Blueberry Swirl Cupcakes

             These cupcakes are not your normal blueberry muffins. The blueberries are baked in a vanilla cupcake topped with a cinnamon-brown sugar streusel and then topped off with a cream cheese blueberry frosting.

         I made these for dinner to complete our dinner - baked Creole tilapia with pasta salad. My family enjoyed these. With or without the frosting these are scrumptious.

 

Blueberry Swirl Cupcakes

Ingredients

Topping
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 tblsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Cupcakes
1 2/3 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups blueberries

Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
3 tblsps high-quality blueberry jam

 
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tin with baking cups.  For the topping combine the sugars and cinnamon.  Set aside.

2.  To make the cupcakes, sift the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and the 2/3 cups granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy for 3 minutes.  Add in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of the bowl after each egg is mixed in.  Add vanilla extract.

3.  Reduce electric mixer speed to low, and beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour.  Do not over mix, just mix until incorporated.  Stop mixer and fold in blueberries.

4. Divide batter in baking cups.  Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar topping and press to adhere to batter.  Bake until golden brown, for 20-21 minutes and a toothpick when inserted comes out with moist crumbs attached.

5.  To make the frosting beat the cream cheese and butter in electric mixer on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.  Reduce speed to low and add sifted confectioners sugar and vanilla.  Raise speed back to medium-speed and beat for 1 minute.  Stop mixer and spoon jam onto icing without stirring.

6.  Transfer icing to pastry bag with a large round frosting tip and swirl mounds of icing on top of each cupcake. 

 
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living, August 2012