Fresh Mint Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting

This is a fun and delicious recipe for late summer. There are a couple of steps for the blackberry frosting, so you can start that a day or so in advance. You can also try this with other herbs – maybe lemon balm would taste good.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour of all purpose 1-1 GF flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
A generous pinch of salt – omit if using salted butter or dairy free butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter or dairy free butter at room temperature
2/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves (small leaves, really big ones are too coarse)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk at room temperature

Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with liners or spray well.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda (and salt, if using unsalted butter) in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream butter, mint, and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition.
Add flour mixture and buttermilk in three alternating additions – flour, buttermilk, flour. Mix just until combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes in the pan for about 10 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Blackberry Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup fresh blackberries, wineberries, or berries of choice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter or dairy free butter at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt (omit of using salted butter)
4 cups confectioners sugar

Add blackberries and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Use the back of a large spoon, or any other implement that will smoosh things, to mash blackberries a bit and release their juice. Cook them at a simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool a bit. Pour it through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Set aside to cool completely. You can do this step ahead of time and refrigerate the juice.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until it lightens – about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the optional salt, then add the confectioners sugar in 2 or 3 batches and continue beating until blended and fluffy in texture. Add the cooled blackberry syrup and beat for another couple of minutes, until the frosting is thoroughly mixed and looks uniform. Generously frost the cupcakes and enjoy! If you’re feeling fancy you can garnish each with a blackberry and a mint leaf or two. Enjoy!