Blackberry Cupcakes

I couldn't wait.  I just had to get started with the Summer Cupcake Quest.  I'll go into the background later, but suffice it to say, I have been overwhelmed by cupcake desire.

Photo of M&Ms, cocoa, cookies, and candies.

Yesterday I went shopping for some of the goodies we will need when constructing our cupcakes.  Looks like a fun task to me.  I even got to buy some containers.  Fun!

Photo of the Blackberry Cupcake recipe.

In my header I mention four cookbooks.  One of those books is Southern Living's Big Book of Cupcakes by Jan Moon.  The recipe that got my attention was the blackberry recipe.  It seemed so fresh and delicious.  It even has some wheat flower in it.  I guess that means healthy.  Hmmmm. 8-) And fruit!

Shot of the filled butter cakes, filled with blackberry preserves.

So I had to make it.  It called to me.  The recipe called for blackberry jam, but I like real fruit.  I looked for a real fruit preserve and used that.  It meant a clogged bag and some mess, but ultimately, I think the taste will be better.  Less sugar too.

Finished cupcakes in the fridge.

I finished the cupcakes at 11:30, too late to eat them frosted (we cheated and ate two without frosting and they were great.  Tonight we eat blackberry cupcakes. We are ready for summer!   

Of course the ultimate goal is to frost better.  This frosting was very runny.  Could have been my preserves.  I'm sure it was my fault.  I don't think my frosting job is very pretty.  But it firmed up in fridge.  And there was no design.  This particular cookbook isn't big on design necessarily, just flavor.  Well, what I mean is while hers do look much prettier than mine, her chief goal is a really tasty cupcake.  Her cupcakes don't look intimidating; they look yummy.   There is another cookbook that is design all the way and that cookbook started me this quest.  More on that tomorrow.