Food Friday: Blueberry Surprise

Here's the thing. I knew The Kid was going to want to have a hand in the cupcakes we were going to bring to school for his birthday. Which was awesome! And I was all set to use one of my favorite recipes for the cupcakes I thought he was going to want to make.

"Hey, buddy," I asked, "what kind of cupcakes do you want to make for your birthday?

I fully expected him to say "Chocolate!" He has this way of saying it in a deep voice, where it takes a full thirty seconds to get every consonant out, as though he were already licking the beater from the KitchenAid. Nope. The Kid looked me in the eye, beamed, and said,

"Blueberry."

Blueberry?

I'd never had a blueberry cupcake. I'd never seen a recipe for a blueberry cupcake! Blueberry muffins, sure. Jake made a huge batch with the last of our berries this summer--we had so many, we had to put some in the freezer, and we enjoyed them for a long time. Blueberry cupcakes threw me for a loop.

But Mr. Google is a wonderful helper, and soon I had my choice of recipes. I went, of course, with Martha--has she ever steered anyone wrong recipe-wise? Martha's recipe was for 12 full-sized cupcakes, and I wanted to take mini-cupcakes to The Kid's school. I finally had an excuse to buy the mini-muffin tin I've been wanting! And I figured, batter for 12 full-sized cupcakes had to equal, what, 24 mini-cupcakes? I could handle that; it's exactly what the mini-pan holds. Perfect.

Nope. Forty-eight. Forty-eight tiny cupcakes, and only ten kids in his class. My colleagues really benefitted from this one! And we had plenty left over to share with my family after dinner. I'm not confident in halving a baking recipe yet--cooking recipes, sure, but baking ratios are such science, it makes me nervous that I'll mess something up. I'm setting my mind to learn, but in the meanwhile, it's not so bad to have 48 mini-cupcakes to share.

Recipe for blueberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting after the jump.

Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 2/3 cups cake flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup sour cream

6 ounces blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with racks in the upper third of the oven. If you have two mini-muffin tins, prepare them with cupcake liners. If you only have one--like me--prepare it with cupcake liners, and have an extra 24 liners waiting for your next batch.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. One of The Kid's favorite parts of baking is dumping the dry ingredients and then whisking them until he's declared he can't see anything but flour. That aerates the mix and gets all of the ingredients nicely integrated. (We don't have a sifter; this method works just fine.)
3. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, mix the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. (If you're baking with your toddler like I do, ask him/her to help you find the number two to start mixing, the number four to speed it up, and the number six for the fastest speed. Number recognition is a great thing.) 
4. Beat in eggs one at a time until combined, then beat in the vanilla.
5. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in small batches, alternating with the sour cream. The order should go flour-sour cream-flour-sour cream-flour.
6. With the mixer on low, add the blueberries.
7. Evenly fill the cupcake liners with the batter. Bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, about 15 minutes. Remove liners from tin and let cool on a wire rack.
8. If you only have one tin, lather, rinse, and repeat.

FOR THE FROSTING

(Adapted from My Baking Addiction)

4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 Philadelphia box), softened to room temperature

1 stick (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 pound (1 box) confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Blueberries for garnish

1. Using electric beaters or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until fully combined. (Sorry, you're going to have to wash your mixer bowl and/or beaters. It's not my favorite part either.) 
2. With the mixer on low, add the confectioner's sugar slowly until combined.
3. Add the vanilla.
4. Try really hard not to just eat all of the frosting. It is delicious. I want to put it on everything.
5. Pipe the frosting onto the completely cooled cupcakes. (I couldn't find my piping bag--I know I have one around someplace, but who knows where?--so I spooned the frosting into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and cut the tip of one of the corners off. A bit 
6. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, mix the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. (If you're baking with your toddler like I do, ask him/her to help you find the number two to start mixing, the number four to speed it up, and the number six for the fastest speed. Number recognition is a great thing.) 
7. , but it got the job done beautifully!)
8. Garnish with a blueberry.

Makes 48 mini-cupcakes. If making them the day before you serve, refrigerate in tightly-sealed boxes, and take out of refrigerator at least a half-hour before serving. Delicious.