Lemoney-Snickitty Blueberry Cupcake

So last night I had a fantastic pineapple sorbet for dessert, but what is dessert without a cupcake! I found only a few lemons, cream cheese, and blueberries in the refrigerator, and not wanting to bake just any old cupcake I had to come up with something different. That's when it came to me... a lemon blueberry cupcake with lemon cream cheese frosting! I added 2 cups of blueberries to my batter but feel free to add less if you would like. I was so excited but when I pulled my cupcakes out of the oven, to my dismay the cupcake had risen flat. In most cases the cupcake didn't even fill the muffin tin! With a little googling I found that some cupcakes are so heavy (i.e., blueberries, lemon, butter, etc.) that they do not rise as successfully as other fluffier batter. So here is my Tip of the Day: with these cupcakes make sure to fill the muffin cups almost completely to the top to make a perfect Lemoney-Snickitty Blueberry Cupcake that just might make you pucker! Happy baking!

Lemoney-Snickitty Blueberry Cupcake

Cupcake Ingredients Yields: 12 cupcakes

1 cup sugar

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (and about 2 tablespoons for the blueberries)

1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder

½ cup milk

3 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh squeezed suggested)

Zest of 1 lemon

1 ½ cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 12 regular-sized muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and lemon zest in a separate bowl. Once combined add to the butter-sugar mixture and beat until combined. Stir in milk until completely combined.

In a separate bowl, toss the blueberries in the 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Use a spoon to gently fold the berries into the cake batter. Pour the batter evenly in the muffin cups, filling each full. Bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick can be removed clean from the center of the cupcake.

Remove from oven and let cool. Frost with the lemon cream cheese frosting and top with fresh blueberries and a little lemon zest.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients (makes extra frosting)

11 oz. cream cheese (remove from the refrigerator for a few minutes before use)

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoon of lemon juice (fresh squeezed suggested)

Topping

Extra fresh blueberries

Lemon zest

Beat cream cheese and butter in a bowl for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Mix in the lemon juice and gradually beat in the powdered sugar until completely combined and smooth. Put the frosting in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Frost your cupcakes and top with a little lemon zest and fresh blueberries.