Floral + sweet + tart + fruity...these cupcakes have it all, and this recipe serves as the perfect vanilla cake and buttercream base to feature any of your favorite seasonal berry jams!
This jam-tastic recipe was created for my friends over at Blake Hill Preserves. I use their jam for all my baking (and snacking!) needs. All opinions expressed here are my own.
I actually worked in the Blake Hill kitchen for a brief time when I was first starting my bakery. They taught me so much about the process of making jam. Having been behind the scenes, I can honestly say that even though their company has grown so much over the last few years, their artisan process is still the same as when you cook a small single pot of fresh jam on your stove at home.
This recipe features one of their delicious botanical jams: Gooseberry with Wild Elderflower. But any of your favorite berry jam flavors would be fantastic in this recipe!
When you pair a classic sweet with a refreshing modern twist, it’s pretty hard to lose; that’s exactly what I’ve done with these fresh and fruity cupcakes. The vanilla base is light and fluffy, making it the perfect vehicle to hide a tasty jam core. What makes them even better is the tart notes created by mixing jam into the frosting too which perfectly offsets the rich English buttercream.
Let's bake!
Vanilla, Gooseberry, and Elderflower Jammy Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk (see tips)
For the filling and buttercream:
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- ½ jar Blake Hill Wild Elderflower Infused Gooseberry Jam
Instructions
TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES:
- Prep oven/pan and cream butter: preheat oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers. Cream butter and sugar using a hand or stand mixer for 2-3 minutes on medium-high until light and fluffy.
- Mix in other ingredients: add all other cupcake ingredients and blend on medium-high for about 1 minute until batter is smooth, light, and fluffy again.
- Fill pan and bake: divide batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups and bake for 16-18 minutes until the tops are golden-brown, fully set, and slightly bouncy when pressed. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before filling and frosting.
TO MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM AND ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES:
- Mix the buttercream: place the butter, powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons of jam in a medium-sized bowl and beat for 1 minute on medium-low to roughly blend ingredients, then 1 minute on medium-high or until buttercream is smooth and fluffy.
- Core and fill: create a core in the cooled cupcakes (see notes). Using a jam-filled pastry bag or zip-top bag with a small corner cut off, fill the cavity in each cupcake with about 1 tablespoon of jam.
- Frost, share and enjoy: spread or pipe the buttercream on top of the filled cupcakes, and finish decorating to your liking. Share and enjoy!
Test Kitchen Tips
- Buttermilk: While the hint of acidity that comes from the buttermilk is really lovely in these cupcakes to offset the sweeter frosting, regular milk will work just fine as well if that’s what you have on hand.
- Coring cupcakes: To core the cupcakes, you can use a large diameter round pastry tip as a corer, or even just a small spoon or knife, to remove a piece of cake from the center of the top half of the cupcakes.
Nutrition
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