Nothing celebrates summer like berries and cream, and these Berries & Cream Cupcakes are the perfect way to pay homage to the warm summer season. A soft and fluffy vanilla bean cupcake is the base with a fresh mixed berry jam. A whipped cream cheese icing tops everything off with a subtle tang and light texture.
Berries are truly the best that summer offers. There’s a reason there are so many wonderful berry bakes on the site, like these strawberry cardamom blondies or this mixed berry angel food cake. And these simple vanilla cupcakes really highlight them in the peak of freshness.
Ingredients
I won’t lie, there are quite a few ingredients for these mixed berry cupcakes. But we are making 3 total components, so each one is pretty easy on it’s own! I won’t go through every detail of the basic ingredients here, but a few notable points.
- Cake flour. To make a light and airy cake, I prefer to use cake flour which has a finer grain and less protein than other flours. I will note how to make a homemade DIY version below if you are in a pinch.
- Butter & neutral oil. My vanilla cake recipe uses both types of fats. The butter brings the flavor, but the oil increases the moistness of the cake, both are equally important.
- Sour cream. This helps to make for an incredibly soft and moist cupcake.
- Vanilla bean paste. This is one of the recipes I recommend splurging on vanilla bean paste. It has a much richer and more pronounced vanilla flavor because it includes the actual seeds in the paste. When i do vanilla-forward recipes, this is worth it and a lot cheaper than buying the vanilla bean pods.
- Mixed berries. Use your favorite combination. I used a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries because they looked good that day! For the jam, feel free to use fresh or frozen berries. But for the topping, I would use fresh only.
Making Mixed Berry Cupcakes
There are three main elements to these lovely mixed berry cupcakes: vanilla cake, mixed berry jam filling and a tangy whipped cream cheese icing. Let’s talk through some helpful points on each.
Vanilla Cupcakes
This is my favorite, go-to vanilla cupcake recipe. Seriously, why mess with perfection – they are light, moist for a few days (basically unheard of with cupcakes) and have plenty of vanilla goodness.
Cream well. This recipe uses the “creaming method” of cake making, which means we have to really cream together the butter and sugar to create a fluffy cupcake. Really whip until the butter is very light in color and the sugar is well blended – several full minutes.
Sift dry ingredients. With cupcakes especially, it’s important to sift the dry ingredients well and give them a stir so everything is well distributed. A little patch of baking powder will be very noticeable when making a small cupcake.
Stir the last bit. I always recommend to stop the mixer when there’s still a few streaks of flour and mix in the last bits by hand as well as the sour cream. This also makes sure that any little bits stuck at the bottom of the mixer is incorporated well. Nothing worse than realizing you have an unmixed blob of egg at the bottom of the bowl.
Mixed Berry Jam
Making your own jam is so easy, and it’s so much better than most of the jarred options.
Because we want to use this jam as a filling, we don’t want it to spill everywhere when taking a bite, so it’s important to really let the jam simmer enough.
How to tell? When you are making the jam, place a spoon in the freezer. Once your jam is thickening and starting to hold together when stirring, place a small blob of the jam on the frozen spoon. This will force the jam to immediately cool and make it “testable” for how it will set up.
If you can run your finger through the drop of jam and it stays put without running, your jam will set firmly enough for a filling.
Making Filled Cupcakes
Filled cupcakes look really complicated and make for a super fancy desserts with not that much effort.
But how to do it? You can get a cupcake corer if you make a ton of these, but I just use a small paring knife!
Using the small knife, simply cut the middle out of the cupcake – making sure not the go all the way through to the bottom! Once you have the center removed, drop about a teaspoon of set jam into the center.
You can stop here and just cover the jam with the icing, but I like to replace to top. From the center that you cut out, slice the top off, about 1/8″ – 1/4″ slice and replace it on top of the jam to fully enclose.
What to do with the middle of the cupcake? Congratulations, that is the bakers tax, enjoy! Or freeze them and save enough to make cake pops one day, but the scraps never get that far with me.
Whipped Cream Cheese Icing
The best way to top a bit of vanilla and berries is a bit of whipped cream. Our icing is part whipped cream and part whipped cream cheese for a little extra tang without being too heavy like a buttercream.
The key is really soft cream cheese that is whipped well before adding adding the sifted confectioners’ sugar and heavy cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s not exactly the same, but you can replicate cake flour by swapping 30g (1/4 cup) of all-purpose flour with 28g cornstarch (1/4 cup). Sift well together.
The most likely cause is overfilling the tins. Only fill the tins about 2/3 full or the cupcakes will rise too much and collapse on themselves.
Absolutely, feel free to use your favorite berry jam instead of making your own!
Berries & Cream Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2 standard cupcake tins
Ingredients
Mixed Berry Jam
- 460 g mixed berries fresh or frozen
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 1 lemon zest & juice
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 240 g cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 113 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 248 g granulated sugar
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk room temperature
- 113 g sour cream room temperature
- fresh mixed berries & mint for decorations
Whipped Cream Cheese Icing
- 339 g cream cheese softened
- 131 g confectioners' sugar sifted
- 2 ¼ cup heavy whipping cream cold
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mixed berry jam. In a wide-bottom pot, combine all jam ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly. Once softened, crush berries with potato masher. Continue cooking until jam is thickened and sets when dropped on a chilled spoon or plate when testing*, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a shallow tin and chill in refrigerator until cold, about 1 hour.460 g mixed berries, 200 g granulated sugar, 1 lemon zest & juice
- Vanilla cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 cupcake tins with liners, this recipe makes approximately 16 cupcakes.
- Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.240 g cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with hand-mixer, whip together butter and granulated sugar on high until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula as needed.113 g unsalted butter, 248 g granulated sugar
- Mix in oil. Add eggs one at a time on medium speed. Stir in vanilla extract.1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil, 3 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- On low speed, alternate between adding the flour mixture in three additions and whole milk. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then add 1/2 of the milk. Repeat until all ingredients are mixed in.1/2 cup whole milk
- Switching to rubber spatula, stir in sour cream, being sure to scrape bottom of the bowl to incorporate any last bits of flour.113 g sour cream
- Spoon batter into prepared liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
- Whipped cream cheese icing. While cupcakes cool, make icing by placing softened cream cheese in a bowl and whipping until smooth with hand-mixer. Add in confectioners' sugar and mix until fully incorporated.339 g cream cheese, 131 g confectioners' sugar
- Add cold heavy cream, whip on high speed until cream thickens and icing holds stiff peaks. Stir in vanilla and salt. Keep chilled until ready to use.2 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 1 teaspoon salt
- Filling cupcakes. To fill cupcakes, use a small paring knife to cut out the center of the cupcake, being sure not to cut through the bottom. Place about 1 teaspoon of cold jam in the center.
- If desired, cover jam by slicing off the top of the removed cupcake core and placing it over the jam center. Enjoy remaining cupcake scrapes as the bakers' tip.
- Place icing on top of cupcakes with knife or offset spatula. Top with fresh berries and mint leaves.fresh mixed berries & mint
Notes
- *See post details for a description on testing.
- Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Premade jam can be substituted.
- Baked, un-filled cupcakes can be placed in a freezer-safe container and frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before filling and topping with icing.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
