Vanilla-Lime Cupcakes With Blackberry Buttercream Frosting

The little one “graduated” from Kindergarten last week and I made him these cupcakes to celebrate. His class actually had a double graduation. They were invited to be on the local TV show with their little caps and gowns and later that night, they had a beautiful ceremony hosted by the school as well.

Little Boy and all his friends were immensely well-behaved on TV, much to everyone’s surprise. You wouldn’t guess they were just a bunch of 5-year old kids. His friend’s mom who chaperoned them told me how everyone at the studio were amazed at how prim and proper the kids were!

Well, not to worry, they let all their crazy energy loose that night, running all over the place. But it was fun. And bitter-sweet. Boy has been going to this learning center since he was a few months shy of turning three. And now it’s time to move on to big kid school in the fall. And like always, I’ve begun to worry. Will he make friends? Will he be liked? Will he like the school, his teacher and the other kids?

To put all those nagging thoughts aside, I decided to bake him cupcakes. My first batch in the new place. I wanted ridiculously decadent cupcakes with a sweet berry frosting. But sadly, I hadn’t stocked up on flour and almost ditched the plan. Then I decided to give it a try using some whole wheat flour I had. You see, I usually don’t go about making “healthy” celebration cupcakes. Wholewheat breads and breakfast muffins, yes please. But not cakes and cupcakes. Celebration cupcakes should be just that – bold and colorful and indulgent! Don’t you think so?

But these cupcakes turned out so fluffy and delicious, no one minded the fact that it was relatively healthy. You can simply use all-purpose flour in this recipe as well.

For the frosting, I dug into my stash of frozen blackberries and made a quick compote.

This was added to a vanilla buttercream frosting till I was satisfied with the color and berry flavor. You can add as little or as much of the compote as you like. Cooking them down to a thick sauce intensifies the flavor and doesn’t make the frosting too runny. I just loved the color I got here!

I made vanilla-lime cupcakes by adding the juice and zest of a large lime to this vanilla cupcake recipe and it was delicious. I hate it when lime overpowers a dessert, but these cupcakes hit the spot! They were sweet, fresh and zingy – the vanilla, lime and blackberries going along perfectly well together.

This is a very simple recipe, but the results are so beautiful, especially if you are a master at frosting cakes and cupcakes. Which obviously, I am not. Will I ever learn proper frosting techniques? Maybe not. But I do make killer cupcakes and frosting. Putting them together aesthetically… not really my forte.

(WHOLEWHEAT) VANILLA-LIME CUPCAKES WITH BLACKBERRY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

You will need:

For the cupcakes:

• Wholewheat flour – 1 1/2 cups, sifted (you can also use all-purpose flour)
• Baking powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1/4 tsp
• Butter – 1/2 cup, softened at room temperature
• White granulated sugar – 2/3 cup
• Eggs – 3, large
• Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
• Lime juice – 2 tbsp (from 1 large lime)
• Lime zest – from 1 lime
• Milk – 1/4 cup

For the buttercream frosting:

• Butter – 1/2 cup, at room temperature
• Powdered or confectioner’s sugar – 2 cups
• Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
• Blackberry compote – 2-3 tbsp (find ingredients below)
• Milk – as needed

For the blackberry compote:

• Blackberries – 12-15, very ripe
• Water – 1/4 cup
• Sugar – 2-3 tbsp (depending on the sweetness of the berries)

How to:

• Wholewheat cupcakes: Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F and line a 12-cupcake pan with paper liners.
• Sift dry ingredients together and keep aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each egg. Add the vanilla extract and lime zest and beat well.
• In a measuring cup, combine the milk and lime juice. Stir and set aside.
• Add the sifted dry ingredients slowly to the batter, alternating with milk-lime juice mixture and mix till just incorporated.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes or till the cupcakes pass the toothpick test.
• Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove onto a wire rack and  let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
• Blackberry compote: Make the compote while the cupcakes are baking so that it can cool before being incorporated in the frosting.
• Take the blackberries, water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Mash the berries gently with the back of a spoon. Cook for 4-5 minutes or till it thickens slightly and coats a spoon dipped in it.
• Strain the compote to remove the seeds. Refrigerate the compote to cool down completely before incorporating in the frosting. This recipe yields a couple of tablespoons of compote that is the perfect amount for this recipe. Feel free to scale the recipe up to make more compote to be used later.
• Buttercream Frosting: For the frosting, first beat the softened butter well.
• Then add the vanilla extract and sugar, half a cup at a time, and keep beating on a low setting.
• Beat well on high-speed for 3-4 minutes till light and fluffy. Do not skip this step. It makes the frosting really fluffy.
• Add the blackberry compote, a tablespoon at a time, and beat well. Add as much compote as needed to achieve desired color and taste.
• Since we are adding the compote, this frosting does not need additional milk, but feel free to add a few spoonfuls if frosting is too thick. Alternately, if frosting is too thin, add some more sugar.
• Frost the completely cooled cupcakes. Enjoy!

And there you have it! Berry frosted lime cupcakes, that are pretty and delicious! Hope you enjoy!!

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I am sharing this over at Angie’s amazing blog link party at The Novice Gardener.