An interesting thing happened when I took Chloe to her friend’s birthday party last year. When the time arrived for cake, all the kids lined up to get some. As the birthday boy’s mother passed out slices, Chloe, who had been quietly waiting for her piece, hesitated and asked, “Is there food coloring in that?” During the awkward silence that ensued as the mom processed this inquiry from a three-year-old, I was overcome with equal parts horror and pride.
Although I make my kids aware that food coloring isn’t good for their bodies, I’m hardly militant about them consuming it. In fact, I tend to treat birthday parties like Vegas: whatever happens there, stays there. Juice boxes, brightly colored cakes, even cheese puffs are fine by me on special occasions. Yet in spite of my flexibility on the issue, both of my kids tend to avoid artificial food coloring.
Still, I have a fondness for brightly colored desserts, and these cupcakes are one of my new faves. The cake has a bright lemon flavor, while the icing is a vibrant blueish-purple, free of any artificial dyes. When Kenya skeptically asked me how the icing got so blue, I was happy to tell him the color came only from blueberries. He brought some to school soon after, and as he passed the bite-size cakes out to his friends he proudly told them, “There’s no food coloring in these!”
Never underestimate how far your kids will go with just a little bit of knowledge!
Cooking spray, optional
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
⅓ cup whole milk
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of 2 large lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
1½ cups powdered sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons blueberry juice (see Tip)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a muffin pan with cooking spray or use liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and white sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on low speed after each egg, and the vanilla. Beat until combined.
5. Slowly add half the flour mixture to the butter and sugar, beating as you go. Add the milk and the rest of the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as you beat.
6. Fold in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
7. Pour the batter into the muffin pan, filling the cups ⅔ full, and bake for 22 minutes (15 minutes if you choose to use a mini muffin pan), or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack and cool them completely.
8. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the powdered sugar and blueberry juice to form a blueberry glaze.
9. Drizzle the cupcakes with the blueberry glaze.
TIP: To make blueberry juice, defrost frozen blueberries and press through a fine mesh sieve.