Blueberry Blue Velvet Cupcakes

Yesterday, my brother came home to Long Island for the weekend. Unfortunately his plans changed due to the hurricane closing in on us, and home he went. Anyway, since he and his ever fabulous girlfriend Lindsay bought me the new love in my life, I wanted to repay them by using it to bake them something. As if they didn't see that one coming... After updating my blog and going through some old posts I decided I need to stay away from Peanut Butter for a little while. It takes over half the recipes on my blog right now. 

Anyway, I asked my brother what he wanted, and he told me he likes chocolate pops - fail. He asked Lindsay and go figure, she was stock piled with saved recipes. It was up to me to choose one of the delicious ideas. I saw a blue velvet cake with blueberries, but it wasn't a traditional blue velvet since there was no baking soda and vinegar. Then there was another recipe for a blue velvet cake without the blueberries. Yup,  I obviously combined the two. I made the mistake of going out in the pre-hurricane craziness and it took me 2 hours to get to the store to pick up eggs and blueberries, and to get gas. Two gas stations were sold out of gas... That's the moment I started to get nervous. 


In an attempt to ignore the downpour currently happening and the fire department going off constantly (4 times and it's not even noon yet), I'm writing about this delicious recipe! Adapted from Paula Deen's Recipe for Blue Velvet Cake.


Blueberry Blue Velvet Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 Tbsp blue food coloring
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp vinegar
1 cup blueberries


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. In a small bowl mix together the food coloring and cocoa powder. Stir into butter mixture. Sift the flour and salt together to ensure there are no clumps. Add the flour to the butter mixture while slowly incorporating the buttermilk. Mix in the vanilla. 
In another small dish mix together the baking soda and vinegar. Look you can see the bubbles!

Add this as well as the blueberries and simply mix to combined. 

Use large scoops and fill at least 2/3 full. This should make 12 cupcakes perfectly. Batter can easily be doubled. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8-oz. package Neufchatel Cream Cheese
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup superfine sugar*
1/2 tsp vanilla


Cream together cream cheese and butter. I like to use the lighter cream cheese because then the frosting isn't as sweet or thick. Of course, if that's what you're going for, then by all means you can substitute regular cream cheese. Once the mixture is light and fluffy, add in the vanilla. Sift the sugars into the cream cheese mixture 1/2 cup at a time until everything is fully incorporated. Either use immediately or place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before use.

If making ahead of time, beat the frosting again after removing from the refrigerator to produce a consistency good for piping. Extras can be placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 


*If you don't have superfine sugar you can either substitute all for confectioner's sugar or place granulated sugar in a food processor or magic bullet. This will also do the trick!

Stay safe in this soon-to-be outrageous weather and as always..
Enjoy :)