Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes

These blueberry lemon cupcakes are FULL of bright and fresh flavor! This recipe features SUPER tender lemon cupcakes that are topped off with a fresh blueberry frosting that has the prettiest purple color. They're all naturally flavored and colored!

what makes these blueberry lemon cupcakes so good?

• flavor: These cupcakes are FULL of bright and refreshing flavor in every bite. The cupcakes are perfectly sweet and tart with just the right amount of lemon flavor. The frosting also adds a hint of tartness (without being overpowering) and brings some delicious fresh blueberry flavor.
• texture: These lemon cupcakes are so spongy, so tender, and SO moist - they're like a little lemon cloud! The cream cheese frosting is velvety smooth and creamy, but can still be used to pipe sharp designs.
• color: The cupcakes and the frosting are all naturally colored!! The cakes don't brown a lot in the oven and retain a beautiful pale yellow color while blueberries help give the frosting it's natural BRIGHT purple color.
• simplicity: Considering what you're getting, these cupcakes are quite easy to make. The only downside is the chill time needed (because who likes waiting??) but otherwise this recipe is not very complicated and is made up of simple ingredients.

making lemon cupcakes

This lemon cupcake batter is super easy to whip up and yields perfectly soft, moist, and flavorful mini cakes. The process of making these cupcakes is more or less just a bunch of mixing: mix together dry ingredients, mix together wet ingredients, and mix everything together to combine. It's very easy to whip up by hand but can also be made using a mixer if you prefer (just watch out for overmixing). Here's a quick little look at how to make these cupcakes, but you can find the full detailed recipe further down in this post:

1. Whisk together dry ingredients. Set aside.
2. Rub together sugar and lemon zest. This step helps draw out the natural oil in the zest and will make the cupcakes taste EXTRA citrusy.
3. Whisk the butter and oil into the lemon sugar followed by the remaining wet ingredients. Whisk everything together until well combined.
4. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients. The batter will be a little lumpy, but you shouldn't see any dry streaks of flour.
5. Portion and bake. Fill the cupcake cups around ¾ of the way full and then bake the cupcakes until a skewer comes out with a few moist cake crumbs.
6. Cool. Make sure the cupcakes are FULLY cooled before frosting.

making blueberry cream cheese frosting

I'm absolutely obsessed with this frosting. It's tangy, it's fresh, and it's all naturally flavored and colored. That gorgeous purple color is EVERYTHING. This frosting gets all of it's amazing taste and appearance from fresh blueberries (but frozen blueberries also work if that's all you have).

The cream cheese frosting starts off with the blueberries: we're going to cook them down to reduce some of the moisture and concentrate the color and flavor. Add the blueberries into a saucepot along with the lemon juice, then cook until the blueberries completely soften.

I strained the cooked sauce because I didn't want any blueberry chunks in my frosting, but you can leave it as is if you don't mind the pieces. Allow the cooked blueberries to cool completely before using. Once cooled, it's time to whip up a classic cream cheese frosting base.

To make the frosting base, start by whipping together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix about half of the powdered sugar into the cream cheese and butter until dissolved then mix in the remaining sugar and salt.

Next add in the cooled blueberry mixture and mix together until smooth and combined. The frosting will be a bit soft at this stage because of the added moisture from the blueberries, so pop it into the fridge for a few minutes to allow it to firm up enough to use. Once it's firmed up to your desired consistency, use the frosting to decorate the cooled cupcakes.

working with blueberry frosting

Cream cheese and blueberries are truly a winning pair and this has quickly become one of my all time favorite frostings! Classic cream cheese frosting usually has a softer consistency than other types of frostings, so here are a few things I've done in the recipe to account for the additional moisture from the blueberries:

1. Cook down the blueberries: This concentrates the color and flavor and eliminates some of the excess water. It will still water down the frosting - it's just a fact that we have to tolerate in exchange for using fresh blueberries - but there are other steps I've taken to make up for that in the frosting.
2. Cool the blueberry puree COMPLETELY: This is VERY important! If the blueberries are even slightly warm when they're added to the frosting, they'll melt the frosting and create a soft and soupy mess.
3. Chill in the fridge: Now even with all the other steps we take, this frosting will still be too soft to use after it's first whipped up. The simple solution: pop the frosting into the fridge. This will give the butter and cream cheese a chance to cool and resolidify, thus allowing you to pipe / spread sharp and defined designs!

higher ratio of butter

This is one final feature in this frosting that helps account for the added moisture in the blueberries. Traditional cream cheese frosting recipes will more or less use the same ratio of 4oz of butter for every 8oz of cream cheese. Cream cheese is softer and has a higher moisture content than butter: with cream cheese holding around 55% water and butter at around 15% (depending on the brand).

Using 2x the cheese is what contributes to the softer consistency of classic cream cheese frosting, so that's why I've added slightly more butter to this frosting to give it more fat and structure. It's just enough additional butter to create a more stable frosting but not so much butter that it takes away from the flavor of the cream cheese. Another added benefit of using extra butter is it slightly mellows out the acidity in the cheese and makes for a better pairing with the tart lemon cupcake.

FAQs

Can I leave out the cornstarch?
Cornstarch is added to the dry ingredients to mimic cake flour! Cornstarch contains less protein and it absorbs more liquid than flour which helps make the cupcakes softer, lighter, and spongier. You could leave it out if you prefer, but the cupcakes will be a bit denser. If you want to skip it, replace the 1 tablespoon cornstarch for an additional 2 tablespoons flour.

Can I use bottled lemon juice?
I always always always recommend avoiding bottled lemon juices. There's really no beating the flavor of fresh lemon zest and juice.

Can I use all butter / all oil in the cupcake batter?
I like using a mix of the 2 for flavor and moisture. You could use all oil if you'd like, but using all butter could lead to a drier cake. So it's just something to keep in mind.

Can I use frozen blueberries?
Yes! You just may need to cook them for a little longer due to the extra moisture. No need to defrost them beforehand.

more tips

1. Spoon and level the flour: This is one of the most important tips to keep in mind when making a recipe that calls for flour! It's always best and most accurate to measure flour using a scale, but if you are using cups, make sure you're not scooping the measuring cup directly into the bag of flour - this can pack in more weight worth of flour and will lead to dry cupcakes. Instead, lightly spoon the flour into your measuring cup then use a flat utensil to level off any excess.
2. Room temperature ingredients: Room temperature ingredients will incorporate more smoothly and will yield a better texture for both the cupcakes and frosting.
3. Whisking the batter: After the dry ingredients are added in, watch out for overmixing the cupcake batter. This can overwork the gluten in the flour which will cause the cupcakes to bake up dense, dry, and with sunken in centers.
4. Filling the cupcake cups: Make sure to fill each cupcake cup around ¾ of the way full. Overfilled cupcakes will sink in the centers while underfilled cups will not rise properly.
5. Baking & cooling: To test for perfectly baked cupcakes, a skewer inserted into a cake should come out with a few moist crumbs on the tip. The skewer should not have any wet batter but also shouldn't come out fully clean (or this could mean the cakes are overbaked). When it comes time to cool, make sure the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
6. Block cream cheese: Avoid cream cheese spread when making the frosting and instead use the cheese that's sold in blocks / bricks. Block cream cheese is firmer and ideal for frostings. Cream cheese spread has a softer consistency and could impact the consistency of the frosting.
7. Storage: Because the frosting contains cream cheese and it softens up at room temperature, keep the frosted cupcakes stored in the fridge in an airtight container. These cupcakes will keep for up to 4 days. Unfrosted cupcakes can be kept at room temperature for 3-4 days or up to a week in the fridge.

check out these other lemon recipes!

• Lemon Berry Cake
• Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes
• Lemon Brownies
• Lemon Monkey Bread
• Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.

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Enjoy!

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