It’s funny how some things change as I get older, like the way I look at blackberry picking season. As a child, it meant going to pick berries with family in the wild bush, which meant wearing long sleeves and long pants in hot weather, occasionally getting pricked by thorns despite “protective” clothing, swatting shrill mosquitoes and hovering deer-flies around me, and hopes of finding bountiful areas of blackberries, so that we could be done sooner and return home.
Nowadays, all the same things happen (think long sleeves, thorns and deer-flies), but somehow it doesn’t seem so bad. Being outdoors in all it’s glorious beauty, enjoying warm temperatures and the fruits of my labour (literally!), bring a quiet pleasure I can’t exactly explain. Perhaps if I was a better writer, I’d be able to, but for now, suffice it to say, blackberry season brings me happiness.
They’re simply delicious and such a perfect treat all on their own, but add them to pancakes (my father’s are famous with family and friends!), cook them for jam, or, a new recipe around here, make them as cupcakes… and sigh, heaven.
It’s been a great summer for blackberries, and experimenting with cupcake recipes has been easy with so many around.
There have been plenty for Mom’s home made blackberry jam (Yay! Let’s just say her jam makes it to my absolute top 3-favorite-things-to-eat list!)…
and, plenty for these little cuties around here, too.
I’m excited to share the recipe for these wild blackberry vanilla cupcakes with you…
I paired them with vanilla icing, and rolled the icing in white sanding sugar, so biting in them brought a satisfying crunch, along with a soft, fluffy, vanilla taste with bursts of blackberry flavour.
You could keep them like this if you like – just icing without the sanding sugar.
Easy to pipe with an Ateco size 8 tip
, the swirl is how I applied the icing to the cupcakes before I dipped them in sparkling sanding sugar
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It might be difficult to see in the photo, but my cousin added blackberry juice to a glass of milk (Thanks Simone, such a good idea!), which turned out to be another tasty experiment. {The adorable straws are from The TomKat Studio btw!}.
Blackberries hidden underneath the icing was another great idea she had – such a nice flavour combination of fresh and baked berries!
Whether or not you’re able to pick wild ones in your area, I hope you enjoy blackberry season too, and happy baking!
xo,
Marian
Wild Blackberry Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups blackberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
- In a mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy (a few minutes).
- Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in vanilla.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Stir dry mixture into wet (butter) mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 3 of buttermilk.
- Fold in 2 cups of blackberries.
- Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measurer, scoop batter into a muffin tin lined with cupcake liners.
- Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes, until cake tester (toothpicks or skewers work well too), inserted in centre comes out clean.
- Let cool in muffin tins for about 5 minutes, then remove and let cool completely before adding icing.
- Icing recipe can also be found here .
- Pipe a swirl of icing on top of cupcake, and roll the iced cupcakes in a bowl of sanding sugar. Top with a blackberry or decoration of choice and enjoy!
Notes
Vanilla Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb icing sugar (confectioner's sugar), sifted or 16 oz
- 1/2 lb Crisco All-vegetable shortening
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp clear vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix the Crisco All-vegetable shortening and clear vanilla extract on medium speed for about a minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the icing sugar and milk, cover the bowl with a large tea towel, and mix on low speed until the icing sugar is incorporated into the shortening. Take the tea towel away and mix until smooth.
- Once your cupcakes are cool, ice them with a butter knife or large piping bag and tip of your choice. (I used Ateco #855, #856 and Wilton 1M).
Very cute! I love to go berry picking but I always end up putting more in my mouth than in my bucket! 🙂
These are so pretty! I love this idea!
Beautiful, as always! Love you cake plate too!
Beautiful cupacakes and looks so tasty.
I Haven’t tasted blackberries ever in my life. we don’t get those in this part of the world ;(
Love this! They are so beautiful and sound so delightful! I was reading the recipe and the instructions talk about adding buttermilk, but the ingredients list doesn’t have buttermilk. Did I overlook something?
Oh thank you, Madi! How did I miss the buttermilk and salt?! I checked my notes and yes, I forgot to type two ingredients in the list. It’s corrected now! xoxo
This is very lovely.. Have to try the recipe. Thanks for posting the recipe.
I LOVE blackberries ….so this sounds amazing…and if your Mom would like to share her jam recipe…that would be wonderful too 🙂 xo
I’ll definitely let her know, Jane! 🙂
These look amazing! Was there any problem with the seeds? I was asked to make a raspberry cake for next month for a wedding and I don’t like the idea of people having to pick seeds out of their teeth at a wedding. Any ideas?
Hi Brynn,
There wasn’t a problem with the seeds in the batter, but if there were enough fresh, unbaked berries on top of the cake etc., there might be a chance of it. If you can, try a batch and let me know what you think! xo
I can’t tell if I like the cupcakes with or without the sanding sugar. They’re both great!
These look so yummy! Do you think i could use sour cream instead of buttermilk?
Hi Dalila, it’s a little thicker, but should work. Please let me know how it goes if you try it!
Good morning Marian,
such a lovely blogpost…these cupcakes, somehow I had to think of Christmas (and I LOVE christmas!) – that sugar sparkles so nicely…
Love those cupcakes!
And baked blackberries would be no problem for my allergies so I would love to give those a try <3
Have an amazing week and thanks for sharing <3
xoxo, niner
What a great use for fresh blackberries. The sparkly icing on these is so pretty; the sanding sugar really adds a special touch.
I love the way you frosted the smooth-topped ones, Marian! So pretty!!
Beautiful cupcakes, Marian! Blackberry picking is one of my favorite things too! 🙂
These are just beautiful! We have been picking tons of blackberries from our garden these past few weeks and I’ve been looking for new recipes to make with them. I’m looking forward to adapting this recipe to gluten-free. Thanks for sharing!
These are so lovely. I hope you post that blackberry jam recipe – it’s one of my favorite types of jam.
So pretty! I really like the use of the wild blackberries in cupcakes!
I’m so jealous of all your blackberries. These cupcakes are gorgeous. Love the shot of the chipmunk!
We had so much rain this year that the blackberries weren’t that great. I love your cupcakes. They are adorable!
WOW! These are too pretty to eat!
These are just too cute!! Love em!!
Marian, you always have the most elegant treats and these cupcakes are no exception.
And I am seriously jealous of your wild berry patch!
I love this post and love the blackberries. Cute chipmunk!
beautiful work like always.
ML
These are the cutest cupcakes ever!! So magical with the sugared vanilla icing 🙂
Pinned!
Love the idea! They look absolutely adorable!
And the sanding sugar just gives it that perfect little extra!
It might try this with my Cupcakes for Halloween and roll them in orange Icing sugar to create a pumpkinish look. 🙂
Thanks for another fab post!
These are just so, so pretty and make me salivate for fresh blackberries. I love the touch of the sparkling sanding sugar, and the little hidden berries inside- perfect blackberry cupcakes as far as I’m concerned!
Such delicate & pretty cupcakes ~ tea party perfect!
I prefer to make mini everything, should I cut the bake time in half? What do you think?
Totally making these with my daughter this weekend. 🙂
Hi Katie,
Yes, that sounds good. Check with a toothpick, or skewer, when you take them out of the oven… if it comes out clean, they’re baked. The tops shouldn’t look wet either, and spring back a bit to the touch. Hope that helps!
These sounded simply delectable and looks so pretty! Love how the sanding sugar made it look so chic ♥Jo
I made these this weekend for a pot-luck, they were a hit! Great recipe, they were dense, which was good. I placed the berries in the cup with the batter. Thank you and I just love your site.
Hi Joanna and Lisa! Thanks for your sweet compliments!
These are absolutely stunning, and the second I saw them on Pinterest I thought, “These have Marian written all over them!” and sure enough, they did 🙂 Pinned!
Isn’t that funny, Kelly! Thanks for taking the time to drop by! xo
I love these cupcakes, so cute! They would be fabulous for my daughter’s birthday party. She’s allergic to milk though 🙁 Do you have any substitute suggestions for the buttermilk?
Hi Allison,
I’m sorry, I haven’t tried it so don’t know for sure… You could try an applesauce for the moisture it requires. Or, if you have a vanilla cupcake recipe you already like, just add blackberries! xo
OMG, these seriously look so delicious. I’m obsessed with blackberries right now and I love picking them too. Also, I just made a blackberry margarita the other day and it was SO good. I’m going to share your post on my FB fanpage too later today. FB.com/SavvySleepers. Keep up the great recipes!
xoDale
http://www.savvyspice.com
OMG these cupcake decorations are so pretty, and very inspiring, i might just go home and bake myself some cupkakes. They look simple, but still so amazing, but i think i would use whipped cream on top instead of the icing, i find the icing too sweet.
Ah-mazing xx