Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

I love cupcakes. Probably more than I love shopping. Well... maybe. Usually I don't like fruit in my dessert. I don't like fruit pies or cobblers and I really wouldn't want fruit getting anywhere NEAR my cupcakes!! But for some reason these lemon blueberry cupcakes were just screaming my name!

Last night we had a bunch of people over for Easter dinner and my friend Andy came and he requested cupcakes. These seemed like such a great Spring/Easter treat. And boy were they!! Man these were good! The cake itself was really great because of all the juicy blueberries and the subtle lemon flavor. And the frosting! Oh, the frosting! It was probably the best frosting I have ever made. Like, I want to die, and then be buried in this frosting! I want to wash my hair with this frosting. I want to carry around a container of this frosting in my purse so I can always have a taste of it. It was that good. SERIOUSLY.

If you're looking for a great Spring dessert, I recommend these cupcakes!

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

adapted from the Dainty Chef

For the cupcakes:
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
¾ cup cake flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, at room temperature
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon
Additional fresh blueberries, for garnish


Method:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the ¾ cup all-purpose flour, the cake flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice. With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Blend in the milk. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.
In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Using a spatula gently fold the berries into the cake batter. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners, filling each about ¾ full. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. Garnish with fresh blueberries.

Food for thought:

I usually don't follow a recipe for frosting, but in this case I did. I found the frosting to be really runny so I added to it. I added an extra 4 oz. of cream cheese, the zest from another lemon, and the juice from another lemon, and enough powdered sugar to make it the consistency I like. I found the frosting to be VERY lemony which I LOVED! But if you're not interested in so much lemon don't put as much zest and juice in. Typically when I make frosting I don't save the leftovers, but this frosting was so good that I had to save it to put on something else. So this morning Justin and I put them in our crepes with raspberry jam and WOW! It was great! And I plan to make another cake of sorts tomorrow to put the rest on. Man, I can't get enough of this frosting!!