Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan / 350F and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.
Measure all the cupcake ingredients out
- Measure out all the cupcake ingredients (except the blueberries) and add them to the bowl of a free-standing mixer or a large mixing bowl.It doesn't matter what order you add everything, but we find if we stick to the order they're listed we're less likely to miss any ingredient out.
Mix the cupcake ingredients together
- Using a hand held mixer, the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, or even just wooden spoons, beat everything together until the cupcake batter is nice and smooth. Beat it all for a minute or so until there are no lumps of flour or butter showing but be sure not to over mix it or they won't rise as well.Scrape down the sides of your mixing bowl with a spatula to make sure there's no lumps of flour or other unmixed ingredients hiding at the bottom of your bowl.
Add the blueberries
- Measure the blueberries out then coat them in a few tablespoons of flour. Add them to your cupcake mixture then stir them in with a wooden spoon or spatula until they are well dispersed.
Bake the blueberry cupcakes
- Using dessert spoon or an ice cream scoop divide the cupcake batter evenly among your paper cases. An ice cream scoop often dishes out the perfect amount but if you need to, even them out with any left over cupcake batter from your bowl. Each case should end up about ¾ full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes. The cupcakes are ready when they've risen and turned a golden brown colour. If you want to double check that they are ready, insert a cocktail stick (or a sharp knife) into the middle of a cupcake. If it's fully baked it should come out clean. If there's still some wet batter on it, pop them back in the oven for a few more minutes.You can also check by pressing down gently on the top of a cupcake. It should sprint straight back up again if they're cooked.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave them to cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing them from the tin and popping them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the blueberry puree
- Measure the blueberries out and blitz them in a small blender or with a stick blender until they are nice and smooth. Pass them through a sieve into a small pan. Add the lemon juice and caster sugar.
- Heat the blueberries for five to ten minutes until they have thickened and reduced in volume. Remove you pan from the heat and set it aside to cool while you make the rest of the icing.
Make the blueberry buttercream
- Start by adding the butter, icing / confectioners sugar, and a few teaspoons of milk to a mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. The butter needs to be soft enough so that it will 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.Beat the butter and icing sugar using the k-paddle of your mixer or a hand held mixer until it is nice and soft. The longer you beat it for the softer it will become, so leave it mixing if you can for at least five minutes.
- Once the blueberry puree has cooled, add it to your icing and mix it in.
Decorate the cupcakes
- Add the icing to a piping bag fitted with a large star shaped nozzle and add a bag clip at the end to stop it coming out the top. (The clip isn't essential but it does make piping a bit easier).
- Pipe a swirl of icing onto the top of each cupcake. Add a blueberry to the top of each cupcake to decorate.