Lemon Poppy Cupcakes with Blueberry Basil Frosting Recipe
Cupcakes are the focus of an entire baking universe, including flavor variations, fillings, decorations, and presentation.
Even though I love sweets, I usually cut the sugar and sneak in some healthy ingredients when I prepare goodies for my family. Even so, they disappear fast, and I feel slightly better about allowing my child to have three cookies rather than one or a cupcake before supper.
There is space in the recipe to add more sugar if you like your desserts sweeter.
I couldn’t wait to share my icing with you since I am so in love with its hue. This vibrant purple hue comes only from the Blueberry Basil Spread; no food coloring is used.
Let’s gather up our ingredients, shall we?
For the lemon poppyseed cupcakes:
1 1/3 cups cake flour (you can use all purpose but the cake flour will give them a greater chance to get nice and fluffy)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I used our Basil Infused Sea Salt to meld the flavors together)
1/4 cup butter- softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs – room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
lemon zest- about one heaping tablespoon
juice of one lemon
3/4 plain Greek or Icelandic yogurt
1 tbsp poppy seeds
For the buttercream icing:
1 cup softened butter (make sure it’s truly soft or the texture will be off)
1/2 cup Blueberry Basil Spread
2 cups confectioners sugar (I found it plenty sweet with this amount but you can add more)
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare one muffin pan- this recipe makes 12 cupcakes. In one bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl mix your wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients into wet and then stir in the poppy seeds. Fill your cupcake liners or greased muffin tins about 2/3 full with batter and bake for about 12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Be careful, with such a high temperature they will over bake very quickly if you let them.
While the cupcakes bake, cream together the butter and fruit spread with a handheld or standing mixer. Slowly add powered sugar while creaming until you get the icing that you want. The longer you whip, the fluffier it will get.
Be sure to let the cupcakes cool completely before adding the icing. Otherwise the warmth from the cupcakes will melt the butter.
These are wonderfully sweet and refreshing, the sweetness of the blueberries balancing out the tartness of the lemons. A light summer treat or a reminder of spring during the cold winter months.
