Blackberry cupcakes

These blackberry cupcakes are delicious moist and fruit filled topped and topped with a blackberry buttercream. An easy twist on a classic cupcake, they’re the perfect bake for any blackberry lover.

Blackberry cupcakes take our easy cupcake recipe for kids and take them to a whole new level with the addition of fresh fruit in the cake and a blackberry buttercream on top.

They’re beautifully moist with bursts of fresh blackberry running through the cupcake, and the blackberry frosting is sweet and fruity and delicious.

As they’re based on our favourite easy base cupcake recipe, they’re still really simple to make. I love any recipe that uses the ‘all-in-one method’ as everything just gets mixed together in one bowl. Not only does this make them quicker and easier to make, there’s less mess and perhaps most importantly, less washing up!

How can kids help to make blackberry cupcakes?

Cupcakes are great bakes for kids. Not only are they nice and easy, they’ll love eating the end product!

These blackberry cupcakes, use our easy cupcake recipe for kids, but with a few simple additions raise them to a whole other level.

The basic cupcake in this recipe is a great one for kids. Everything just gets mixed together in one bowl, which limits the mess and means there’s less washing up to do. Your kids can help to measure out all the cupcake ingredients out and simply add them all to your mixing bowl. Once you’ve done that you just need to mix it all together.

And, as with a lot of bakes, it uses a few eggs so it’s a good opportunity for children to practice their egg cracking skills (which is an important skill for any young baker to learn.)

Your kids may also want to help divide the cupcake batter among the cupcake cases. You might find it easier and less messy if you use an ice-cream scoop or soup spoon to do it as they can distribute just the right amount.

Finally, your kids might like to help make the blackberry frosting and decorate the cupcakes. They can practice their piping skills, or if that’s too tricky simply spread the icing on with a spoon. And if you have very young children helping, they can help decorate by adding the final blackberry as the finishing touch.

How long do blackberry cupcakes keep?

These blackberry cupcakes have real fruit in them so they won’t keep for quite as long as other plain cupcakes but they will still keep for a day or two. If you use a piece of blackberry rather than a whole one to decorate you’ll need to keep the cupcakes in the fridge. Alternatively, finish decorating them just before you serve them.

What can I use instead of self raising flour?

Self raising flour is easy to find in the supermarket here in the UK, but if you don’t have any swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and add an extra 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt.

What is baking spread/baking margarine?

A baking spread is just a non dairy margarine that’s perfect for baking – something like Stork being a famous example. It makes cupcakes and cakes lighter and fluffier than butter, so it’s a great, cheaper alternative. It’s also great for people with dairy allergies.

What else can I make with blackberries?

If you have more blackberries you want to use up why not try our apple and blackberry cake, blackberry muffins, blackberry & apple crumble or our blackberry scones.

Or if you want to make some other easy cupcakes, why not try one of these easy recipes:

Peach cupcakes
Lemon cupcakes
Eton mess cupcakes
Victoria sponge cupcakes
Raspberry cupcakes
Orange cupcakes
White chocolate cupcakes
Strawberry cupcakes
Apple cupcakes
Blueberry cupcakes
Raspberry and white chocolate cupcakes

Useful equipment

You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these blackberry cupcakes

Digital scales
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoons
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons
Muffin tin
Cupcake cases
Wire rack
Piping bag

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Ingredients

For the cupcakes
150g (2/3 cup) butter or baking margarine
150g (¾ cup) caster sugar
175g (1 ¾ cups) self raising flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
3 eggs
50g blackberries

For the blackberry icing
200g blackberries
300g (2 cups) icing sugar
150g (2/3 cup) butter
Blackberries to decorate

* If you don’t have any self raising flour, swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and add an extra teaspoon of baking powder.

How to make blackberry cupcakes

Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan / 350F and get your kids to line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.

Measure all the cupcake batter ingredients

Get your kids to help measure out all the cupcake ingredients (except the blackberries) and add them to a large mixing bowl or a free-standing mixer.

It’s up to you what order you add the ingredients as it all gets mixed in together, but if you add them in the order they’re listed you’re less likely to miss anything out.

Start by adding the butter or margarine. If you’re using butter, it needs to be soft enough for it to mix in. If you haven’t taken yours out of the fridge with enough time for it to soften (we always forget), you can get your kids to cut it into a few pieces and pop it in the microwave. Blast it long enough for it to soften, not so long that it melts.

If you’re using baking spread/margarine, you can add it straight to your mixing bowl.

Measure out the sugar and flour and add that to your mixing bowl.

Measure out the baking powder and add it to your bowl. Make sure your kids level the teaspoon with their finger before adding it so that they put in just the right amount.

Finally, get your kids to crack the eggs into a small bowl and then add them to your mixing bowl. We tend to avoid cracking our eggs straight into our bowl just in case any shell goes in (as it generally does). When it does, we fish it out with a larger piece of shell or a teaspoon as it sticks to that much better than it does our fingers. It’s also a lot less messy!

If you keep another small bowl nearby your kids can pop the shells into that (another mess saving tip).

Mix the cupcake batter

Use the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or even wooden spoons to beat everything together until the cupcake batter is nice and smooth. Mix it together for a minute or so until there are no visible lumps of flour or butter showing but be sure not to over mix it.

If you need to, get your kids to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure no unmixed ingredients are left at the bottom of your bowl.

Add the blackberries

Get your kids to cut the the blackberries roughly into a few pieces, coat them in a tablespoon of flour.

Add the blackberries to your mixing bowl and stir them in with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Bake the blackberry cupcakes

Get your kids to spoon the cupcake batter into the paper cases. Make sure they do it evenly, so each case is about ¾ full. Using an ice scream scoop or dessert spoon can often give just the right amount. If you need to, even them out with any left over cupcake batter from your bowl.

Bake the cupcakes for about 20 -25 minutes. They’re ready when they have risen and turned a nice golden brown colour. You can check they are baked by pressing down gently on the top. If they are ready they should spring back up.

Alternatively, to double check they’re ready, you can insert a skewer, cocktail stick or sharp knife into the middle of the cupcake. If they’re baked it should come out clean. If it’s not, pop the cupcakes back in the oven for a few more minutes.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave them to cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before popping them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the blackberry buttercream

While the cupcakes are baking, you can prepare the blackberry frosting.

Make the blackberry puree

Measure the blackberries out and blitz them with a small blender or stick blender until they are nice and smooth.

Pop them in a pan and heat them for five to ten minutes until they have thickened and reduced in size. Set the puree aside to cool while you make the rest of the icing.

Make the buttercream

Measure the icing sugar and butter out and add them to a free-standing mixer or mixing bowl. The butter needs to be soft to mix in, if yours isn’t cut it into a few pieces and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it, but not long enough to melt it.

Using the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer or hand held mixers beat the butter and icing together until they become nice and soft and fluffy. The longer you beat them for, the lighter and fluffier your icing should become.

Once the blackberry puree has cooled add it to your icing. Mix it until it has thoroughly mixed in.

Decorate the cupcakes

Add the icing into a piping bag with a large star shaped nozzle and add a bag clip at the end to stop it coming out the top.

Pipe a swirl on each cupcake. If your kids need a hand, you can help them to hold the piping bag down by the nozzle and squeeze it with their other hand.

Add a blackberry to decorate.

Serve and enjoy!

blackberry cupcakes on a wooden serving board.

cookingwithmykids