Blueberry Filled Cupcakes
These blueberry filled cupcakes are soft lemon cupcakes filled with fresh luscious blueberry curd and topped with lemon cream cheese frosting. They’re perfect for spring, Easter or Mother's Day!
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 427kcal
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- 1¾ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup whole milk room temperature
Blueberry Curd
- 1¼ cups blueberries fresh or frozen (unthawed)
- ½ lemon zest and juice from 1/2 a medium lemon
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cold, cut into about 5 pieces
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 3½ ounces cream cheese full fat, brick style, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1¾ cups powdered sugar add an additional 1/4 cup if needed to thicken
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon blueberry curd add up to 3/4 tablespoon blueberry curd, or substitute milk or heavy cream
Instructions
Blueberry Curd
- Chop the butter into about 5 pats of butter. Place it in a large non-metal bowl. . Set a sieve over the bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium sized heavy bottom saucepan, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips. Rubbing the zest into the sugar is optional. It will help release the oils of the zest and enhance the lemon flavor.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and salt to the saucepan and whisk with a silicone whisk til smooth.
- Stir in the blueberries and lemon juice. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula or silicone whisk over medium-low heat til mixture comes to a simmer then thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, should take around 10 minutes.
- Strain the curd through the sieve, pushing it through the sieve with a spatula to Discard the blueberry skins.
- Stir in the cold, chopped butter til melted. Gently press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Set the bowl in the refrigerator to cool and thicken for at least 2 hours.
Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the rest of the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand held mixer beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until fluffy and well combined.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, stir to combine the milk and lemon juice.
- Mix in the dry ingredients and milk-lemon mixutre in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until just combined.
- Use a 1/4 cup measure or an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter and evenly fill the liners 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. You might have a little extra batter leftover, just discard it. Don't overfill the muffin pan.
- Bake for 17-21 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Remove from oven. Cool cupcakes in tin for ten minutes then remove and transfer them to a cooling rack. Cool completely before filling and frosting.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the cream cheese on medium speed until combined.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar, ½tablespoon of the blueberry curd (milk or cream), lemon zest, vanilla extract and salt.
- Beat 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add up to a little more blueberry curd or milk until desired consistency. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Assembling and Decorating
- Use a cupcake corer (or the wide end of a large piping tip) to carve out a hole in the cupcakes. Remove the center of each cupcake. Discard centers (or save them for snacks!)
- Spoon or pipe at least 1 teaspoon of blueberry curd into the middle of each cupcake.
- Pipe or frost the cupcakes as you like. I used a Wilton 6B tip to frost mine. For the easiest and prettiest decoration, pipe one circle around the opening of the cupcake so that the curd filling in the middle is visible.
Notes
Flour: Cake flour helps give these cupcakes their soft, tender texture. If you don’t have cake flour, you can make a cake flour substitute. For 1 cup of cake flour, sift together 14 tablespoons (110 grams) all purpose flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. You can double this to make 2 cups then measure 1 3/4 cups out of it for this recipe. You can also just use all purpose flour in this recipe.
Blueberry curd: Use fresh or frozen blueberries. Stir curd often while cooking to keep it from clumping up or burning. Store curd in a non-metal container to prevent a metallic aftertaste. Press plastic wrap right on the surface of the curd. This will keep it from forming a skin. Use homemade or store bought blueberry jam as a substitute for blueberry curd.
Storage: Store leftover blueberry curd in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 427kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 254mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 721IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1mg
