Hydrangea Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
Preparation time:
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Velvet Blueberry, Lemon and Cream cupcakes
- 125g/4ozs. butter, softened
- 1 cup caster or superfine sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 cups cake flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 cup thick cream (I used one with 51% milk fat)
- Zest and juice of 1 small lemon or 1/2 a large lemon
-
1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
-
125g/4ozs softened butter
- 4 cups sifted icing sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Royal blue and violet food colouring
*To make 2 cups of cake flour, place 4 tablespoons cornstarch in a 2 cup measuring jug and fill to 2 cup level with plain all purpose flour.
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Line a muffing tray with liners. Beat the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until combined. Mix the cream and the lemon juice and zest together. Whisk the flour, baking powder and bicarb together.
Step 2 - Fold in the flour in two lots alternating with the cream and lemons until just combined. Add the blueberries and mix until evenly dispersed. Use an ice cream scoop to place into the cupcake liners and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
Step 3 - Whisk the butter until smooth and then on low speed add the icing sugar, milk and vanilla and whisk until light and fluffy. Divide the mixture into plain, blue and violet. Take a 2D tip and cut off the piping bag to fit it.
Step 4 - Take a scoop of the blue buttercream and place it deep into the bag. Squish it around so that it gets on all of the sides. Then take a spoon or spatula and open up a hole in the centre making sure to have the blue on all of the sides. Spoon some white buttercream in the centre and squeeze it shut and twist. The first few "squirts" will be all blue but then the correct white centered petals will come out. Cover all of the cupcakes with this-you will need to fill a new bag and you can also fill one with purple and add some purple petals as hydragneas are a combination or blue, purple and white.