i had big plans in my head for my new kitchen-aid mixer. big plans. two kinds of filled cupcakes: blueberry-lemon, and raspberry-ginger, both with whipped cream on top. and little blue & red stars, of course.

well, plans go awry, we leave our most important ingredients at work, and then our caffeine-withdrawal-induced zombie state leads us to forget them a second time at the store, and we have to make do.

fortunately, it is very hard to make sugar + butter + blueberries taste bad, and so i bring you: lemon blueberry cupcakes. (i'm saving the raspberry-ginger ones for another, more prepared day.)

lemon blueberry cupcakes with raspberry whipped cream

adapted from the basic vanilla cupcake at joy of baking

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (i actually forgot this, and they tasted ok, but you prepared types should leave it in)
Zest of 1 large lemon (or a generous squirt of lemon juice, to taste- added at the very end only, keep it away from the milk)
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
6 oz. frozen blueberries

1 cup heavy whipping cream
couple handfuls frozen raspberries
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or some vanilla bean scrapings
1 tbsp superfine or caster sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

For the Cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Fold in the blueberries. (I tried to cook them with some jam and turn them into a filling, but it ended up just mixing with the batter anyway, so save yourself the trouble and just dump them in now. Tastes just as good.)

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

For the whipped cream: Thaw the raspberries in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Once they're thawed, smoosh them through the strainer and discard the seeds and especially pulpy stuff that's left over.

While the raspberries are thawing, stir together the cream, sugar, and vanilla, and chill mixture, bowl, & beaters all together for at least 30 minutes.

Whip until soft peaks form, then slowly add the raspberry puree. Taste and add more sugar if needed.

When stiff peaks form, frost your (completely cooled!) cupcakes. Try and fail not to eat the rest of the whipped cream with a spoon.