Blueberry and Lemon Polenta Cupcakes

Its been a fabulous day today, lovely sunshine, and perfect for go out meeting up with some lovelies.
I had the pleasure to go to a surprise baby shower and had such a good time chatting with everyone.

When i was asked to do some baking, i was soo delighted, because being eyeing up a couple of recipes that i want to try out.  So i was more than happy to flex my arms out and experiment in my kitchen.

I have chosen to bake Blueberry & Lemon cupcakes taken from 'Cupcakes' by Susannah Blake. It caught my eye because this cake is abit unconventional, where you use golden polenta which is corn meal powder which is very popular in Italian food.  Because i personally like cakes that are light and fluffy and not too sweet - so finding out this just stirred my curiosity to try this recipe out.

Here are some pics of my late night baking:

Blueberries sinking into the mixture - and ready to be in the oven

This little one is my first taste tester

Just to show everyone how fluffy it came out :)

All baked now being to cool off

And i am not disappointed, once baked because of the golden polenta, the cake have a natural golden colouring, when bite into it its crispy outside, but very moist inside. Then with the tangy juicy burst from the blueberries and the cream cheese with a hint of lemon just make you feel in heaven.  Goes well with nice cuppa tea.
 I am particular pleased when i finished it off this morning with the cream frosting, and when i add the blueberries as a topping then sprinkle whats left of my grated lemon zest - it just look soo colourful and really matching to a sunny day. 

Lemony Cream Cheese frosting &  a blueberry topper

Sprinkle of lemon zest - voila! ready for party!

 I had such good feedback from everyone, that i'm all hooked out looking for cakes that uses polenta :) and bigger nudge to look for more unusual cupcake recipes to try out in the future. 

Make approx 10

Ingredients:

Cake
50g Golden Polenta
40g Plain Flour
1tspn Baking powder
1Tbspn Creme Fraiche
1.5Tbspn Sunflower Oil
grated zest of 1 Lemon
1Tbspn Lemon Juice
1 Egg
50g Caster Sugar
60g Fresh Blueberries

Frosting
150g Light Cream Cheese
100g Icing Sugar, sifted
1/2 tspn grated lemon zest
1Tbspn Lemon Juice
60g fresh Blueberries
strip of lemon zest

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 180F (350F), then line the cupcake tin with paper cases.
2)Combine the polenta, flour and baking powder in a bowl, then set aside.  Beat the creme fraiche, oil, lemon zest and juice together in a jug, then set aside.
3)In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and sugar together for about 4 minutes until thick and pale, then add the lemon mixture and fold in. Sift the polenta mixture over the top and fold in to combine.
4)Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, then drop about 4 blueberries on top of each one, gently pressing them into the mixture. Bake for 15-16 minutes until risen and golden and s skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5)To decorate, beat the cream cheese in a bowl until creamy, then beat in the icing sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Swirl big dollops of frosting on top of the cakes and decorate with fresh blueberries and strips of lemon zest.

Tip:
I baked the cupcake buns the night before, then in the morning finished off with the cream cheese frosting, that would make it really fresh, and wont get the sticky frosting going everywhere, and looking fabulous!

Happy Baking!