Blueberry Cupcakes

These blueberry cupcakes are a delicious taste of berry season that you can enjoy any time of year because they’re made with frozen blueberries. Finished with cream cheese frosting, they’re totally irresistible!

Who’s in the mood for blueberry cupcakes? (Both of my hands are raised.) They’re a taste of spring, and with spring on the horizon let’s just dive right into making them!

Why you’ll love these blueberry cupcakes:

• The cupcakes are made with frozen berries so you can make them any time of year, whether you can find fresh blueberries or not
• Because the cupcakes are made with buttermilk, you’re ensured a soft and moist cupcake every time
• The cupcakes are also made with a combination of vegetable oil and butter; the oil makes the cake extra soft while the butter gives them delicious flavor

How to make blueberry cupcakes

• Cream sugar, oil, and butter in a large mixing bowl until very light
• Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest
• Alternate mixing in dry ingredients and buttermilk
• Fold in frozen blueberries that you’ve dusted with a little bit of flour

• Divide the batter between paper-lined muffin cups
• Bake for about 20 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean

• Beat room temperature butter and cream cheese together until smooth
• Gradually mix in powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt

Then just frost and decorate your cupcakes as desired and serve!

Recipe notes and tips

•   Don’t thaw the blueberries before adding them to the cupcake batter

•  Don’t skip tossing the blueberries in flour, as the recipe directs. A little bit of flour will stop them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes

•  See below for substitutions for buttermilk

•  Cool your cupcakes completely before frosting them or the frosting will melt

•  If your powdered sugar is really lumpy, sift it before making your frosting

•  Be sure the cream cheese and butter are both at room temperature before starting your frosting so they cream together properly and your frosting doesn’t turn out lumpy

•  Butter takes 20 to 30 minutes on the counter to come to room temperature

•  Cream cheese can take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes to come up to temp; it depends on how warm your kitchen is

How to store cupcakes

Since these cupcakes are frosted with cream cheese frosting, they should be refrigerated rather than stored at room temperature.

Uneaten cupcakes can be refrigerated, covered, for 2 or 3 days.

They can also be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 months. (Freeze them unwrapped for about 30 minutes to set the frosting, then you can wrap them tightly and the frosting will stay intact.)

I think these cupcakes taste best at room temperature, so I prefer to let them sit on the counter to warm up a little bit after being stored in the fridge or the freezer.

What to substitute for buttermilk

Regular milk on its own is not a substitute for buttermilk—buttermilk is more acidic than regular milk so adding lemon juice or vinegar to your milk is a necessary step.

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can substitute an equal amount of whole milk mixed with white vinegar or lemon juice. You need roughly 1 tablespoon vinegar/lemon juice per 1 cup of milk but in this recipe I only used 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and it worked just fine.

You’ll mix the milk and vinegar or juice together and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to sour. Then it’s ready to use!

I recommend using lemon juice for these cupcakes since you’re already using lemon zest in the batter. Just be sure to zest your lemon before juicing it. Lemon are really hard to zest after they’ve been juiced.

Helpful tools

• This is the microplane I use for zesting citrus. (It also works for grating chocolate really finely.) It makes the zest really fine so it pretty much just melts into the cake batter and you’re not left with big chunks of lemon peel
• I used this large round piping tip to frost the cupcakes
• This is the piping bag I always use. I like the 16-inch bags because they hold so much frosting

Other recipes you might enjoy
Cake Mix Blueberry Cobbler
Raspberry Cupcakes
Strawberry Crumble
Blueberry Peach Cobbler

Did you make these blueberry cupcakes? Hooray! Let me know what you think with a comment and a rating below.  And post a pic on Instagram too!  Tag @theitsybitsykitchen so I can see!

5 from 2 votes

Print

Blueberry Cupcakes

Prep Time

40 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Cooling Time

2 hrs

Total Time

1 hr

 

Blueberry cupcakes are a simple dessert that tastes like summer. Soft, moist, and finished with creamy cream cheese frosting, they're the perfect treat for any occasion.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16

Author: Kelsie

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup buttermilk*
• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Frosting

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 16 to 18 muffin cups with cupcake liners and set pan aside.
2. Reserve 2 tablespoons of flour in a small bowl. Whisk the remaining flour together with the baking powder and salt in a second bowl; these are your dry ingredients. Set aside.
3. Combine the sugar, oil, and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until light, several minutes.
4. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest to combine.
5. Turn mixer to low and beat in half of the dry ingredients followed by half of the buttermilk, mixing until just combined. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients, then the remaining buttermilk.
6. Stir the frozen blueberries in the 2 tablespoons of flour you reserved earlier, mixing until the berries are evenly coated. (The flour helps them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes.) Gently fold the berries into the cupcake batter.
7. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 1/2 full.
8. Bake 18 to 24 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
9. Cool cupcakes in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting them.

Frosting

1. Once your cupcakes have cooled, make the frosting.
2. Beat the butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and salt and beat to combine.
3. Turn mixer to low and gradually beat in 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. Turn mixer to medium and beat until very creamy.
4. If your frosting is too thin you can add more powdered sugar. (If it’s too thick you can thin it out with a little milk or cream—start with just a teaspoon at a time.)
5. Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and serve.

Recipe Notes

• Uneaten cupcakes can be stored in the fridge, covered, for 2 or 3 days. They can also be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 months.
• *To substitute for buttermilk you can use 3/4 cup whole milk mixed with 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or white vinegar; let the mixture sit for 5 minutes in a glass measuring cup and it’s ready to use. Be sure to zest your lemon before juicing it!
• If you like a lot of lemon flavor in your blueberry baked goods, feel free to add more lemon zest than what is called for.
• Don’t thaw the blueberries before adding to the batter.
• If your powdered sugar is really lumpy, sift it before making your frosting.