Spring Cupcakes: Three Sweet Recipes and Flavors
There are so many occasions in spring and early summer to bake. Whether it be garden parties, backyard BBQs, or even just casual park days with family and friends, elegant sweet treats are always among everyone's favorite. Here is our attempt at a few unique and deliciously flavored cupcake recipes that are sure to grab people's attention. Our team taste tested all of these spring cupcakes, and we are sure that they will be worth your baking efforts.
LAVENDER VANILLA BEAN SPRING CUPCAKES
Cake Ingredients
1/2 cup whole milk
1 TBSP dried edible lavender
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1¼ TSP baking powder
¼ TSB salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup + 2 TBSP granulated sugar
3 TBSP honey
2 large eggs
1 TSP vanilla extract
Vanilla Bean Frosting Ingredients
1/2 cup salted butter
½ cup unsalted butter
Seeds of 1 Vanilla Bean
3 cups powdered sugar
2 TBSP heavy cream
1 TSP vanilla extract
Lavender Cupcakes Instructions:
- Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend the milk and lavender in a food processor or blender by pulsing for 1-2 minutes or until the lavender is well minced.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together cake flower, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer with a paddle attachment to combine butter and sugar for 4 minutes on medium speed or until the mixture is white and fluffy. You will need to occasionally scrape the sides of the bowl. Add honey, and mix until combined. Add eggs one at a time and mix until combined after each egg. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Add 1/3 of lavender with milk combination to the egg, sugar, and butter mixture, and combine well. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredient mixture. Continue alternating additions of the rest of the dry ingredient and milk mixture, ending with the dry ingredient mixture.
- Line muffin tin with paper cups, and fill each cup until 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake for 19-21 minutes or until you can insert a tooth pick that comes back out without crumbs.
- Allow to cool in tin before frosting.
Vanilla Bean Frosting Instructions:
- Mix butter and vanilla bean seeds with electric mixer paddle attachment on medium-high speed for 6 to 7 minutes or until white and fluffy. Use a rubber spatula to scrape sides of mixing bowl as needed while mixing.
- Add in heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract. Blend in on low speed. Increase speed to medium for 5-6 minutes until whipped to a fluffy consistency. Scrape sides of mixing bowl with rubber spatula as needed.
- Pipe frosting on cupcakes with a piping bag. If you realize you do not have a piping bag, you can also use a plastic freezer bag with the corner trimmed off.
- Garnish the top of the frosted cupcake with edible lavender.
CHAMPAGNE BLACKBERRY SPRING CUPCAKES
Cake Ingredients
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 TSP vanilla
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 TSP baking soda
1/4 TSP baking powder
1/4 TSP salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Champagne, Prosecco, or your choice of sparkling wine
Pastry Cream Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy cream, divided 1/2 cup champagne or prosecco
2 TBSP cornstarch
5 TBSP granulated sugar
whole egg
2 egg yolks
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1 TSP vanilla
1.5 containers of blackberries
2 TBSP lemon juice
Frosting Ingredients
1 cup + 1 tablespoon champagne or Prosecco
2 sticks of softened butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Reduced blackberry solids divided from liquids
Cake Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Use electric mixer with paddle attachment to mix together butter and sugar until it has a light and fluffy consistency.
- Add eggs one at a time until mixture is well combined after each egg.
- Mix in vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In another separate bowl, mix together champagne and sour cream.
- Alternate additions of dry ingredients and champagne mixture to the butter mixture. Begin and end with the flour until a thick batter is formed.
- Fill cupcake papers two-thirds of the way full.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes.
Filling Instructions:
- Add one and a half containers of blackberries and 2 tbsp. of lemon juice to a sauce pan. Heat on medium, stirring frequently until the berries reduce and form a liquid.
- In a separate saucepan while berries are reducing, combine 1/4 cup of heavy cream heavy cream, 1/2 cup of champagne, and 5 tablespoons of sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
- Strain the liquid from the reduced berries into a bowl and set aside. Reserve the remaining berry solids for the frosting that goes on top of the cupcakes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of heavy cream with cornstarch. Beat 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks into this mixture. Add 1/3 of the champagne mixture from the stove while whisking so that the eggs to not begin to cook. Bring the remaining champagne mixture back to a boil and add the egg mixture to the boiling pan slowly while whisking. Whisk in reserved berry liquid to this mixture as well and continue whisking until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and two tablespoons of butter.
- To fill the cupcakes, cut out a small portion of the center about three-fourths of the way down. Fill a piping bag, freezer, or sandwich bag with blackberry filling. If using a freezer or sandwich bag, cut off a small amount of the corner of the bag (1/4-1/2 inch up). Squeeze filling through the bag into the center of the cupcake. If you would like to create a lid for the cupcake center, you can trim the center piece that was cut out of the cupcake to make a lid.
Frosting Instructions:
- Reduce 1 cup of champagne in a saucepan until it is only 2 tablespoons and remove from pan to cool.
- Use an electric mixer with whisk attachment to beat together 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 2 sticks softened butter until thick and fluffy. Add the reduced champagne and 1 tablespoon of champagne straight from the bottle. Combine well.
- Spread or pipe frosting onto the cupcakes.
- Garnish cupcake with the remaining container of blackberries. Place one whole blackberry on top of the frosted cupcake. If there are not enough whole blackberries remaining, cut blackberries in half lengthwise.
WHITE CHOCOLATE TANGERINE SPRING CUPCAKES
Tangerine Cake Recipe
1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
2 TSP baking powder
2/3 cups of whole milk
1 TSP vanilla
4 egg whites
6 TBSP softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
Zest of 2 tangerines Juice of 1 tangerine
White Chocolate Tangerine Frosting
1 bar or 6 oz of chopped white chocolate
1 package of softened cream cheese
¼ cup softened butter
1 TSP vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar Juice of 1 tangerine
Cupcake Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Stir flour and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until peaks form.
- Combine milk and vanilla in a glass measuring cup or any other easy pour container.
- In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium until a fluffy consistency has formed. Beat in the sour cream until well combined and smooth.
- Alternate the addition of the milk and dry ingredient mixture in 3 parts.
- Whisk one-third of the fluffed egg whites into this mixture. Fold the remaining egg whites.
- Zest 2 tangerines and juice 1 tangerine. Add zest and juice to the batter and stir to combine well.
- Fill cupcake papers two-thirds of the way full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out with no crumbs on it.
Frosting Instructions:
- Place white chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals for 1-1.5 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds. Let stand for a few minutes.
- In a separate bowl, mix together vanilla, cream cheese, white chocolate, and butter using an electric mixer with beater attachments on medium speed. Once this mixture is well blended, beat in the powdered sugar in small increments at a time.
- Mix in juice of one tangerine and combine well.
- Add Frosting to a piping bag or ziplock bag to pipe onto the top of the cupcakes. You can also spread frosting on top of the cupcakes with a butter knife.
- Garnish each cupcake with a tangerine wedge.
Which one is your favorite? Share these delicious spring cupcakes with your family and friends!