chubby chicks with oven mitts: Blueberry Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream

Blueberry Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream

Since I started my cupcake kick, people have been giving me their "requests." This one came from a friend at church who after seeing a few pictures of what I was making said I needed to stop putting pictures on facebook unless I was going to bring her one. She said her favorite was blueberry, so I got to work. This is not just a blueberry muffin with some frosting. It has a distinct white cake taste and texture with the just right balance of blueberries. This recipe is an adaptation from Always with Butter. She made homemade blueberry preserves for the topping, which I did as well, but found that they played such a minimal role that I would just use store bought. I know, the woman who wonders why anyone would buy marshmallows just recommended a store bought product over a homemade one. That should tell you how not worth it they are.

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 300 and line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Rinse
blueberries until water runs clear and return them to the freezer until
ready to use. This helps keep the cupcakes from turning purple.

Step 2:
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar,
buttermilk powder, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Buttermilk powder is a great product to have on hand because you don't
have to worry about it going bad for a couple years and it's much cheaper
than using refrigerated buttermilk. I buy it at Walmart in the baking aisle
next to the powdered milk. I only use it for baking, but you could use it for
cooking as well. It's super easy to use, just mix the powder with your
dry ingredients, then add water in place of the buttermilk in your recipe.
If you prefer to use regular buttermilk in this recipe, just omit this powder
and replace the 1 cup of water with 1 cup of buttermilk.

Step 3:
Using a stand mixer (I love my 6 qt professional Kitchen Aid) fitted
with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, eggs, water, milk, vanilla
and almond extract on low speed. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter.
I added the butter at the same time and caused it to cool too quickly in
he mixture and create lumps. If you do a slow drizzle, you won't
have that problem. You're welcome :)

Step 4:
Scoop batter into tins using that 2 oz scoop that I love so much.

Step 5:
Place 3-5 blueberries on top of each cupcake. They shouldn't sink to the
bottom since they are frozen, but if you are really worried about it, you
can toss them with a little cornstarch to help them stick to the batter better.
I didn't care that bad and though I did have a few sink, they were
still delicious and turned out well.

Step 6:

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. They should not brown at all. This is a very soft, delicate cake that you do not want to overcook.

Finished cupcakes

Step 7:
For the frosting, use your mixer again, but fit it with the whisk attachment.
Whip the butter on high for about 30 seconds or until it gets light and fluffy.
This step is important because it creates an even texture throughout the butter
and incorporates a little air into it allowing it to blend better with other ingredients.
There is your cooking science lesson for the day!

Step 8:
Add the honey and whip it another 30 seconds so it is completely mixed
with the butter. This also makes an excellent honey butter on it's own.
You should have a taste if you haven't already :)

Step 9:
Add the powdered sugar and milk. Add the sugar about a cup at a time
keeping the speed on low then crank it up to high once it's incorporated.

Finished frosting

Step 10:
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Don't forget to pull out your cute cake
stand that your dad bought you for your birthday. Don't have a cute
cake stand that your dad bought you for your birthday? Stop here and
take a minute to call your dad and re-connect with him ;) Don't forget
to ask him to buy you a cake stand.

Step 11:

Melt preserves in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until they are runny and can drizzle off a spoon. Use a spoon to drizzle them over each cupcake, or put the melted preserves in a squeeze bottle and drizzle. That reminds me of a joke: Why does Snoop Dogg need an umbrella? For the drizzle. I know, 1995 called and it wants its lame joke back.