Introduction: Blueberry Cupcakes With Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 30 cupcakes
This blueberry cupcake is so striking, people will take notice. The special magic ingredient is freeze dried blueberries, available at Whole foods, Trader Joes, or Amazon. There are no artificial colors or flavors to make this cupcake and instead it relies on the gorgeous natural color of blueberries.
WARNING: Most freeze dried fruit comes with a packet of silica gel in it. DO NOT pulverize it. Remove the tiny white packet before pulverizing.
Step 1: Blueberry Cake
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
4 large eggs
1.2 oz (34 grams) freeze dried blueberries, pulverized in a mini food processor
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup pureed fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with liners.
Mix together flour. baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix together buttermilk, blueberry puree and vanilla extract. Set aside until needed.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest in a mixing bowl until pale, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in pulverized blueberries.
Mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two batches of buttermilk mixture. Mix until just combined, scraping down bowl as needed. (I like to mix the last bit by hand using a spatula to make sure I get all the stuff at the bottom.) Scoop batter into cupcake tins.
Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 21 to 24 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool in tins for 10 minutes, and then remove cupcakes and place them on a cooling rack.
Step 2: Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes enough to frost 30 cupcakes
1 cup of butter, softened
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
1.2 oz (34 grams) freeze dried blueberries, pulverized in a mini food processor
3-5 cups of confectioners sugar
In a large mixing bowl, mix butter until it is softened and uniform. Add cream cheese and beat together until it is uniform. Add pulverized blueberries. Add 3 cups of sugar to the mixture and mix. Add more sugar if necessary. Mix again until mixture is creamy and spreadable. Add more sugar if necessary, otherwise prepare to frost cake.
Step 3: Frosting
You can use a pastry bag and a Wiltons 1M tip to pipe the rosettes, but the pulverized blueberries can clog the piping tip making piping hard. Another option is to simply ice the cupcakes using a knife, which looks lovely as well. Garnish with fresh blueberries if desired.
Enjoy!

First Prize in the
Dessert Contest
19 Comments
Question 3 years ago
Is freezed dried blueberries thd same as dried blueberries
Answer 3 years ago
Freeze dried blueberries are crumbly and can be pulverized. Dried blueberries are more the texture of a raisin, which cannot be turned into a powder.
7 years ago
Super yum yum!
7 years ago
Have made this many times, it is a crowd pleaser. My daughter asks for them so she can show off. The local Bulk Barn here has dried blueberries.
8 years ago on Introduction
Can you use fresh blueberries for the icing? I have no access to any of those stores and Amazon would deliver as quickly as I need it. They look delicious!
Reply 8 years ago on Introduction
I wouldn't - the freeze dried blueberries give you an advantage which prevents the icing from getting too watery. maybe you could experiment with a glaze type option or something?
11 years ago on Introduction
Whooo hooo! Congratulations!
11 years ago on Introduction
I wish I liked blueberries, because these look delicious!
11 years ago on Introduction
Beautiful and delicious-looking! Congrats on being a finalist!
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
Thanks Wuvie! Maybe I'll actually win. :)
11 years ago on Introduction
That frosting looks fantastic! Love the rich color and the speckles in it :)
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
You know thats the first thing I thought when I saw the picture. Love the frosting color! I bet it taste so good too!
11 years ago on Introduction
Wow! These look devine. Great job!
11 years ago on Step 2
These cupcakes are gorgeous, especially knowing the color comes from berries, not food coloring. I had no idea about pulverized, frozen dried fruit- a natural solution to dye problems? Hooray!
Looking forward to trying this out in a few recipes. Recently, I made a sweet with a lot of food coloring in the frosting, and friends didn't like being dyed. I'm hoping this technique will work well in macarons. If it does, I'll send credit your way!
As always, your food photography is striking and lovely.
11 years ago on Introduction
Gorgeous! I bet the frosting is devine!
11 years ago on Introduction
so nice. so delicious.
11 years ago on Introduction
Wow these are so pretty!
11 years ago on Introduction
The picture of those cupcakes alone is mouth-watering and gorgeous! Thank you, I'll definitely try sometime.
11 years ago on Introduction
These look so good. Thanks for sharing!