I Have Returned Victorious!!

So my work decided to have a cooking contest today... and of course that meant I was in it to win it...

The theme was "Summer's Bounty" - anything fresh from the garden/farmers market. I chose blackberry cupcakes for my entry!!

Cupcake Ingredients (yeild 24):
18oz blackberries (mine were freshly picked a few weeks prior and then canned)
1/3c milk
6 egg whites (scramble up those yolks for breakfast like I did, yum!)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 1/4 c flour
1 3/4 c sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 tbsp butter (melted)




First thing, puree all of your blackberries in a blender or food processor. Then you'll want to strain them into a new bowl through a fine mesh seive (the idea is to nix those funky seeds - I've got nothing against seeds mind you, but they really ruin the texture of cupcakes). You want to end up with close to 1 cup of blackberry puree.


Preheat your oven to 350 and prep 2 muffin pans with nonstick spray or butter.




In a mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until just combined.









In a new bowl, mix 2/3 cup of the blackberry puree with the egg whites, milk and lemon juice until well combined.








Now, add the butter to the dry mixture in your mixer and mix until combined. The batter at this point will look crumbly. Scrape down the sides of your bowl before the next step.

Add in the wet egg/blackberry mixture and mix at medium speed for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Scrape down the sides of your bowl as needed.

You'll end up with a lovely mauve colored batter. You'll want to fill up your muffin pans or liners about 3/4 full. Pop these in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.




Allow your purple cupcakes to cool while you make the frosting.








Blackberry Frosting Ingredients:
16 tbsp butter - at room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use the real stuff here gals - no skimping!)
1/4 tsp almond extract
4 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 tbsp cream of tartar (ok I know this is a weird ingredient - but it helps keep your frosting together, trust me!)
1/4c + blackberry puree (this should be about what's leftover)
24 (or so, depending on how many you end up eating) whole blackberries as toppers





In a clean mixing bowl whip the butter, vanilla and almond until very fluffy and smooth. Mix in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add in cream of tartar and crank that baby up to high for about 3 minutes. You want to get your icing as smooth as possible.

Now, add in the blackberry puree and mix another minute or so until well combined. You'll end up with this pink looking stuff!





Frost your cooled cupcakes at your leisure. I had a fun time experimenting with my new icing set!

Of course as the cook, you get to try one like I did!







Top each cupcake with a blackberry (for presentation's sake!). Serve and enjoy!!


Oh and for the record, the cupcakes were a hit!!







Recipe adapted from foodiebride.