Extreme Blueberry Cupcakes & an Foodily Easter Menu!




Extreme Blueberry Cupcake with Swiss Meringue Butter Cream and Homemade English Toffee sprinkles!

 

Easter is coming up like a freight train. If you are anything like me you are probably behind schedule and haven't given a single thought to the day. Fortunately for us Foodily exists! It took only a few minutes to come up with a scrumptious Easter Dinner to be remembered! If you would like to take a peek at my Easter Menu click here.

I have had a blast being a Foodily Brand Ambassador. Not only did I get to meet a chock full of great bloggers but I got to work closely with the Clever Girls. If you are a woman and a blogger....and you think you are pretty Clever as well you should go sign up. Even with over 2k members you'll never feel like a number I promise. They have wonderful opportunities for bloggers of all shapes and sizes.

Now for some cupcakes! This is a recipe from my old blog that I just adored and I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce you to it since it's very spring time in nature!

Extreme Blue Berry Cupcakes by  Momma Cupcake  

• 2 16 oz packages of frozen blueberries, divided 
• 3 cups of all purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 3 eggs 
• 1 cup salad oil

1. Let blueberries thaw in bag over night. You might want to put them in a bowl in case the packaging has leaks. 
2. The next day drain the blueberries reserving the liquid. Set aside. 
3. Preheat oven to 350. Place muffin papers in muffin tin. Set aside. 
4. In your stand mixer, place the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix it on low with the beater attachment until well mixed. 
5. Measure out 3/4 cup blueberry juice, salad oil, 3 cups of blueberries. Mix until just incorporated. 
6. Beat in eggs one at a time until just incorporated. 
7. Spoon batter into muffin papers.  
8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until brown on top. 
9. Cool and eat! As a side note you can eat these as is. They are super tasty! Also you can fold in the remaining blueberries into some homemade whipped cream along with 1/4 cup blueberry juice. Makes a great filling or frosting

 For a great basic Swiss Meringue Butter Cream recipe I use Martha Stewart's.

Homemade English Toffee

Homemade English Toffee by Momma Cupcake

• 1 cup real butter 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 tbsp corn syrup 
• 3 tbsp water 
• 1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted (whole or chopped is fine) 
• 1 cup of toasted coconut 
• 6 oz of chocolate if you prefer to use it

1. Butter a 9 inch square glass baking dish. 
2. If you are using the pecans and coconut toast them now in an oven at 400 degrees.
3. When the coconut starts to brown make sure you mix it up every minute or so until golden brown. 
4. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat.
5. Stir in sugar and corn syrup until smooth. 
6. Add water and stir until temp reaches 290 degrees. 
7. Stir in nuts and coconut and keep stirring for 3 minutes or until mixture turns a golden brown. 
8. Pour into prepared pan. 
9. Use a shaking motion to smooth the toffee out.
10. Don’t be surprised when the butter on the pan hisses and bubble up. It’s completely normal.
11. Allow the toffee to cool until it’s just warm but still somewhat pliable.
12. Invert the pan onto a cutting board.
13. If you are planning to smother in chocolate go for it. If not score the toffee into the size pieces you want.
14. When toffee hardens cut with a butcher (or any large knife) and evenly distribute your weight on it. The cuts come out cleaner this way. Another trick you can do is use silicon molds to pour the toffee in. They have some real jazzy ones out these days. Of course I didn’t think of it until I wrote the recipe. Ah well. Enjoy