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Blueberry cupcakes with ruffled buttercream.

High Altitude Blueberry Cupcakes

Heather Smoke
Soft, light and fluffy, high altitude blueberry vanilla cupcakes full of juicy blueberries, frosted with sweet blueberry buttercream.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings18 cupcakes

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
  • 2 Standard Muffin Pans with 12 Cups
  • Piping Bag + Tip #902

Ingredients
 

Cupcakes

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 ¾ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • ¼ cup full-fat sour cream
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries

Buttercream

  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp meringue powder, optional
  • ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
  • 2 tbsp freeze-dried blueberry powder
  • 1-2 tbsp milk, if needed for consistency

Instructions
 

Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line your muffin pans with 18 paper cupcake liners.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter with the sugar for about 3-5 minutes on medium speed, scraping the bowl frequently, until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, until well combined.
  • In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients.
  • In another bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, sour cream and vanilla extract.
  • With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Once you've added everything, mix well for about 15-30 seconds until the batter is well combined.
  • Toss the blueberries with the reserved 1 tablespoon of dry ingredients, then fold the blueberries into the cake batter.
  • Divide the batter between 18 cups, filling them about 3/4 full.
  • Bake the cupcakes for about 16-18 minutes, just until the tops spring back when gently touched. Cool in the pan for several minutes, then gently transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting. The tops of the cupcakes may settle and flatten a bit as they cool - this is totally normal.

Buttercream

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and vanilla on medium for 1 minute until smooth.
  • With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder, salt and blueberry powder, until combined but clumpy. Increase the speed to medium, and whip for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. Only add the milk if the buttercream seems too stiff. Now turn the speed down to low, and mix for 1 minute to get rid of large air bubbles.
  • Pipe the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes, and top with fresh blueberries.
Keyword Blueberry, Cupcakes, High Altitude
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