Blueberries and Cream

Well, hello. It's been awhile hasn't it? Before you get upset and curse me for being lazy, slow your roll. I legitimately haven't baked since my last post. I've made meals but this is a cupcake blog not a "what's for dinner" blog. BTW, the answer is beef. Initially it was a nice break, I felt like I was baking a lot for a while there. However, the last few weeks I've had an itch to try something new, cupcake-wise. I had two exciting events to attend this week, the perfect opportunity. The first was a friends going-away-to-school party on Friday and the second was a bridal shower on Saturday. Obviously I'm going to bake something for the two, but what? The age-old cupcake question, do I get creative with the flavors, or decor? After much internal debate I decided to try a new flavor and keep the decorations to a minimum, less is more. Okay, vanilla cupcakes, that's an easy go-to flavor. Should something go inside? Yes, but what, fruit? Okay fruit. Strawberries? No I've done that. What frozen fruit do I have at home? I'm not going to the store. Mango? Would that be any good? No that's too exotic, maybe berries? Yea okay berries I like that, raspberries? Maybe-oh wait blueberries! Do we have blueberries?? What icing, honey? Maybe, but it needs something creamier. OMG- BLUEBERRIES AND CREAM! Done. Decision made.
On a more serious bakers note, I wanted to keep the cupcakes white without the purple tint that frozen blueberries tend to add. To do this I added a spoonful of batter then dropped in 3-4 blueberries, then another spoonful of batter, then 3-4 more blueberries, and a final spoonful of batter. This seems like common sense but I was excited with the idea of individually dropping blueberries in the batter. As you can see in the picture, no purple swirls! The icing was traditional cream cheese frosting but to give it that awesome pearl-like glow I bought this stuff at Fran's , a bakery supply store in NoVA. It comes in a can, like a spray paint can and works wonderfully! I tried to Google it so I can tell you what the name is but I can't find it. And no, it's not that cheap ColorMist shit you find at Wal-Mart. Bought the candied flowers at Fran's (because I haven't mastered fondant) and voila. People flipped over them. Folks at the going away party helped themselves to some of my business cards and my mom wants me to bake a batch for her to take to an event at work- I can't wait!!

What's next on my list? Mastering Mint Oreo Cupcakes. Stay tuned...