Looking for a gentle, natural way to tame your baby’s hair? Sometimes a little mucus ends up doing the job—especially when little ones have a runny nose. While not glamorous, it’s an easy, natural fix: babies often rub their noses and end up smoothing mucus through their hair, and when it dries it can hold a style in place. Of course, I always wash it out afterward, but it makes for a memorable, if slightly gross, morning moment.
My daughter Carly woke up with a sticky hairline recently. I rinsed her hair right away (she protested), but she still looked adorable. Below are a few photos of her all cleaned up after that little incident.
Now for something a lot prettier: these blackberry cupcakes with a silky blackberry-cream cheese frosting. The frosting combines butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and pureed blackberries, which provide a lovely natural purple color. It’s exceptionally smooth thanks to the thorough whipping; I’m already planning a raspberry version next.
I was excited to photograph these with my new camera — they looked beautiful and would be perfect for a bridal shower, wedding, or any special gathering.
Wouldn’t these be gorgeous at a bridal shower or wedding?
Blackberry Cupcakes
20 mins
20 mins
40 mins
18
Garnish and Glaze
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt, room temperature
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
For the Frosting:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (1 stick) cream cheese, softened
- 6 ounce container blackberries, washed, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin tins with 18 paper cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and vanilla.
- Alternate adding the sour cream and the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing until combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter in batches until evenly incorporated.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter into each muffin cup (a cookie scoop works well).
- Bake for 15–18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- Place about 1/2 cup (roughly 16 berries) blackberries in a small bowl and puree with an immersion blender, food processor, or blender. Press the puree through a mesh strainer to remove seeds; discard the solids.
- In a mixer using the whisk attachment (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter, powdered sugar, and salt on low until combined, then increase to medium-high and beat 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the cream cheese in small amounts (about 2 ounces at a time), beating and scraping the bowl until smooth. Continue to beat for about 2 more minutes.
- Mix in the blackberry puree and vanilla until evenly combined. If needed, adjust consistency with a little powdered sugar or a splash of cream.
- Fit a piping bag with a large tip (2D or M1), fill with frosting, and pipe onto each cupcake by starting in the center, working outward, then spiraling up. Top each with a fresh blackberry.
Did you make this recipe?
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Notes: I use an immersion hand blender to puree the berries. The cupcake is adapted slightly from Joy of Cooking (I used all-purpose flour and salted butter). The frosting is adapted from a Blackberry Frosting recipe and adjusted with salted butter, added vanilla, and slightly less frosting per cupcake.