Tag Archives: blueberry

July 18, 2012 · 5:00 am

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Nichole came to visit!!  She used to live right down the street but then she moved far, far away to Arizona.  We always have a great time when we are reunited and this trip was no different!  Nichole celebrated her birthday while she was in town and we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Bogota, for a delicious dinner and wonderful drinks!  After dinner, we came back to the apartment for dessert and our annual birthday dance party, true story.

Some friends are not huge chocolate lovers and Nichole is one of them.  In the past I have made her unique desserts like pistachio-lime-zucchini cake which is much more delicious than it sounds!  This year I sent her a link to my Pinterest page and told her to pick out a few things.  I was not surprised at all when she included these lemon, blueberry cupcakes among her choices!  And this, my friends, is a great choice!

The lemon cupcake is soft and moist and full of juicy blueberries.  The frosting is very sweet but has the right balance of tartness and lemony goodness.  The blueberry drizzle is a perfect and much needed topping to make this cupcakes marvelous!  Its sweetness brings everything together and adds just the right finish.  This is a messy cupcake you should eat on a plate, but embrace the mess, its all worth it!

Print the Recipe.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Cooking Classy
Yield – 12 cupcakes

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (about 1 1/2 lemons)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup frozen blueberries

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Zest the lemons and add to the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
  3. With your fingers rub the sugar and lemon together for about 2 minutes to release the essential oils.
  4. Add in the butter and oil and mix until well combined.
  5. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
  6. Add in the yogurt.  Scrape the bowl as needed.
  7. Sift together the flour, powder, and salt onto wax paper.
  8. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions with 2 additions of buttermilk in between.  Mix until just combined.
  9. Fold in the blueberries to combine.
  10. Use a standard size ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter between lined cupcake cups.
  11. Bake for 18-20 minutes until cooked all the way through.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Blueberry Sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

  1. Whisk together the sugar, corn starch, and water in a medium sauce pan.
  2. Add in the blueberries and stir to combine.
  3. Heat and bring the mixture to a boil and then cook for 5 minutes until the blueberries break down.
  4. Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend the blueberries into a smooth sauce.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

Lemon Frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
small squirt of yellow food coloring

  1. Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  2. Place the frosting into a piping bag and pipe a nice blob on the cupcake.
  3. Transfer the blueberry sauce to a squeeze bottle and drizzle on top of the cupcakes.
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June 25, 2012 · 5:00 am

Lemon Blueberry Scones

Sometimes you just need to have a weekend marathon of Downton Abbey, and any marathon that involves a British period piece require scones.  It’s like a law or something.  After our taco dinner salads, we needed something sweet the next day to continue our marathon.

These scones are more biscuit like than muffin like, which I love!  They are not too sweet and and definitely delicious with the little bursts of blueberry throughout.  All the cream makes for a very tender scone!  Scones are easy to throw together and require minimum equipment.

If you read my last post about Downtown Abbey it should be clear how obsessive I am.  Season three is set to begin showing in September, I cannot wait!!!

Print the recipe.

Lemon Blueberry Scones
Recipe from Baking Illustrated, page 58
Yield – 8 scones

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
5 tablespoons cold butter cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon lemon zest (1 lemon)
1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup heavy cream

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together the flour, powder, sugar, and salt.
  3. Use a pastry blender to combine the butter and lemon zest into the flour.  Cut the dough until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  4. Gently toss in the blueberries.
  5. Add the cream and mix with a spatula until just combined.
  6. Pour the whole mixture on the counter and knead lightly to bring together.  Don’t overwork the dough, it’s going to be crumbly, just let it be.
  7. Push the dough into a circular shape and cut into 8 pieces.  Place each piece on the parchment paper.
  8. Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.  Let cool on a wire rack.

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May 4, 2012 · 5:00 am

Simple Blueberry Coffee Cake

We had a lot of house guests this weekend.  To me, house guests = coffee cake!  I grew up on Entenmann’s whenever there were guests or we were traveling or camping.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Cheese Filled Crumb Coffee Cake, but as much as I love sweets, it’s a little hard for me to eat cake for breakfast.

This coffee cake is easy to eat for breakfast!  Although some may miss the crumb on top and the excessive amounts of butter that usually goes into a breakfast cake, I really, really like the freshness and lightness of this breakfast cake.  This may not be a breakfast of champions, but it is perfect for eating when you are sitting around in your pajamas, drinking coffee, and telling stories about last night!

The cake itself has a very soft and light crumb, plus it is very moist.  The lemon and blueberry add an amazing freshness.  This coffee cake is just sweet enough.  I definitely suggest making this next time you have company, it’s so easy to wake up and cut yourself a big piece!  I really enjoyed my piece this morning!

Print the recipe.

Simple Blueberry Coffee Cake
Adapted from Alexandra Cooks
Yield – 12-16 pieces

scant 1/2 cup whole milk + juice of 1/2 a lemon
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9 x 13” pan.
  2. Zest 2 lemons and squeeze half of one lemon into a measuring cup.  Add milk to the 1/2 cup mark.  Set aside.
  3. Beat together the butter, lemon zest, and 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add in the egg and vanilla; beat on high until well mixed.
  4. Sift together the flour, powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Mix in the blueberries.
  5. Add about half the dry/blueberry mix into the mixer, mix on the lowest speed.  Add in the lemon-milk and then rest of flour mix.  Only beat until just combined.
  6. Spread into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or the top is golden brown.  Cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before trying to cut.

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