Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes

I kinda have an obsession with lemons.

And Blueberries.

And cupcakes.  LOTS of them.  :)  

Oh, and butter.  Never forget the butter.  ;)

So when my wonderful friend asked me if I would be willing to make Lemon and Blueberry cupcakes for her wedding how could I resist?  So these are the sample ones that I made... with some extra ones for us.  :)

Oh, and cake batter.  I could just eat it by the spoon... that's how yummy it is.  

LOOK AT MY EYES.

Before. :)

After.  :)

So I enlisted Emil to help me.....

And he tries to smoosh the cupcake together cause they wanted to fight.  :P

White Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream and Lemon Curd or Blueberry Filling

Blueberry Filling

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca starch

4 cups blueberries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

Lemon Curd Filling

1 cup fresh lemon juice from about 6 lemons

1 teaspoon gelatin (powdered)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)

1/8 teaspoon table salt

4 large eggs

6 large egg yolks (reserve egg whites for cake)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 1/2-inch cubes and frozen

Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces), plus extra for pans

1 cup whole milk , room temperature

6 large egg whites , room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon table salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 12 pieces, softened but still cool

Lemon Butter Frosting  

16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool

4 cups confectioners' sugar (1 pound)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon whole milk

pinch table salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Blueberry filling:

Put all ingredients in pan, simmer till thickened.  

Lemon filling:

 Measure 1 tablespoon lemon juice into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over top. Heat remaining lemon juice, sugar, and salt in medium nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is hot but not boiling. Whisk eggs and yolks in large nonreactive bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot lemon-sugar mixture into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with heatproof spatula, until mixture registers 170 degrees on instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to leave trail when spatula is scraped along pan bottom, 4 to 6 minutes. Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved. Stir in frozen butter until incorporated. Pour filling through fine-mesh strainer into nonreactive bowl (you should have 3 cups). Cover surface directly with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm enough to use, at least 4 hours.

Cupcakes:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Put muffin cups in muffin tins. In 2-cup liquid measure or medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg whites, and vanilla.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt at low speed. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs with no visible butter chunks. Add all but 1/2 cup milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. With mixer running at low speed, add remaining 1/2 cup milk mixture; increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds longer. Divide batter evenly between muffin tins.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.  Take cupcakes out of pan, let cool on wire racks.

For the Frosting:

Beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, milk, lemon juice, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed until sugar is moistened. Increase speed to medium-high (high if using handheld mixer); beat, stopping twice to scrape down bowl, until creamy and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Avoid overbeating, or frosting will be too soft to pipe.  

To assemble:

Cut out the middle of the cupcakes, leaving 1/4 inch of cupcake at the bottom.  Pipe in the filling, and then frost.  Decorate as desires (I candied lemon slices for the lemon ones, and strained the blueberry filling through cheesecloth and piped it onto the blueberry ones).