Cupcakes on Bedrest: Lemon Berry LOVE!

Could I have a new favorite? I think I do. Last weekend, I asked my Dad what cupcake flavor he would like, and he said Blueberry. What every happened to chocolate or vanilla? Even red velvet if you're feeling really crazy. But blueberry? I've heard of blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins, but never blueberry cupcakes. Not to mention, blueberries really don't come into season until later in the summer. But, he's my Dad, and what he wants, he gets.

This is one of those recipes where nothing came out the way I intended. Yet, the finished product was absolutely phenomenal. I knew from the begining I wanted to do a lemon cake with a blueberry frosting. That happened... kind of. The finished product was, officially, a "lemon cupcake with blueberry filling and a lemon cream cheese frosting, garnished with a blueberry drizzle, lemon sugar, and a candied lemon"... That title is entirely too long, so Lemon Berry is it! :) The lemon cake is particularly nice, and a good contrast to the sweet blueberry and syrupy lemon garnish. I used Better Homes and Garden's Lemon Cake Recipe and was very happy with the outcome. (Note to self: next time I want to make anything lemon, do it on a day when I don't have numerous unexplained cuts on my fingers. ugh.) Now, things got tricky. I started making my cream cheese buttercream frosting and adding frozen blueberries that I'd thawed and sent through the food processor. Things started to go south, quickly. The frosting got so thin, there was no return. I added powdered sugar, I added corn starch, I added more cream cheese. I tried everything. So, I hid it in the center of the cupcake as a filling, not a frosting. I went back to my go-to cream cheese frosting and added a little bit of lemon extract, and it turned out very well. What to do with the leftover blueberry goo? Drizzle it over the top! I also rubbed some lemon zest with some granulated sugar and sprinkled it over the top. The piece de resistance is the candied lemon slice- a pain in the patootie but totally worth it. I followed Martha Stewart's instructions and simmered my lemon slices in a simple syrup for about a hour and a half. They were gorgeous!