼ cups blueberries, plus extra to decorate

blueberry jam to drizzle or glaze.

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas 4
2. Sift the flour and baking powder together and stir in almonds.
3. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
4. Add the lemon zest. Mix.
5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
6. Add dry ingredients and yogurt and beat on low speed until combined.
7. Fold in blueberries.
8. Fill your muffin cases (makes 12)
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until well risen and skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. Cool completely before decorating with chosen frosting or sifted icing sugar

Decorating notes: Before icing I heated 2 tbsp of blueberry jam in a small heavy bottom sauce pan for a few minutes then pressed it through a sieve to just get a sauce and not any blueberry bits. I then glazed the cupcake before icing. I used a cream cheese frosting after the white chocolate frosting didn’t work out. Sorry I didn’t take any pictures of the wrong icing.  I just had other priorities! Then topped with 3 blueberries and some shiny pink sprinkles. You could also use the heated blueberry jam as a drizzle, make sure it’s completely cool before pouring over icing otherwise it will melt it. Or use just that and no icing. So, many different ways to do it!! Enjoy!!