These blueberries ‘n cream cupcakes are bursting with vanilla, juicy blueberries, and a hint of lemon. Top them with lush cream cheese frosting and they’ll be a new favorite!
We are headed to sunny Mexico for my friend’s wedding! In the middle of all my packing and last minute errands this weekend, I took a break to bake a batch of cupcakes for my neighbors. A new recipe, full of juicy blueberries, a hint of lemon, and topped with ultra creamy cream cheese frosting.
Don’t they look like fresh blueberry muffins? They sort of are—only much lighter, fluffier, and flatter. Since they resemble muffins, these cream cheese frosting topped cupcakes are perfectly acceptable for breakfast. Hey, cream cheese is a breakfast food too!!
As I was saying, these gorgeous blueberry cupcakes are light, fluffy, and ultra soft. Very buttery and bursting of juicy berries throughout. I went a little heavy on the blueberries because I wanted them in every single bite. I also add a little extra vanilla and a dash of fresh lemon zest. Both additions really add something extra.
The combination of sweet blueberries, sweet vanilla, buttery cake, and lemon zest is out of this world! They are the perfect place for my favorite cream cheese frosting. If you love cream cheese frosting, this is a recipe you need.
Seriously, look how thick and creamy.
I frosted the blueberry cupcakes with a round piping tip, which is best for cream cheese frosting. (Wilton #12 and Ateco #808 are my favorites.) If you don’t have a round piping tip, slather it onto the cupcakes with a knife. Just as tasty! If cream cheese frosting isn’t your thing, you could try these cupcakes with the strawberry whipped cream from these strawberry shortcake cupcakes or vanilla buttercream instead. The raspberry frosting from my lemon raspberry jam cupcakes would also be fantastic here.
These blueberries ‘n cream cupcakes are perfect for spring and summertime. Though by using frozen blueberries you could make them year round! Trust me, after one taste, you’ll want to make them every chance you get.
And if you love blueberries, here is even more inspiration for dessert recipes that use blueberries.
Print
Blueberries ‘n Cream Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 14 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These blueberries ‘n cream cupcakes are bursting with vanilla, juicy blueberries, and a hint of lemon. Top them with lush cream cheese frosting and they’ll be a new favorite!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 and 2/3 cup (209g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup (62g) yogurt or sour cream*
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 and 1/3 cups (about 186g) fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw if using frozen)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar, plus an extra 1/4 cup if needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two 12-count muffin pans with cupcake liners (this recipe makes 14 cupcakes, so there will be two batches). Set aside.
- Make the cupcakes: In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the granulated and brown sugars. Mixture will be thick. Vigorously whisk the egg, yogurt, milk, vanilla, and lemon zest until combined and uniform in texture. Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Divide batter among 14 cupcake liners and bake in batches for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add the extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar (I add it).
- Frost cooled cupcakes immediately before serving. I used a Wilton #12 tip to pipe the frosting, but you can simply frost with a knife. Decorate with more blueberries if desired.
- Unfrosted cupcakes remain fresh covered tightly at room temperature for 3 days. Store frosted cupcakes in a cupcake carrier in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cupcakes and frosting 1 day in advance. Keep cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature and the frosting covered tightly in the refrigerator. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-Count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bags (Disposable or Reusable) | Wilton #12 Piping Tip or Ateco 808 Piping Tip | Cupcake Carrier (for storage)
- Yogurt: You can use either Greek or regular yogurt.
- Milk: Recipe tested with unsweetened almond milk and skim milk. Use any milk, dairy or non, that you prefer.
- Cream Cheese: Use brick-style cream cheese. Not cream cheese spread.
- Mini Cupcakes: Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Single Layer Cake: This is essentially the same recipe as my easy 1-layer sprinkle cake recipe. Use the same baking pan, oven temperature, and baking time as that recipe.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin!
Can you substitute mascarpone for cream cheese in the icing?
Hi Donna, mascarpone should work. We haven’t tried the substitution yet for this particular frosting, though. Let us know if you do!
Great recipe! I had some frozen blackberries on hand so I used those in place of the blueberries (about 150 grams blackberries) since they also go well with lemon. I had to bake mine for an extra 3 minutes & tented it with foil t avoid burning the edges. My batch made just under 14 cupcakes & my family loved them so much that they don’t even think they need frosting!!
Hello! How many grams are in 1 and 1/3 cups of blueberries? Thank you!
Hi Elley, it should be about 153 grams.
HI!
How many grams of blueberries is in 1 and 1/3 cups?
thank you!
You’re going to need about 150g of blueberries for the cupcakes.
My husband (& my whole family) LOVES these cupcakes! I’m not a big lemon fan but thought I’d give it a try & we can’t get enough of them. My first batch I actually made 22 cupcakes & my husband ate 12 within two days gave some to family to try & had a request to make more the next day. So it went in my recipe book the next day! Thanks so much for sharing!
Can I replace lemon zest with lemon extract? Thank you!
Hi Kamsi, that should work, but extract is much more potent than the zest. We’d recommend only using 1/2 teaspoon – 1 teaspoon of the lemon extract. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
Hello Sally,
For your blueberries and cream cupcake recipe do you personally use fresh or frozen blueberries when you make this?
Which do you find would be better to work with?
Also would these cupcakes be able to be frozen with them being already iced will the icing freeze well on top of the cupcakes?
Hi Jessica, we prefer to use fresh blueberries. We don’t recommend freezing these cupcakes already frosted. You could freeze the cupcakes (without frosting) and frost them close to serving – see recipe notes for details!
Made this recipe as 3-layered 6-in cake and it worked very nice. Sponges were a bit falling apart (as expected with fresh fruits), but still stacked without issues. Tasted very nice as well, what could have made it even nicer would be some lemon flavor in the buttercream – it just tasted a bit too sweet and a bit too bland compared to the sponge which was just perfect.
Hi Sally- I was wondering if I could use buttermilk as the milk in this cupcake. Thanks!
Hi Janie- Yes, you can use buttermilk for these cupcakes!
Hi 🙂 can I use dried blueberries instead?
Absolutely!
These were delicious!! So light and fluffy!! I’ve been eating them for breakfast without any icing!
These are amazing. Lemon blueberry is my favorite flavor combination…and it is just right in this recipe. The icing is my new go-to cream cheese icing.
Hello!
This recipe sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it.
I just have a quick question, when you say yogurt,do you mean plain yogurt? Just want to make sure.
Thanks! 🙂
yep!
Hi Sally,
Is it ok to use blueberries in can (like the Comstock Blueberry), normally used also for filling cheesecake?
I suggest fresh or frozen instead– blueberry filling in a can has too much syrup/liquid. (Unless you drain/rinse them.)
Great recipe! LOVE these cupcakes.
I made these for a boy baby shower and they came out delightful! The matter was super thick but cooked to me perfectly moist and the frosting… To die for! I have some pictures but I don’t think this will let me post them!
These were my husband’s favorite cupcakes! He is not much a sweets person so it definitely made my day! Very easy to make and the lemon in them really pops! I added some salt to the cream cheese frosting to mellow out the sweetness (I added too much butter so I had to add extra pow sugar to get it to harden up a bit). Thanks for all the great recipes, Sally. I am eagerly waiting for Christmas where I have a feeling your latest and greatest cookbook will be under my tree 😀
Hi Sally,
Could I add lemon juice to the batter in addition to the lemon zest? I’m going to add a basil buttercream frosting and want to make sure the lemon flavor can be clearly tasted in the cupcake itself – thank you!
You can reduce the milk by a couple Tbsp and add lemon juice.
This recipe was Super easy to follow and the cupcakes came out great!! I measured out all of the ingredients and let a Toddler do all of the mixing so it was a team effort. Thanks so much for sharing!
Oh my gosh just made these today for my cousin’s going away party and everybody loved them. Thanks for another brilliant and delicious recipe! 🙂
Hi! These look fantastic. I was wondering if the batter can be made ahead and frozen, then defrosted for quick use at a later time?
Hi Carol – no, this cupcake batter cannot be frozen. It must be baked right away.
Hi Sally, I made your blueberries and cream cupcakes for the 1st time yesterday. I brought them to a friend’s house for dessert and everyone raved! All loved the rich icing and lemon zest in the cake. I am NOT a baker but I am now going to try to bake because your other recipes look simple, delicious and fun! Kudos to you!
Teri