I wanted to try something fun and new for my Father-in-law’s 70th birthday party last weekend. I was pretty proud of my cake, but in spite of it’s outward appearance, the inside of this guy was chocolate cake with chocolate filling, and I wanted to also do something white.
I ended up deciding on some lemon cupcakes with a blackberry buttercream icing. The flavors of these complimented each other so nicely. The cupcakes were super moist and not overly lemony and the burst of blackberry in the frosting made them fresh tasting and summery.
Ingredients:
For the Cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk (I use whole milk- the higher fat content, the better)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 cup very hot water
For the Blackberry Buttercream
1 cup room temperature butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup seedless blackberry jam
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3-5 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions:
For the Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
2. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and combine. Set aside.
3. Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and eggs to your dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
4. Slowly add the water to the batter and mix carefully until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined. The batter will be very thin.
5. Fill the cupcake liners about half way and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
6. Remove the cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
7. Top with buttercream after cooled completely.
For the Blackberry Buttercream:
Cream your butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add your blackberry jam and beat for another 30 seconds or so until incorporated. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Add salt, and vanilla extract and beat well. Thin out to desired consistency with the heavy cream beating well when done until light and fluffy.
Rumbly in my Tumbly 
Thank you for this simple and delicious recipe. Cupcakes were moist with a light, not overpowering lemon flavor. The frosting was wonderful as well. I did use a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice to the frosting (about 1/2 tsp). Just enough to cut into some of the sweetness and gave the blackberry jam a bit of a punch. Such a pretty color too! Will definitely make again. Perfect for the spring and summer seasons.