Vanilla~Blueberry Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes as a "Thank You" to my parents-in-law for standing in line to get my book signed by Ree Drummond.

The fresh blueberries at the grocery store were my inspiration for these cupcakes.  I used my vanilla cupcake recipe as the base, added fresh blueberries to each individual cupcake, leaving the center without blueberries.  Then after they were baked and cooled, I filled them with a creamy mixture of natural blueberry spread and cream cheese.  They were topped with a chilled blueberry cream cheese frosting.  Another fresh blueberry on top for garnish lets you know who is the star of the show.

These should be kept in the refrigerator or the cream cheese frosting will melt off the cupcakes.  They were so fresh and flavorful!  I plan on using this same method to make vanilla~strawberry cupcakes when they are in season. 

Vanilla~Blueberry Cupcakes:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
fresh blueberries

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with 16 paper liners. In a large stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl to thoroughly combine all the ingredients together.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the cream mixture, along with the milk, and mix until a smooth batter is formed. Use a large ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly into the cupcake liners, about 2/3 of the way full.  Push 3-4 blueberries around the perimeter of each cupcake batter, leaving the center open.

Bake for 14-18 minutes until golden brown and the cupcakes spring back to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Filling:

2 T cream cheese
3 T natural blueberry fruit spread

Use a hand mixer to cream together ingredients.  Refrigerate until ready to fill cupcake.

When the cupcakes have cooled completely, fill them with the blueberry cream cheese mixture. You can either pipe in the filling, or hollow out the center and spoon it in.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, slightly softened
14 T cream cheese (use the rest of the cream cheese leftover from earlier)
3 T natural blueberry fruit spread
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and blueberry fruit spread just until combined.  Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar.  Beat just until incorporated.  Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and top with a fresh blueberry.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Enjoy!