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| Even on a cupcake, the guy looks lofty... |
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| Still regal... |
My beloved boy Liam turned five this week. The child has known what he wanted the from the moment he emerged into the world. Still, he surprises me more often than not. He started school this year, and I was so excited to have the chance to send birthday treats in to his class (thank goodness his school isn't one that insists they come prepackaged from the store or be made gluten-free or using only quinoa products, or some such rule). I asked him to help me decide on the flavor. I threw out vanilla, or chocolate. "Well, maybe, " said Liam. "Well, what would you like?" I asked him. He thought for a moment. "Blueberry."
I got him to decide on blueberry cupcakes with marshmallow filling and blueberry frosting. I decided to puree the blueberries so that there weren't big lumps of fruit (not that he and I wouldn't love that, but his sister, who thinks she doesn't like blueberries, would never have touched them). Adding blueberry puree to cake batter can result in a gray cake, but I added enough to keep it fairly purple and with all the other bells and whistles I figured it would be okay. The edible glitter and Star Wars toppers were my own embellishments (and were met with much rejoicing).
His birthday party isn't until Saturday, and I asked him what kind of a cake he wanted for that. Yeah. Blueberry. Sigh.
Happy birthday, my Liam!
~ for cupcakes ~
1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes; room temperature
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup blueberry puree
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| Blueberries, raw |
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| Blueberries, cooked |
~ for blueberry puree ~
4 6-ounce containers fresh blueberries
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold water
Combine all ingredients for the puree into a medium saucepan and heat until mixture has thickened and blueberries are popping open. If desired, run through a food mill to remove skins and make a smoother sauce, or pop it in your blinder and give it a whizz. Use a stick blender if you have one. I just wanted a smooth product since I was going to be serving this to four-year-olds. Let cool.) This will make enough puree for the cupcakes and the frosting, as well as leftover for whatever you like. We spooned it over blueberry pancakes. An ice cream topping would also be a great use for this. Anyhow...
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 twelve-cup cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl before each addition. Beat the batter until ingredients are thoroughly combined, but do not overbeat. Fold in the blueberry puree.
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| This will be the color of your batter. Don't hold your breath, though... |
Use an ice cream scoop to divide batter the evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 - 18 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
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| This is the color of the baked cake. You can always add food coloring for a more intense purple. I just chose not to. |
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy. Add in sugar and beat on low speed to combine. Add in salt and marshmallow cream, and vanilla; beat to combine and add heavy cream if needed (you want a thick, fluffy filling that is going to pipe easily and not be too firm at room temperature).
Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut out a cone-shaped portion out of the top of each cake. Slice off the excess cake from the cone (leaving the flat cap) and reserve the top. Fill the resulting hole with about a tablespoon of the marshmallow filling (or however much you need). Replace the cap. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, and then put in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill and set the filling (once cool, it will become very thick and hold the caps in place).
~ Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting ~
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 sticks (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup blueberry puree
In a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add in the vanilla and blueberry puree; mix well.
With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. You want a frosting that is stiff enough to pipe on. Pipe cupcakes with cream cheese frosting using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. And in this case. I liberally sprinkled the frosted cupcakes with edible purple glitter and topped them off with either a Stormtrooper or a Darth Vader head. This made exactly twenty-four cupcakes, so just enough. Whew!
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| Close up on the filled, frosted cupcake |
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| If the Imperial theme isn't playing in your head...I DON'T KNOW YOU! |
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