I know that berry season is technically over, but I have two issues with that: firstly, frozen varieties are available pretty much year-round and frozen berries are perfect for baking, which means the end of summer is really no excuse to stop putting them in cakes and cookies. And secondly, I baked a lot this summer but never got around to posting about the recipes I tried, and now I don’t want perfectly good blog content to go to waste.
Maybe it’s time we broke down the barriers that dictate that summer-acceptable food suddenly becomes taboo during the fall? I, for one, would not be the least bit offended if someone fed me a blueberry cupcake even in the dead of winter. If anything, it would cheer me up immensely and I really think you should give it a shot.
These blueberry cupcakes are absolutely delicious, ridiculously easy to make and as a bonus – they’re healthy. There isn’t a pat of butter in there (it’s substituted with olive oil, which I’m told is better for the heart?) and the recipe calls for yogurt in the batter, making them light and springy. I loosely adapted this recipe to make the base, and added a few flavors to complement the berries.
Ingredients
(Makes 15 cupcakes)
250 g frozen blueberries
2 cups flour
1 cup olive oil
1 cup sugar + extra for sprinkling
250 g yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 pods of cardamom
Method:
In a large bowl, beat together the olive oil, sugar, vanilla essence and cardamom until everything is combined. Add the eggs one at a time and beat the mixture until it’s pale and silky.
Scoop the yogurt into the mixture and beat for another two minutes.
Sift in the flour in three batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating in between each to make sure everything is well incorporated.
Grease the cupcake tins well and place the blueberries at the bottom of each. You should get around 5-6 blueberries in each tin. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar on top of the blueberries.
Spoon the batter over the blueberries (about a ladle-full per tin). Bake for about 20 minutes at 180 C (350 F). The cupcakes will be pale even when they’re done, but you can insert a toothpick into each to check whether they’re firm all the way through.
Allow it to cool completely before inverting them.
Milquetoast 