Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

The weather this week was nothing short of amazing... Sunshine and sunshine and more sunshine 🙂 I wanted to bake something that was super fresh & light... Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes!

Usually, I try to use fresh fruit when I bake, but I had a few bags of frozen blueberries in my freezer and I wanted to use them, so in the cupcakes they go. I just took them out in the morning and thawed them in the refrigerator... before I started baking them I drained all the juices, just so that they didn't add more liquid to the batter. I plan on making these again with fresh blueberries but these did not disappoint at all. I bring all of the cupcakes I bake to work with me and a friend said these were their favorite 🙂 I always love hearing that!

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes (Cupcake: Annie's Eats)

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 or thawed (frozen) blueberries

Yield: 16 cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line muffin tins with Cupcake liners.
Combine the ¾ cup all-purpose flour, the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, whisk and set aside.
In a standing bowl mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy for 2-3 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice.
With the mixer on low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated, add 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. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Jenn's Java Cupcake Lemon Blueberry Buttercream

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup of blueberry puree
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. milk (as needed)

Cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest in a standing bowl mixer until light and fluffy for 2-3 minutes.
Add lemon juice and blueberry puree to the mixture and mix until combined.
With the mixer on low, add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
If needed, add milk to reach your desired consistency.
Pipe with a large star and enjoy 😉

*Tip: If you don't have cake flour at home, don't worry... it's super easy to make! For every 1 cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour and add 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Then sift and sift and sift some more (at least 5 times) 😉 Ta-da! Cake flour! (source: Joy the Baker)