Lemon Cupcakes with Fresh Blueberry Buttercream

Lemon and blueberries go together like peanut butter and chocolate except, instead of being all heavy and decadent, they are light and fresh and airy. Make them during the dreary winter weather for a reminder of all things summer. Or, you know, make them whenever because they are ridiculously delicious and easy to whip up. The color of the blueberry buttercream is so beautiful. Put them on a plate of cupcakes and they will get everyone's attention. 

Here they are with our Chocolate Cupcakes (Recipe HERE) and our Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream (Recipe HERE). Hard to miss, right? 

All you need is a few simple ingredients and about an hour and you could have these little beauties on your table!

Lemon Cupcakes with Fresh Blueberry Buttercream

Ingredients

Cupcakes

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

zest of one lemon

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp lemon extract

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

2 cups sour cream

1/4 cup lemon juice

Buttercream

3 cups blueberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cups butter, softened

pinch salt

5 - 6 cups icing sugar

3 Tbsp milk

Decoration

blueberries

Directions

Prepare cupcakes - Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners and set aside. 

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Whisk in lemon extract and eggs until well combined.

Alternately beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with the sour cream until just combined. Do not over mix. Lastly, fold in the lemon juice.  

Scoop batter into the 24 lined muffin cups. 

I put a blueberry into the center of each cupcake but this is totally optional!!! 

Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean, about 20 - 25 minutes. 

NOTE - these rise VERY well so do not fill the cup more than about halfway. As you can see mine were filled a little too much! (They were fine but just overflowed a little so don't look as neat and tidy!)

Remove from pan to wire rack to cool completely. 

Prepare buttercream - Combine blueberries and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes - until thickened. 

Press this through a sieve to remove any skins and seeds. Let cool completely. 

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in 1/3 of a cup of the blueberry puree (reserve the rest for decorating). NOTE - make sure puree is completely cool or it will melt the buttercream. Don't worry if it looks weird, it will come together when the icing sugar is added.

Add in the salt and icing sugar, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. Beat in milk to make it a spreading/piping consistency. Beat for two minutes on high to make sure it is smooth. (If you find it too runny, add a bit of icing sugar... too firm, add a tablespoon or so of milk.) 

Pipe or spread onto cooled lemon cupcakes. 

You can pipe the buttercream around the outside of the cupcake and then fill with a teaspoon of the puree...

Or you can pipe the buttercream in a swirl and top with a blueberry and a little drizzle of the puree. Or you can just spread the icing on.... whatever you prefer! The recipe makes enough icing to put a swirl on 24 normal sized cupcakes and 12 mini cupcakes. Which, as it happens, is how many cupcakes the cake recipe makes.