Lemon Blackberry Cupcakes are beautiful moist lemon cupcakes that are topped with a fresh buttercream frosting.  The lemon flavor throughout is the perfect compliment to the fresh blackberry frosting.  The perfect dessert to enjoy throughout spring and summer.
I hurt by bicep a few weeks ago and the injury has been lingering and not improving, so I have been trying some different forms of therapy to help accelerate the healing. After a few deep tissue massage without much help my massage therapist suggested I try dry needling, and gave me the name of a girl she knew and I thought why not.  I talked to a friend of mine who is in the sports industry and he thought it would be beneficial for me to give it a try.
When I showed up for my appointment for the dry needling I was expecting a bit of pain from the procedure, but wasn’t too worried. Â I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and quite honestly I just want my arm to start healing so I figured any discomfort would be worth it.
After my evaluation and her explanation I laid down on the table and waited for my first needle.  The needle went in, no pain and I thought “what’s the big deal?” That is until she started to move that needle and then “holy crap” I may have shouted a few profanities.  It FREAKING hurt.  I mean really HURT!  After 30 minutes, 25 needles and a lot of shouting and cursing on my end, I was done and I almost ran from the office.  My therapist assured me I would feel better in an hour and I would definitely be coming back in for another round.
Quite honestly I thought she was on crack.
I was pretty uncomfortable for hours after, but by the evening all the discomfort was gone, I was just a bit tender in the muscles she worked.
It has been two days and she was right I do feel a LOT of relief in the muscles she worked. Â I scheduled my second appointment for two weeks from now, and I am hoping my muscles won’t be so tense and the procedure won’t be as painful.
After my pain and suffering I thought I deserved a sweet treat and cupcakes always make me a happy girl. Â I love the fresh berries at the market right now and the blackberries were calling my name, so I grabbed several baskets of the beauties.
I knew that I wanted to add fresh blackberries to the frosting and the blackberry puree I made was perfect. Â Plus I had extra left over that I saved and have been enjoying on top of my yogurt, smoothie and cocktails.
The lemon cupcakes are moist and delicious and grain, gluten-free and paleo friendly.
Do you enjoy using fresh berries in your desserts or using them in puree?
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- [br][b]Cupcake:[/b]
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup + 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Zest from one organic lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
- ½ cup (1 stick) grass fed unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut cream
- [br][b]Frosting:[/b]
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 2 Tsp vanilla
- 4 Tbsp tapioca flour or arrowroot flour
- 4 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2-3 tablespoons blackberry puree {see below for recipe or use blackberry jam}
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- [br][b]Topping:[/b]
- 12 blackberries
- [br][b]Blackberry puree:[/b]
- 1/4 cup of fresh or frozen blackberries
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 350° F degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk butter, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla and coconut cream together until smooth.
- Add the flour mix into the butter mix and stir until *just* combined; do not over mix. The batter will be very thick like pudding.
- Divide the batter between 12 liners in your cupcake pan. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- In a mixing bowl, combine everything except the blackberry puree
- Blend with an electric mixer or hand mixer on medium until well combined
- Drop in blackberry puree by tablespoons while mixing on high.
- Mix until whipped together
- Put into a piping bag and top cupcakes.
- Add a single blackberry to frosting.
- Store in refrigerator covered for up to 2-3 days
- Add all ingredients to blender and puree.
- Add to a small saucepan and simmer for 8-10 minutes until thickens
- Remove from heat and let cool before using.
- Store extra covered in refrigerator up to 1 week.
You might also like:
Death by Chocolate Cupcake {gluten free + paleo}
 Blueberry Cupcake with Maple Buttercream Frosting {gluten free}
Baked Egg Ricotta Thyme Cups
Simple Lemon Rosemary Steamed Salmon
Superfood Peanut Butter Protein Breakfast Cookies
Blueberry Pie Overnight Oats {gluten free + vegetarian}
These look perfect!
Thanks Christine.
I love seeing fresh blackberries because they are one of my favorite things to eat! I love the combination of the lemon in these cupcakes. These are the perfect sweet treat!
These little cupcakes are so pretty! I love that the are both gluten free and paleo approved! They would be perfect for my GF best friend 🙂
I would say you deserve 2 cupcakes after all that! These are so pretty and they sound delicious!
So sorry about your bicep! I hope it starts feeling better for you soon. These cupcakes look delicious!
I am sorry about your injury! Needles terrify me. During my pregnancy my husband tried to get me to do acupuncture to help with morning sickness but I was just too big of a baby. lol Good luck in two weeks 😉
These cupcakes are gorgeous!!!! Pinned!
These look so good – love the blackberries on top!
Wow, I have a high tolerance for pain and can usually deal with anything, but needles moving inside you?! No thanks!! I am sure these cupcakes would make me feel 100x better, but still, would never do it 🙂
Smart girl Kacey, and yep these cupcakes did make me feel 100x better!
These are so beautiful, I’m loving all the fresh berries coming into season and they look perfect on these cupcakes. Glad to hear you were able to get some relief on your arm! Hope it continues to heal!
Thanks Ashlyn!
These look amazing! I love lemon and blackberry together. So pretty (and delicious, I’m sure)!
Thanks Becky!
Baking soda. How much to add??? Not listed in the ingredients:( But it is listed in the directions so that was my clue that it should be added!:)
Heidi, No baking soda. I fixed my mistake in the directions. Thanks for pointing it out.
Can this be made as one big cake instead of cupcakes?
You could make a cake out of the batter, depending on if you do a single or double layer cake you may not have enough frosting. If you want to make a double layer cake I would double the frosting recipe.
Coconut cream? The cream at the top of a can of coconut milk?
Kristin, Yes, the cream at the top.
Hi Amy,
It looks delicious! What could I substitute the coconut cream for?
Hi Diane, Heavy cream would work.