Gluten Free Blueberry-Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Oil/Buttercream Frosting

NO GMOs here!

'Holy blueberry cupcakes Batman!!!'
This one's a winner.  Winner of what, precisely, I'm not sure, but the end product is super tasty.

It all started with a Hodgson Mill® gluten free yellow cake mix.  You may have noticed my excitement about this company and their products - let me reiterate; they are a Family Owned company, dedicated to transparency of ingredients & green business practices, their products are made right here in the U.S. of A., there are NO preservatives, NO gmos, and NO 'unpronounceable ingredients' all at a very reasonable price.  Honestly, what more can you ask for?

So yes, I was in the mood for cupcakes; unconventional cupcakes.  Suddenly I remembered the enormous amount of organic blueberries I still had in the freezer...

And some lemon would be nice, with frosting of course (That goes without saying. It is not a cupcake unless it has frosting on it, and to call something a cupcake and not put frosting on it would be blasphemous).

I used some parts of the recipe on the box and came up with this:

• 1/2 cup butter (one stick), softened

• 2 large eggs

• 3/4 cup milk

• zest of one lemon

• 1/4 cup lemon juice (I squeezed the zested lemon and added about 3 or 4 more tablespoons for a total of 1/4 cup.  You may need more or less depending on the size of the lemon.)

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 box of Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Cake Mix

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen - there's a really great organic blueberry farm near me.  I usually buy about 20 lbs of organic blueberries at a fantastic price - about $2 a pound-  freeze them, and then use them throughout the year.  It pays to shop local.  Check out some of the links on this blog to find the local farms near you! You may be pleasantly surprised to find out whats right in your backyard.)

* A Note about blueberries (and other produce): If they are fresh it's great. Frozen is ok too.  More importantly, if you can afford to get organic berries (this includes other varieties, like strawberries), do it.  You can't peel berries, so any pesticide or other chemical that is sprayed may absorb into the fruit's skin.  There is only so much that washes off...you're eating the rest (Yuck!).  Here's a link to the EWG's shopper's guide to help you avoid pesticides in your food: ewg.org 2013 shoppers guide

Back to the recipe.

Evil Sifter

For the frosting, I used the Original Wilton Recipe with a few adjustments:

• 1/2 cup organic virgin coconut oil (much better for you than shortening)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1lb.) - (I know sifting is not fun.  I share your resentment, especially with a sifter handle that once tried to slice off my finger- long story.  Try to think of something else while you're sifting, or call your Mom, or listen to some soothing music.  The point is, you really do need to sift the sugar, and you will be more thankful when your frosting comes together, all beautiful and smooth.)

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In your mixing bowl, cream butter.  Add eggs, mix.  Add milk, lemon juice, zest, vanilla & almond extract and blend well.  Add cake mix and combine thoroughly.  Gently fold in the blueberries.

Fold in frozen berries gently
unless you want purple cake.

Spoon into paper-lined cupcake pan.  Bake for about 24-28 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely before frosting (coconut oil is very heat-sensitive).  You'll end up with about 18 cupcakes.

On to the frosting!  In your mixing bowl, cream butter.  Add coconut oil and combine well.  Add sifted sugar while mixing, one cup at a time, to prevent powder-coating your kitchen.  The mixture should look all crumbly, and a little like fake snow.  This part is pretty neat to watch - add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix thoroughly - the mixture rapidly transforms from crumbly mess to velvety smooth frosting!  You can spread this on with a knife, or you can go the fancy route with a decorating bag and tip (this makes for a great presentation, and it's just plain fun.)  When you're done, serve or store in an air-tight container (if there are any left).  Enjoy!