Blueberry Bliss

I have done my fair share of fruit picking.  I have been cherry picking, raspberry picking, strawberry picking, and even apple picking (which isn't really as fun as it sounds).  Something was missing... blueberries!

Not quite ripe for the picking

I went blueberry picking with Ilinca and Omari over the weekend.  I just sort of wandered around, half eating, half picking blueberries.  Ok, mostly eating and singing songs that I learned at camp to myself.  Ilinca and Omari seemed to at least have a method to their madness.  Look how many blueberries Ilinca captured:

These blueberry babies needed a home.  And I decided that their home was going to be a blueberry cupcake.  I'm back on service again in the hospital (intensive care unit this time... which is.... intense) so I made them for my team.

First, you need to make the blueberry puree...

Blueberry Puree

• 2 1/2 cups blueberries, washed

1. Put the blueberries into a saucepan.  Heat until boiling.  Yes, the blueberries boil.  They will start turning dark bluish purple and start releasing juice into the pan which will bubble.
2. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  You want to end up with a nice saucepan of blueberry goo.
3. Place blueberries in a food processor and pulse until completely blended.
4. Ta da! Blueberry puree!

Ok, onto the good stuff!

Blueberry Cupcakes - Adapted from Trophy Cupcakes - Makes 24

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2  cup + 1 tablespoon blueberry puree (see above)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• optional: extra blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners
2. On low-medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar.  
3. Add the egg one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. In a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix together with a whisk.
5. In a separate bowl, add the milk, blueberry puree, and vanilla.
6. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture.  Mix on medium speed until well combined, but no need to over-mix!
7. If desired, you can stir in some blueberries into the batter for extra blueberry goodness.
8. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full of batter.  Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
9. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan and then allow them to cool completely on a cooling rack.

The color of the cupcake batter is amazing!  The following photograph doesn't really do it justice.

I ate one hot out of the oven and it was de-lish-ous.  Luckily, I still had some puree to use up in the frosting so I didn't eat the entire batch of cupcakes then and there.  You can top them with a blueberry swiss meringue buttercream, or use the blueberry buttercream recipe below.  You just add blueberry puree to a regular vanilla buttercream until you get a taste that you like.   No matter how much puree you add, you will get some variation of a beautiful magenta color.  No need for food coloring with this frosting!

Bright Blueberry Buttercream

• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 3-5 tablespoons blueberry puree

1. On low-medium speed, cream the butter until pale and fluffy.  
2. Add the confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time to the butter.  Mix on medium speed until well combined, taking the time to mix on high speed every once and a while to increase the fluffiness factor.
3. Add the vanilla and mix well.
4. Add the milk and mix well.
5. Add the blueberry puree one tablespoon at a time to taste.  I wanted a more tart frosting, so I added 5 tablespoons. 

These cupcakes have a great flavor that really doesn't require any fancy frosting work.  You can just spread the frosting on with an offset spatula or a knife and top with a blueberry.

Or, load that frosting on with a wilton 1m tip :)

Ahh... blueberries.  They might just be the quintessential fruit of summer.  Well, that or watermelon.