Blueberry & White Chocolate Buttercream Cupcakes

Yes. The rumours are true. Great Britain has FINALLY been hit with Summer! And yes, it is BEAUTIFUL. Of course, knowing our luck it will only last a grand total of about 3.5 days, but whilst it's here I am enjoying each and every second.

So, what better way to celebrate summer than with a light and refreshing Blueberry cupcake topped in white chocolate buttercream? Yeah, ice cream WHAAAT? The fact that they contain Blueberries, the ultimate superfood, makes you feel that little bit better for eating them mid-bikini season.

These are the perfect post-BBQ treat, and they make for a great centrepiece on the garden table. Motivation to get through the burgers and fries, if you like. Not only that, but they're super easy to make. I'll just mention that you should really try and find the best quality white chocolate to use, because this will be instrumental in how the frosting turns out!

For my recipe and instructions, click below. Wherever you are in the world, I hope the sun is shining!

Ingredients

SPONGE:

-150g self raising flour

- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder

- 90g ground almonds (optional)

-120g butter at room temperature

-180g caster sugar

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-zest of half a lemon

- 2 eggs

- 3 tablespoons plain yoghurt

- 120g blueberries

FROSTING:

- 150g white chocolate

-110g butter

-300g icing sugar

-1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk

TO DECORATE:

- several blueberries

- blueberry jam

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Don't forget to scrape down the sides to get all the ingredients in!

2. Add in the lemon zest, followed by the eggs and beat well after each addition.

3. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder, and gradually stir in the almonds if you'd like to include them. Add these dry ingredients to the original butter/sugar mixture above.

4. Fold in the blueberries, being careful not to over mix and burst them, and then divide the mixture between 12 muffin cases, making sure that the blueberries are evenly spread.

5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Once out of the oven, place the cupcakes on a rack to cool completely.

6. Whilst the cupcakes are cooling, you can make a start on the white chocolate buttercream. Beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy (you may need to use your fingers for this if the butter isn't warm enough!)

7. Fill a small pan with boiling water and place on the hob. Then break up the white chocolate and put this in a smaller pan, and hover it over the water, making sure that it doesn't actually touch the water (if it does, the chocolate may burn).

8. Once completely melted, add the white chocolate to the butter/icing sugar mix and whisk together with an electric whisk, until all of the ingredients are well combined.

9. If the frosting isn't quite the consistency you'd like to be and is too thick, just thin it down with the tablespoon of milk. Bear in mind that if you want to pipe your icing, you don't want it to be too runny!

10. Heat a small amount of blueberry jam in a pan so that it softens up a bit. Once you've covered your cupcakes in frosting, add a small amount of the jam on top and let it drizzle down the sides.

11. Decorate with a few of your leftover blueberries and enjoy with a nice cup of tea! :)