Wild Blueberry Velvet Cupcakes ♥

I have a wild imagination.

I know you probably have some wild in you too.

So I'm sharing a Wild Blueberry Velvet Cupcake recipe with you.

I see blueberries as nature's little edible ♥ gems.  They are blue on the outside..but how sensational is it that blueberries are bursting with violet on the inside!? Think of the blueberry as a beautiful ombre delight.  

My vision of a Wild Blueberry..Swirled with Electric Pink & Electric Blue frosting

(using Americolor Gels).  See my Rainbow Cupcakes Tutorial for how to Create A Rainbow Frosting Swirl.

Blueberries as the "gems" on top.

Sometimes I use chocolate covered blueberries on top. They're pretty and shiny. 

I buy them at my local Bulk Food Supplier.

What makes a cupcake *velvet*?

 Everyone has a different perception of velvet. To me..a velvet cupcake is rich. Rich in color...Rich in flavor..and combines some Luxurious tantalizing flavor journey that you can't quite explain. Leaves you asking, "What is that......Velvet?"

♥

I used Royal Blue Americolor Gel Paste to get the perfect color of blue. ♥ If it is too grey of a blue for you, you can also add a tint of purple to your blue batter!

You can liven up the blueberry flavor even more..by cutting a blueberry pop tart into squares.. and baking a square inside of each cupcake.  I pipe a small layer of blueberry batter into the cupcake liner, place a blueberry pop tart square on top  of this first layer.  Then I pipe another layer of blueberry batter on top of the pop tart. Sometimes..I don't even tell people about this surprise. The blueberry pop tart baked inside of the cupcake creates so much wonder.. "What in the world was that amazing gush of blueberry they just bit into?!"

You're turning Violet.♥

Wild Blueberry Velvet Cupcakes.

Your Own Bake At Home Version of my creation!

Ingredients:

1 box of white cake mix
1 1/2 Cups of Buttermilk
1/2 Cup Dry Instant Chocolate Pudding or 1 small 3.9 oz packet.
1/2 Cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 Cup Blueberries (thawed if frozen)

Royal Blue Americolor Gel Paste + Violet Americolor Gel Paste-A few drops of each until you reach your desired level of blue color.

Optional: 1 packet of Duncan Hines Blue Raspberry Frosting Creations

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line your pans with 24 cupcake liners.
2. In one large bowl, sift white cake mix and chocolate pudding (dry right out of the box-not prepared) together.
3. Measure 1 1/2 Cups of Buttermilk in a separate liquid measuring cup.
4. In stand mixer, cream oil and eggs together until evenly whipped.
5. Alternately add your dry cake mix/pudding mixture and buttermilk to the creamed eggs and oil.  Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract.
6. Optional:  Fold in 1 packet of Duncan Hines Blue Raspberry Frosting Creations (you can buy these at your local grocery store in the baking aisle. Sometimes they are hard to find which is why I left this optional.  The blue raspberry frosting creations packet enhances the flavor of these cupcakes)!
7.  When your batter is smooth and you have scraped the bowl down a few times to make sure there aren't ingredients left on the bottom of the bowl, begin to add your Americolor gel paste for the blue in the cupcake.  I alternately add 2-3 dots of both Royal Blue Americolor Gel Paste and Violet until I reach a pretty royal blue color!  (see photos above for a match).
8.  Fold in 1/2 Cup Blueberries.
9.  Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake wrapper about 3/4 full with batter.
10.  Bake for about 22-24 minutes or until cupcake springs back up when you touch it.

For those who are sensitive to food colors or prefer a more natural coloring:  The blueberries that you fold into this recipe will do the trick!  It will be more like a blue "swirl" in your cupcakes instead of the dark blue pictured here  Or instead of folding the blueberries in, you can puree the blueberries and pour the pureed mixture into your batter for a darker blue color.

Cream Cheese Frosting:(If you want to pipe the swirls like I did above, make sure you add enough powdered sugar to the frosting until it has peaks when you whip it).

8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)

½ Cup Butter (softened)

3-5 Tablespoons Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

6-8 Cups Powdered Sugar
Optional:  1 packet of Duncan Hines Blue Raspberry Frosting Creations
Edible Gems:  Chocolate Covered Blueberries (I found mine as pictured at the Bulk Priced Food Shop in Greenville, Wisconsin)

Piping tips to use:  French Star Pastry Tip, Open Star Pastry Tip

Optional colors to use in frosting:  Electric Pink, Electric Purple, Royal Purple, Royal Blue, Electric Blue

1.   Whip Cream Cheese and Butter until Creamy.

2.   Add Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream & whip together until blended.

3.   Gradually add powdered sugar until it forms creamy peaks.
4.  Optional:  Whip the Blue Raspberry Frosting Creations packet into your frosting for a light blue color in your frosting and to enhance the flavor of your blueberry velvet cupcake!

Jelly Belly Cupcake Contest ♥ Amanda Cupcake Style

I just entered the Jelly Belly Cupcake Contest..
I know what I would do with the $10,000 if I won!

 

I'd contribute it to opening Amanda Cupcake as a *bakery*.

I can imagine what my bakery would look like.

• An Amanda cupcake "cupcake" of the day.
• Creative cupcake making classes.
• I'd want to hire a creative pie baker. (I am more of the cupcake girl although I do make yummy mini pies).
• An interesting visual display of cupcakes upon entering.
• The smell of sugar and frosting and yummy-ness in the air.
• Some old school flair (coffee cake, donut holes with pretty sprinkles-things you miss from the old school bakeries).
• Coffee and Cake Pops.
• Conversation and romantic dates. Maybe future husbands and wives would meet on their first date over a cupcake here!
• And I would definitely want to see a line out the door.
• That would just mean that my dream of sharing my cupcake love is spreading around the world.

My Jelly Belly Cupcake Entries:

 Giant Cupcake with an Edible Jelly Belly Liner.  This whole thing is a cupcake.  But the Liner is made out of Edible Candy Melts.  (I molded it using a giant cupcake pan)  Then I "glued" each Jelly Belly to the Cupcake liner using melted chocolate.

I think of people like my dad who like to "pick" through the jelly beans and addictively eat them.  Can you imagine entertaining a party with this giant cupcake?  All your friends could stand around and pick off the jelly belly flavor they wanted to eat! And don't forget to mention the cupcake underneath it all!

Some of the Jelly Belly Flavors I used:

Pomegranate

Tutti Frutti

Chocolate Pudding

Cotton Candy

Pomegranate Cosmo

 I swirled on some chocolate cream cheese frosting.  And a disco cherry! True to the "Very Cherry" Jelly Belly Appeal.

I tried to make the other entries true" to the Jelly Belly brand.

Beautiful, colorful, fun, and about the flavor!

Toasted Marshmallow S'mores Cupcake.  I used the Toasted Marshmallow Jelly Belly Beans as the "Marshmallows"

I sprinkled on some graham cracker butter crumbs..Added a clear candy "spark" (to resemble a spark in the fire you are toasting your marshmallow in!) And of course..a Hershey bar!

I made a "blue velvet" cupcake that tastes like a blueberry jelly belly.  The cupcake itself is blue. The frosting is blue.  Decorated with a delicious carmelized candy bridge, some blueberry Jelly Belly beans..and topped with a fresh blueberry! So delish.