Angel Food Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream
September 9, 2010 in cake, cupcakes

Today is a purple cupcake kind of day. Why? You know why.
Yes it’s true, sometime during the offseason I became a Vikings fan. I flirted with the idea last year but continued to cheer for the Saints because that’s what I’ve done as long as I’ve been a football fan. But like I said, something weird happened in the offseason. Maybe my trip to Minnesota had something to do with it?
So for tonight’s game, I made cupcakes. Angel Food & Devil’s Food. No, I didn’t plan it like that. I planned frosting and made cupcakes around what I already had in the kitchen. Bizarre, right? I didn’t even realize it until I sat down to write this post!
These are obviously the angel food which, by the way, aren’t good for putting frosting on. (Duh Amanda.) I wouldn’t recommend it unless it’s just a tiny smear. The cake is so soft and light that it collapses under the weight of the frosting. I used these liners because they’re sturdier than the regular paper liners and they helped the cupcakes keep their height.
The cake is really delicious though. Who doesn’t like angel food? No one, that’s who. It’s soft and spongy, sweet but not too sweet. Angel food cupcakes are a little more difficult than a bigger cake because they pull away from the liners and end up weirdly shaped but it’s nothing a pretty topping can’t fix.
The frosting is perfection. It’s a little tart from the lemon juice but still really sweet like a good buttercream should be. Once again, I wouldn’t recommend piling it on the angel food cupcakes like I did but a small dollop would be perfect. And yes, I did add food coloring. Blackberry puree is a really bright pink that normally would be really pretty so there’s really no need for food coloring.
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 12 large egg whites
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 6 ounces fresh blackberries, pureed and strained
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- food coloring, if desired
- Adjust oven racks to the two lowest positions. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, ¾ cup of the sugar and the salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the vanilla and cream of tartar on medium-high speed until soft-medium peaks form. Gradually add the remaining ¾ cup sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners and bake for 12-15 minutes or until light golden. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add blackberry puree and lemon juice and mix until combined. Add powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add food coloring if you wish and mix until everything is a solid color. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.
cupcakes from Annie’s Eats





That bright color of the frosting is to die for. And those wrappers are super cute too. Where did you get them from?
.-= Eliana´s last blog ..Farewell to Summer with Toasted Coconut Ice Cream =-.
I found them at Michael’s! They’ve really expanded their liner selection recently. And they were pretty inexpensive.
Blackberry buttercream?!?! I would put that stuff on ANYTHING. It’s gorgeous, and I bet it’s delicious too!
I never make anything in support of my team — the Browns. Not only do they suck EVERY YEAR, but their colors are also really ugly — brown and orange. No pretty purple for us!
.-= Cassie´s last blog ..Chicken Parmesan Cakes =-.
I could eat angel food cake all day long without thinking twice. Adding frosting would probably help me keep my intake in check.
These look adorable.
.-= Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday´s last blog ..faces of beauty =-.
Wow, your cupcakes are stunning! I love, love, love the color of the buttercream – purple is my favorite color after all. And being blackberry flavored makes it all that much better!
Love the color!
.-= briarrose´s last blog ..Sloppy Joes =-.
These are absolutely gorgeous. Love the flavors and angel food cake as cupcakes. Great idea.
.-= Lora´s last blog ..Burnt Honey Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich Bears =-.
yum! I’m excited to try this one. Have fun watching the game tonight. Are you a Favre fan, too? I have to ask cuz I’m from Green Bay.
I don’t dislike Favre but I’m not a huge fan either. I love Jared Allen though! I’m guessing you’re not a Favre fan since you’re from Green Bay? Or do you guys still like him?
Thanks for commenting! :)
[...] Fake Ginger has won me over again with these angel food cupcakes with blackberry buttercream – I’ll admit that the matching frosting and cupcake wrappers drew my attention first, but I also am a fan of angel food (so light!) and I like the way the blackberry is just nestled right there on top of the cupcake, as if it’s made to fit there. [...]
I adore the richness of the purple. I have used pomegranate juice to to color frosting before, and loved the flavor it added, I might just try the blackberries next time.
.-= Robin @ The Yankee Kitchen´s last blog ..Cheesy Pork Oreganato- 15 minute Light Recipe =-.
what a beautiful cupcake !! lovely color, i don’t know what will happen if my daughter see this.. She ‘purple’ freak :D
.-= fitri´s last blog ..Eid Mubarak =-.
Unbelievably beautiful!
These are so eye-catching! I love them!
I only have one word to say: WOW!
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Petits pains à la semoule de maïs et au cheddar =-.
oh my goodness, that blackberry buttercream sounds HEAVENLY!
i am always in awe with how gorgeous your cupcakes turn out.
.-= katrina´s last blog ..I came to dance- dance- dance- dance… =-.
WOW.. i love the color purple. This is so gorgeous… would never have thought of blackberry buttercream, yum!
Very pretty cupcakes.
.-= Honey´s last blog ..Naan Pizza with Peppers & Onions SO EASY & DELISH! =-.
Hi :) You have an amazing blog! I love the second photo on this post. I would love to post it on my blog linking back to here if that would be ok with you. Look forward to hearing back from you.
.-= angie @ gnomeangel´s last blog ..FRIDAY FANCIES- DESIGN BLOGS =-.
Of course you can! Let me know when it’s up so I can Tweet about it. :)
Love the purple! I love Angel Food Cake but have not tried a cupcake version. Thanks for the great tips and great photos as always!
Gorgeous! Love the frosting! I might actually be tempted to watch football if I was feed one of these pretty babies!
It’s blackberry season here (England) and I was planning on making some kind of cake this weekend. Now I know how I’m going to top it. This is absolutely beautiful!
These are quite possibly the most beautiful and most enticing cupcakes I’ve ever seen!!!
[...] I so wanted to hate this post because Amanda is using it all about cheering for the Vikings, but since they LOST…and this recipe looks absolutely AMAZING I just have to share…and of course I could always find a way to color them green and gold…couldn’t I? Check out her Angel Food Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream. [...]
These are beautiful! I was searching for a dessert to bring to a wine festival picnic next weekend and these are going to be perfect – thanks!
Those are SO pretty!
.-= Michele´s last blog ..Aprons and My Etsy Shop =-.
very lovely cupcakes…great color!
.-= Dina´s last blog ..Homemade olive oil ice cream =-.
WOW! The color on these are gorgeous!
.-= Ivy´s last blog .. =-.
I go away one weekend and I miss seeing this beautiful beautiful cupcake! Yummy!
.-= Breige´s last blog ..KCW Monday- French Onion Soup =-.
Those look incredible! I love that you don’t need to use food coloring, because I believe food coloring usually taints the taste of food. Well done!
[...] can read more about them at: http://www.amanda.fakeginger.com/?p=1303 or check out the recipe at Annie’s [...]
These cupcakes are gorgeous … have bookmarked these for when blackberries come in season again :) !!!
.-= Trisha ´s last blog ..Week 2 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies- Chocolate Pistachio Fudge =-.
LOVE that you made them for the Minnesota Vikings…son #2 is a die hard fan (and I’m not exactly sure why as we’re from Denver)! Definitely going to make a version of these…
Very delicious in look, cupcakes are great
Just made these today…but my icing did not look quite as yours did. It did not hold up well (almost was melting) and had flecks in it. What did I do wrong? It is my first time making homemade icing too! thanks!
PS have not tasted the cupcakes yet. I am waiting until I get to work to share them with my coworkers…but I believe they will be AMAZING!
What were the flecks in it? The blackberry seeds? I’m not sure what it was melting. Was it just really runny? I normally just ad more powdered sugar until it gets thick enough. I hope you and your coworkers enjoy them! :)
made these again several times since the first and had no other issues! They are always a big hit, I last made them in December for a “one year til the end of the world” party! I made these Angel food cupcakes and then Devil’s food cupcakes… At the end of the world will be you heading up or down. lol, my little joke!
Just found these on Pinterest and they look amazing! I love Angel Food Cake and I had no idea you could actually make it in cupcake form. A great frosting that I always use for Angel Food Cake is Whipped Cream Frosting, often Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry and especially Boysenberry. The light cake does not get lost in the light frosting and who doesn’t like a reason to have whipped cream in any flavor!
These are beautiful. I am in the middle of making the icing right now and am having some trouble. I did everything you said to do…purée the blackberries and strain them, put in powdered sugar by 1/2 cupfuls…but my icing is so runny. I’ve had to put 5 cups of powdered sugar just to make it stiff, and I’m waiting on it to stiffen up more before I put it in the pastry bag. Where did I go wrong? By the way though, it all tastes AMAZING!
I’ve had a couple people email me with that problem – the only thing I can come up with is that my berries probably weren’t very juicy. I hope they still came out okay!
Thanks for reading and commenting! :)
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I’m making these for my daughters first birthday :). I’m also making her a small cake in a springform pan- what modifications do I make to baking times and temp for a small cake?
Happy birthday to your daughter! :) As far as the small cake, it really depends on the size of your pan. I would keep oven temp at 375 and start checking on it about 20-22 minutes in. I’ve always done angel food cakes in tube or bundt pans and those take about 30 minutes.
The icing did NOT work for me. I used homegrown blackberries, puréed and strained enough to get 6 oz. Added about 4 oz to the frosting and that was already too much, it turned to runny mush. I think 3 oz or even less would be enough next time. I did add 3 cups of powdered sugar, that saved the frosting… kind of. I put it in the fridge to stiffen it up just a little, so it doesn’t run all over the place when I pipe it on the cupcakes. Anyway, apart from that, the cupcakes were delicious, I want to give these a go again soon with these small changes:-)
I made just the icing to top a lemon chiffon cake for my husband’s birthday. I don’t know what I did, but the icing was NOT good. It was stiff enough (I saw others had issues with that), but it didn’t taste like much of anything. It had a gross, butter after-taste. I added about a teaspoon of vanilla extract and an additional teaspoon of lemon juice to make it taste like SOMETHING. I couldn’t taste the berries at all. The color was beautiful and exactly what I hoped it would be, but I hate the flavor and will never make it again.
Do you have any tips for these? I’m an experienced baker and really can’t figure out what I did wrong, but the icing turned out to be a disaster. I really struggled getting all the seeds out of the blackberry puree and then no matter how much sugar I added the icing was never thick. It’s very runny and has a funny looking texture (I’m assuming from where there were still some seeds in the blackberries). I also couldn’t get that fantastic purple color, I used Wilton’s violet coloring. They don’t look very pretty but they are delicious!
Dude, these are gorgeous! I’m not even a blackberry person but I’d inhale these any time!