Lemon Cupcakes with Blueberry Buttercream Frosting

Follow cake mix recipe specified on the box, except substitute lemon juice for the required amount of water and ADD 1 Cup of lemon curd (*the box I use called for 1 1/2 cups of water; so instead of the water I substituted 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice). Pour the batter into cupcake tins (number and pan prep specified on your cake mix box). Bake according to the box instructions, though it may take a minute or two longer since the curd makes the cupcakes so moist. Cool completely.

Cream together powdered sugar and softened butter until very smooth. Add the whipping cream, vanilla and blueberries** and whip for 2-4 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add more cream if needed to achieve a spreadable consistency.***

**My grocery store carries refrigerated individual fruit cups of blueberries packed in juice in the produce section (made by a major manufacturer). One of these, drained and mashed up, works perfectly for this recipe.

***This frosting recipe makes a lot. It will easily frost 24 cupcakes AND a 9×13 cake (I usually make the cupcakes as specified above, and I make an additional lemon cake using another box of cake mix).

And finally, if you want the frosting to be blue, rather than purple, add tiny pinches of baking soda into the frosting as you mix it, until it changes color–note, the color will change the longer it sits. And if you add too much, you’ll end up with green.