That Bearded Baker's Favorite Spring Flavors.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

This is one of our most requested flavor pairings here at the Bearded Baker, and with spring just around the corner we had to share this bright, zesty, and fruity recipe with you!

But first…a few notes for those baker nerds out there: We use both fresh lemon zest, as well as lemon extract to flavor this batter. When zesting your lemon, only zest the very top layer of the skin, that's where all the aroma, flavor oils, and brightness comes from. If you go too deep you’ll get too much of that bitter fleshy rind invading your beautiful cupcake batter! To prevent waste we recommend juicing the left over lemon for your tea or you can freeze it for future use like making glaze for cookies.

You’ll notice, whipped cream is our icing of choice here, if you are storing these cupcakes for any length of time be sure to add the recommended amount of dry milk powder as this will help stabilize your whipped cream for a longer before it falls.

Ok lets make some cupcakes!

You’ll need:

1 cup of whole milk (or nut milk, extra creamy if available)

The zest of 1 lemon

1/2 Cup of Canola Oil

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1/2-1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract (depending on how lemony you want them to taste)

3 Extra Large Eggs

2 Cups of Sugar

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Cup of Water

Fresh Blueberries

Icing:

3 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1/4 Cup Dried Milk Powder

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Pinch of Salt

Preheat your oven to 350° F

Makes 24 cupcakes

To Make the Batter:

Mix everything together except the water and blueberries using a stand or hand mixer, its always a good idea to sift your dry ingredients first to get rid of any lumps.

Mix on low speed scraping down the sides of the bowl for 2 minutes, then increase to medium speed for 3 more minutes. Slowly add in the water and mix for 1 minute longer.

Fill cupcake pans with liners, dropping 3-5 fresh blueberries into each cup.

Pour batter into each cup just over 3/4 full, and bake for 12-16 minutes (every oven bakes differently so just keep an eye on the time, or if you need to rotate for even baking)

After they are baked, refrigerate or freeze until completely chilled before topping with icing.

To make the icing, put your mixing bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes, once the bowl is chilled, add in all the ingredients, using a whisk attachment start out slow and increase spread every minute or so, until your whipped cream is stiff and creamy. Frost your chilled cupcakes using a piping bag, or a spatula, if you have any blueberries left, they make beautiful and delicious garnishes.

Enjoy these perfectly sweet, bright, creamy cupcakes with your favorite beverage, and take a moment to appreciate the seasons changing, may we practice gratitude for the gift of living on this planet, and all that it gives us - like lemons and blueberries!