Lemon Cupcakes with Fresh Blueberry Icing
Lemon cupcakes made with gluten-free quinoa and almond flour, raw honey and a fresh blueberry cream cheese icing!
Today is very special day as myself and a few other bloggers are joining together to throw a virtual baby shower for Taylor from Greens n’ Chocolate!
Now I know I said last week that I was going to lay off the sweets for a while but for whatever reason I always associate cupcakes with baby showers so I’m squeezing in just one more in honor of the special occasion. :)
If you’ve ever been to Taylor’s blog then you know she does a great job of eating healthy without depriving herself of a few decadent treats here and there so I thought she would appreciate a cupcake that does a little bit of both.
To start, the base is made from protein-packed quinoa and almond flour. Then for a lightly sweet honey, vanilla and lemon flavor, I added Almond Breeze’s Hint of Honey Vanilla Almondmilk along with raw honey, vanilla extract and plenty of fresh lemon zest.
Now the icing is where things get a little more on the decadent side as it’s made from a mixture of cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. Then because Taylor is having a baby boy, I had to color it accordingly. Rather than use food coloring, I decided to go au naturale with pureed fresh blueberries for a subtle hint of blue.
Altogether it makes for a cupcake that’s full of vanilla and lemon flavor without being overly sweet. And I think the colors are the perfect way to celebrate the fact that IT’S A BOY!
I wish I could hand Taylor one in person and give her a big hug to celebrate this exciting time in her life. She is such an incredibly sweet and genuine person and I know that her and Marc will make the best of parents. Here’s to you and your family and your new little one! xoxo
And I’m so excited to see all of the other delicious recipes from the bloggers that participated in Taylor’s baby shower. Be sure to go check ’em out!
Mrs. Olson’s Kitchen | Quick Jam
Girl Versus Dough | Cheesy Polenta Bites with Blueberry Corn Relish
Fit Foodie Finds | Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch Clif Bars
The Cooking Actress | Caramelized Onion and Cheddar Gougeres
Cookie Monster Cooking | Strawberry, Cucumber and Mozzarella Phyllo Cups
Garnish with Lemon | Mini Pavlovas with Blueberries and Kiwi
A Kitchen Addiction | Blueberry Lemon Donut Muffins
The Lemon Bowl | Blackberry Ginger Smash with Thyme
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa flour
3/4 cup almond flour*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from approx. 2 large lemons)
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup melted unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Almond Breeze Hint of Honey Vanilla Almondmilk
Fresh Blueberry Cream Cheese Icing
4 ounces cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons pureed blueberries (about 1 cup whole)
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Start by melting the honey, coconut oil, and almond milk together in a small saucepan over low to medium heat. Whisk together until well combined then remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Next preheat the oven to 325°F and grease or line a muffin tin for 8 cupcakes. Combine the dry ingredients (quinoa flour to salt) in a medium size bowl and sift together.
- Separate the egg whites into a large bowl, while placing the egg yolks into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Once the honey mixture has cooled, add it to the dry ingredients/egg yolks along with the vanilla extract and lemon zest then stir everything together until just combined.
- Next beat the egg whites until they are slightly stiff and fluffy then use a spatula to gently fold them into the bowl with the other ingredients.
- Use a small ice cream scoop (or a spoon) to scoop the batter into the muffin tin so that each is 3/4 of the way full. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes, until they’re a light golden color around the edges. A toothpick should come out clean if you stick into the center. Allow to cool while you prepare the icing.
- To make the icing, start by adding roughly 1 cup of fresh blueberries to a food processor and blend until completely pureed, about 30 seconds. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese for about 15 seconds. Add about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time and continue to beat on high. Lastly add the fresh blueberry puree one tablespoon at a time while continuing to beat on high. If the icing is too thin after 2 tablespoons, you can stop there but if it's still thick enough, add the other 2. Refrigerate until you’re ready to frost the cupcakes.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled, place the icing in a plastic sandwich bag (or pastry bag) and cut off about 1/4 inch of one corner. Gently pipe the icing on top of each cupcake, working in a circular pattern from the inside out. Garnish with a small blueberry and enjoy!
Notes
*Almond flour is made from blanched almonds (without the skin) and the texture can be somewhat lumpy. If you prefer a fine crumb I recommend sifting out 3/4 cup before adding it to the bowl with the other dry ingredients. This will help remove some of the larger lumps so that the end result has more of a fine texture. However, please note that they will still be more dense than a white flour cupcake because there are no starches in the recipe.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze Almondmilk but all opinions are my own. Thank you supporting this site and the brands that help me bring you quality content!
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These cupcakes are everything I want and more….The lemon. the blueberry icing. Not to mention they are GORGEOUS!
Yaaaaay huge congratulations to Taylor!!! I love that you brought these duh-licious cupcakes to the partay – those bluebs look perfect!! I really must get back on the quinoa flour wagon via these cupcakes. Because: cream cheese frosting ;)
I loooove the blueberry icing and I really like those cupcake liners… It’s the little things, but they really are perfect for a baby shower.
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These look sooo delicious!! Nothing beats the combination of blueberries and lemons, they just taste so amazing together! What a beautiful recipe. Pinned!
How sweet! These look delicious. Blueberry and lemon is such a great combo!
Awww thanks SO much Sarah! These cupcakes look incredible – I love the almond and quinoa flours! I’m definitely going to need to find healthier sweet treats to satisfy my sweet tooth after this baby comes if I want to fit back into my regular jeans :)
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These cupcakes are seriously gorgeous! And perfect for a baby shower!
Aww – so sweet – this dedication post AND these cupcakes! So – if I left off the cream cheese can I pretend they are muffins and eat a half dozen? ;)
My boyfriend has been complaining for more gluten free desserts, so I’ll have to give this a try!!
Perfect cupcakes! We don’t have baby showers here in Europe, not that I know. That’s a pity because I would definitely like preparing something cute and yummy to celebrate the magical event…
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Theseeeee would be dangerous in my house! NUMM.
I love any combination of lemon and blueberry. You nailed it with these beautiful cupcakes!
I love cupcakes like this – where the base is made up of lots of good ingredients and then the frosting is a little decadent! Plus, I don’t think I could ever turn down lemon + blueberry together!!
These lemon cupcakes sound so light and refreshing! This is a great dessert for those hot summer nights where you just want something light. Yum!
Yum! I bet that honey vanilla almond milk just adds such a subtle sweet flavor :)
These cupcakes are beautiful! I love all the fresh springtime-y flavors! And the healthier twists-amazing job <3
A virtual baby shower is such a sweet idea! So cute. And I’m loving blueberries right now!
this looks delicious! I love muffins! I will need to try your recipe! mmm ;-)
What beautiful cupcakes! Love the blueberry icing!
Congrats to Taylor!!! This is such a special and beautiful moment for a couple ;-) I love that you choose to make cupcakes to the baby shower. Like you I always associate cupcakes with baby showers ;) Beautiful pictures too ;-)
I totally wish that I were attending the shower in real life! A big congrats to Taylor. These cupcakes look like the perfect way to celebrate her baby boy to be.
Oh now these just sound incredible, and I love that you used honey and coconut oil in them — such an amazing combination of ingredients. And can we please talk about how genius it was to put blueberries in the icing to celebrate the fact that it’s a boy?! Girlllll! You’re just too good at this <3
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Looks yumalicious!! Can agave or maple syrup be substituted for honey? Just shopped for everything and didn’t realize I was out of honey at home :(
Hi Brett! Sorry for the delay in my reply. Yes, you could use either agave or maple syrup. :)
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