Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Baking with fresh summer berries is the one thing that's always on my summer bucket baking list... and the one thing I overlook each and every summer (along with homemade pie crust)... usually in favor of all things and everything ever s'mores.

But did you know? July 10th was National Blueberry Muffin Day! How did you celebrate? Tell me there were muffin-shaped cake pops and purple party streamers. Can I tell you how I celebrated those berry-studded muffins? Because I totally didn't.

I baked blueberry cupcakes instead! 

Sometimes finding the inspiration for baking comes simply from wanting to do the things I love. Like frosting sugary swirls onto cupcakes or baking with bright colorful blueberries. It's the little things.

For these, there was absolutely no baking daydreaming involved... which is totally a thing I am constantly doing. Somedays I just want to brown butter. Other days, just give me a reason to bake with rainbow sprinkles. Just let me live my life.

Today was simple. I just wanted to zest some lemons!

I cannot be the only one out there who loves zesting citrus and these warm, sunny, summertime days are perfect for baking little lemon cakes. Just look at the flecks of lemon in these fluffy cakes and cream cheese frosting!

These soft, cakey lemon cupcakes are full of lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, and bursting tangy-sweet blueberries... and they are one of the best cupcakes I have ever made. Just the buttery, vanilla, sugary-sweet lemon scent alone of these berry cakes baking in my tiny apartment kitchen had me nearly ripping the door off my oven to eat the blueberry batter with a spoon.

Which is why baking with lemon is a once a year thing... because I'm completely obsessed. It's real! Two years ago I made lemon raspberry cupcakes. One year ago I made cakey lemon bar brownies. Lemon pound cake at Starbucks? Just stop. It's my weakness, even more so than the pumpkin spice scones.

I'm still not sure where the self-control came from to let these cakes cool long enough to frost. Side-by-side with a vanilla bean peanut butter cup-stuffed cupcake I would choose one of these lemon blueberry dreams everytime. That's love. They are decadent, summery, and absolutely irresistable.

And serve chilled? I can't even.

You could definitely frost these with a vanilla buttercream frosting instead. Vanilla + lemon is always a good way to live. But what made these one of the best cupcakes I've ever had was the sugary lemon cream cheese frosting. I'm not usually a fan of cream cheese frosting and will always and forever frost my cakes with a buttercream if I can, but this pillowy cream cheese frosting full of lemon zest and freshly-squeezed lemon juice reminded me a little of lemon supreme pie, one of my favorite pies with its thick layer of creamy lemon cheesecake. 

Frosting that reminds me of cheesecake? It's love.

And to top it all off? Sparkling blueberries- fresh blueberries tossed in sugar and sprinkled on top. Summer baking. We're doing it!

On a side note, unfrosted... you could totally get away with calling these cakes muffins. 

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes 

Printable Recipe

Cupcakes
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
1 cup fresh blueberries

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon
Additional blueberries for garnish

Prep. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour; set aside.

Whisk. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

Mix. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice. With the mixer on low, gradually mix in half of the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the milk. Mix in the remaining half of the flour mixture until just combined.

Bake. Use a spatula to gently fold in the prepared blueberries. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Beat it. When cupcakes are completely cooled, make the frosting. Combine cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until well-combined and smooth. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until totally incorporated, increase speed to high, and mix until smooth and fluffy.

Frost! Frost your cupcakes (I used a Wilton #1M piping tip for these cupcakes). Garnish with fresh blueberries tossed in granulated sugar.

Tip: store extra cupcakes in the refrigerator. The cream cheese frosting tastes even better when served chilled and the fresh berries will keep longer.

Makes 18 cupcakes. 

Source: Annie's Eats. 

Cakey Lemon Bar "Brownies."

Now that Easter is over and I'm out of Peeps, it's time to focus on some seriously important things:

Summer is coming!

Three blissfully scorching-hot months of pie-baking, barbeques, drive-ins and fireworks, late nights and wedge sandals, grilled pizzas, beaches, sticks of pink spun sugar and True Blood. Oh yes. True Blood. 

It is. about. time. 

Summer is happening and it's happening soon. And since I'm typing this during a full-on thunder and lightning storm? It's safe to say I couldn't be any more ready. 

But let's start small. Summer is all about jumping into things: pools, road trips, super short jean skirts. Spring is about new things. Fresh things. Slowly-growing things. Citrus things and bright pink flowers, if you will. 

I really hope you will. 

So let's finish up spring right and kick off summer proper. Let's ignore the rain... and zest some lemons.

 

This is where good things start. 

Oh hey. Life tip? When life gives you lemons... make lemon brownies.

Lemon brownies? Lemonies? What?

Yes. Thick, cakey lemon squares the density and texture of a chocolate brownie. I'm so serious. This is no lemon bar. This is a lemon brownie and it absolutely must be apart of your spring and summer/life if you're into citrus and sugary things.

And no big deal, but they're also glazed with a super zesty glaze.  

And maybe I ate the leftover glaze with a spoon, but we don't have to talk about that. 

Get your zest on!

Cakey Lemon Bar "Brownies"

Printable Recipe

Brownies

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Lemon Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. 

Zest and juice two small lemons; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachement, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. 

Pour into baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.

When brownies are cooled completely, make the glaze by whisking together all three ingredients. Spread over the brownies with a rubber spatula, cut into bars, and serve!

Source: Barely adapted from Rita's Recipes.

Lemon-Glazed Miniature Tea Cakes.

The only thing better than cake is mini cake. 

Especially if you make up for the fact that its mini by adding a glaze and a frosting. Because, really. What goes better with sugar than more sugar? 

Let's break this down.

These bite-size cakes were light, sweet, and summery, and even though I burnt my hand three times, shattered an egg, grated my finger, and broke a container of cooking spray, they were totally worth it in the end. 

It was one of those days. 

Please tell me you have them too.

The cake itself was a yellow vanilla-buttermilk cake that I spiked with lemon zest; they're nowhere near as lemony as these cupcakes, but with the glaze and frosting, they were perfect.

Aren't they cute? 

I like to think they're cuddling. 

Or maybe the one on the right is just sleepy and tired of being photographed from every angle?   

We all need a shoulder sometimes.

Lemon-Glazed Miniature Tea Cakes

Printable Recipe

Cakes
1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
The zest from one lemon

Lemon Glaze
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon Buttercream
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 of the juice & zest from one lemon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease mini muffin pans.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Add to butter mixture, alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in lemon zest.

Spoon batter into mini muffin pans, filling a little bit less than 3/4 full. Bake for 12 -15 or until done. Immediately remove cakes to wire racks and allow to cool (be careful not to burn your fingers).

When the cakes have cooled completely, make the lemon glaze. In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice. Brush on cooled cakes.

*For the lemon buttercream, combine butter, sugar, and salt and beat until well combined. Add lemon juice, zest, and vanilla and continue to beat for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until creamy and the consistency desired, then pipe onto cakes. (I used a Wilton #1M tip for these cakes). You may have to add a little more lemon juice, depending on how thick you want your frosting to be, or more zest, if you want a more stronger lemon flavor.

*Note: I scaled down the buttercream recipe so that it only makes about 1 cup of frosting, just enough to pipe the stars on top. If you plan on using more frosting, I would double this recipe.

Makes 72 cakes.

Source: Mini lemon cakes and glaze barely adapted from Holiday Celebrations, 2008. Lemon buttercream from the Sprinkles Cupcakes Bakery.

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes.

Something happened when I made strawberry shortcake cookies. 

I zested a lemon.

And all of a sudden, everything felt like spring.

So I made cupcakes! 

Lemon cupcakes. 

Confession: I used to eat lemon slices like they were oranges when I was younger. It makes me cringe now.

But not these.

These are filled with sweet, sugary lemon flavor. And zest. Lots of zest.

Oh and a ribbon of raspberry jam. Did I mention that? 

I should've. It's the best part. 

Together with the swirl of raspberry buttercream on top, these cupcakes turned out so beautifully and were absolutely heavenly. I really love the strong, but not overpowering lemon flavor of the cake and the sweet layer of raspberry jam hidden inside. They're perfect for springtime and Easter, but I think they'd be super cute for even Mother's Day. 

Especially with the little marshmallow flowers. 

Oh and look what I woke up to this morning!

It's our 3 year anniversary! Can you believe that? 3 years. I have the best boyfriend in the world.  

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

Printable Recipe

Cupcakes
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
12 teaspoons seedless raspberry jam (Confession: I didn't use seedless)

Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
3 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar, and lemon zest in a large bowl until fluffy & well blended.  Add eggs, beating to blend. Beat in half the flour, then buttermilk and lemon juice, then the remaining flour.

Drop a spoonful of the cupcake batter into the bottom of each muffin cup.

Use the back of a spoon to spread it around to the edges of the tin, otherwise the jam will go right to the bottom.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam on top of the batter of each muffin cup.

Divide remaining batter among muffin cups to top the jam.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, in a large mixing bowl, beat butter and raspberry jam together until well mixed and smooth. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until you reach a consistency that you desire. Pipe onto cupcakes and decorate! (I used a Wilton #1M tip for these cupcakes.) 

Source: From Recipe Girl.