blueberry state of mind

with summer quickly coming to a close i was inspired to make a fruity treat this weekend. my boyfriend was out of town at a club championship golf tournament so i knew it was the perfect weekend to put my skills to the test and add some flavor to my cupcakes. i hopped in my car, headed to the grocery and went straight to the fresh fruit. it was my lucky day, not only were the blueberries beautiful, they were on sale! who doesn't love a bargain? i grabbed a carton and was on my way.

since I had decided to use fresh fruit I wanted that to be the main part of the cupcake, so I chose to make classic vanilla cupcakes. i chose to add the blueberries once the cupcakes had already been spooned into the pan. i wanted the blueberries to bake in the middle, but you can fold in your blueberries if you want more of a kick.

next, on to the frosting...i went with a classic vanilla frosting and used my Wilton 1M tip for piping

i added a blueberry at the end for decoration....what do you think?

vanilla cupcake: 
1/2 cup softened butter 
3/4 cup sugar 
2 eggs 
2 tsp vanilla extract 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1/2 tsp baking powder 
1/4 tsp salt 
2/3 cup cold milk

blend the butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs one at a time until fully blended
mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to butter mixture a little at a time until fully blended
add milk and blend for 1 to 2 minutes or until fully blended

scoop into cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees, i baked them for 19 minutes and that was perfect for my oven.

frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar (i try mine after 3 cups to see if i really need another cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract (l love the trader joe's bourbon vanilla)

blend butter until fluffy
add powdered sugar one cup at a time
add the vanilla
blend for 1 to 2 minutes

if anyone has suggestions to amend the above recipe let me know, i love learning new baking techniques

until next time...happy baking xoxo