Angel Food Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream

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

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