Blueberry Muffin Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Is it a muffin? Is it a cupcake? It’s both! And these blueberry muffin cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting are perfect for a brunch or shower party.
These muffin cupcakes are my secret weapon when it comes to throwing a brunch party. They’re a little bit breakfast, a little bit party food, and a beautiful centerpiece to any buffet spread. And people go nuts for them! Planning a special Mother’s Day brunch or shower party? Look no further.
All I did was take my favorite blueberry muffin recipe and add a swirl of lemon cream cheese frosting. It’s a simple addition with big impact. The muffins are packed with lots of fresh blueberries and brown butter so they’re pretty perfect on their own, but then when you add a lemon-scented rich cream cheese icing? Wow!
These blueberry muffin cupcakes are one show-stopping, crowd-pleasing heckuva treat.
baking tip:How to bake a perfect muffin
- Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing can produce tough and deflated muffins. Stop mixing just when streaks of flour are no longer visible, some lumps are okay.
- Fill muffin cups a generous 3/4 way full. Filling any higher will cause them to spill out of the cup and produce a flat-topped muffin, but filling them too low doesn’t give the muffin enough batter to rise to nice domed height.
- Don’t overbake. Muffins are done when the center springs back when gently pressed.
- Remove muffins from the pan as soon as they are just cool enough to touch. Do not let them cool completely in the pan or they will be overbaked and soggy on the bottom. I usually let them cool in the pan only 1-2 minutes.
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Blueberry Muffin Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 grams)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (170 grams)
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (177 ml, 6 fl oz)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 dry pint blueberries
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese (227 grams), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 grams), at room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar (455 grams), sifted
- 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract , optional
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter.
- In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium low heat until browned, swirling the pan as needed to promote even cooking. Set aside to cool.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the browned butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and buttermilk. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out with dry crumbs, 15-18 minutes. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, milk or cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and lemon extract (if using). Beat at medium high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
- Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese buttercream. Garnish with fresh blueberries, if desired.
- Store cupcakes in the fridge for up to a few days.
Notes
- Lemon extract is optional, but will help boost lemon flavor.
This recipe was originally published April 2013.
Ohhh *-* they’re just SO cute! And I bet they also taste delicious!
xo, Elisa
These sound so tasty!! What a lovely recipe 🙂
These are the cutest little muffins ever!!! Beautiful photos!!!
Mr. & Mrs. P
These look wonderful! Love that brown butter in the muffins, sounds delicious!
These were truly divine!! As was the celebration. It is such a special time of life 🙂 Thank you for celebrating with me!!
On another note, this post means I forgot to send you that photo. My brain isn’t on par these days. I will send it eventually though!
These look and sound so delicious and your photos are just beautiful!
It was great fun, and you’re a wonderful hostess. And the cupcakes were fantastic, I can testify to that.
I LOVE blueberries and cream cheese!!! This is going to be the perfect cupcake.
Thanks! Carrie of Bella Cupcake Couture
these look delish!
Yummy! These look scrumptious! Great for the lunch box as well! I do a similar frosting with marscapone in addition to the cream cheese, divine! xx 🙂
Love the idea of using marscapone!
These cupcakes look divine, almost ethereal: so light and airy! Pinned!
These are GORGEOUS pictures!!!! And the cupcakes look so so yummy!
Uh, yum! These photos are stunning!
These are stunning. Like maybe to pretty to eat. Just kidding I’d totally eat these, starting with that cream cheese frosting. Yum!
I want in on that lunch where we get to watch you take amazing pics of your food:) Seriously so great!
Fun to see you yesterday!
these sound so incredible!
Thanks so much for hosting the shower. It was wonderful to visit with everyone and see your cute little house. These cupcakes were scrumptious!
These look seriously delicious! Off to pin…
Frosted muffins are such a good idea! These look really delicious and perfect for spring!
These blueberry cupcakes are delish! I changed the icing to lemon buttercream since I made 4 varieties of cupcakes for a baby shower and 2 already had cream cheese icing. I put a teaspoon of lemon zest and some fresh lemon juice in with butter and 10x sugar….really, really good compliment with the blueberries! My other 3 varieties are snicker doodle cupcakes with brown sugar butter cream, carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing, and fudgy chocolate cupcakes with mint cream cheese icing. I think I like the blueberry ones the best but they’re all sooo good!!!
I’m so glad you liked the cupcakes! Those other flavors sound amazing too, especially the snicker doodle ones. 🙂
I tried once using dried blueberries but upon splitting the cupcake once its baked, all the berries have sank to the bottom. Do you have any idea why? Thank you.
Sometimes that just happens! I find that tossing fruit and other mixins in some flour (shake off the excess) can add more friction and prevent some sinking. Good luck!
Thank you so much for the recipe! I replaced blueberries with strawberries since i ran out of blueberries, they were a hit! Everyone loved them and asked me to make more! (:
Thank you! The strawberries sound fantastic!
They look so beautiful Annalise!! The frosting is so perfect and it seems.. a piece of cloud!
I love them!
Carlotta
Hi there!
Not being much of a cook!… Do I use everyday sugar or caster sugar in the recipe?
Thank you!
Use granulated sugar for the muffins and powdered sugar for the frosting. Hope this helps!
Perfect thank you so much!
Can I use frozen blueberries instead for the muffins? Would it make a difference?
Hi Bonnie! You can absolutely use frozen blueberries. Just be sure to use them frozen, and not thawed.
I made this cake,it was Fabulous!!!! My whole family enjoyed very much after eating it. Thanks for this amazing recipe……
Same cakes, I get from the site :
http://www.cakengifts.in/cake-delivery-in-gurgaon
I have made these 5 times now and they are so delicious I get requests for the recipie every time. Sometimes I add 1/2 c of chocolate chips. Just perfect. Thank you for sharing!
I can’t believe how good this recipe is. My family absolutely loves it. Thanks so much!
Could you use the lemon juice instead of the lemon extract?
Sure! Not as much concentrated lemon flavor but it’ll still impart some!
This was delicious! I used gluten free flour and it still turned out great!
I love this recipe. It is extremely delicious. Always amazing.
Love the recipe! I surprised my mom and dad for their dating anniversary because my dad likes muffins and my mom likes lemony things and guess what the LOVED it!
Keep giving us good recipes!
Just made these for my son’s birthday who loves blueberries, muffins, and cream cheese, but isn’t a fan of cupcakes! Thank you for such a simple to follow recipe. No issues whatsoever. Happy smiles.