Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Fresh Blackberry Frosting: The Great Purple Cupcake Project

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       Today is Purple Day-The Global Day of Epilepsy Awareness.  It’s also the day of The Great Purple Cupcake Project in which bakeries and cupcakeries are asked to promote purple cupcakes for Epilepsy Awareness and donate a portion of the profits to The Anita Kaufmann Foundation.  

     Since I don’t have my own bakery, I simply made purple cupcakes to share with my family and friends.  I made vanilla bean cupcakes with a gorgeous purple blackberry frosting.  They are now my new favorite cupcake.  The cupcakes are rich and flavorful with a sweet and tart blackberry frosting.  I made them in miniature but they would be just as good full sized.
Johnna and I

     The reason I wanted to talk about Purple Day is because of my cousin Johnna.  Johnna is nine years old and was diagnosed with epilepsy.  While she can do many things that other children do she does have certain limitations.   Most of her seizures occur during the night time and to look at her you would never know she has epilepsy. 

 A few quick facts about epilepsy:

  • 3 million people in the United States and 50 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy.
  • Epilepsy is a group of disorders of the central nervous system, specifically the brain, and is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures
  • In the U.S., it affects more than 300,000 children under the age of 15–more than 90,000 of whom have seizures that cannot be adequately be treated.
  •  Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the U.S. after Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.
For more information on Epilepsy Awareness and Purple Day please visit the Purple Day website at:  http://www.purpleday.org/index.php .
Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Fresh Blackberry Frosting (a Hezzi-D original)
For the cupcakes:
1 ¼ c. flour
1 ¼ t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
2 eggs
1 vanilla bean
1 T. Godiva white chocolate liqueur
½ c. butter (1 stick)
½ c. low fat milk
For the fresh blackberry frosting:
1 c. blackberries plus more for decorating
3-4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
½ c. butter (1 stick)
1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a mini cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 

2.      Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Set aside. 

3.      In a large bowl beat the eggs.  Add in the sugar and mix for 30 seconds.  Stir in the butter and mix well.  Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the bowl and add the Godiva white chocolate liqueur.  Mix until well combined. 

4.      On low, mix half the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, then add in half the milk, then the rest of the flour, and then the rest of the milk.  Mix until just combined.  

5.      Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake tin filling each cup 2/3 of the way full.  Bake for 13-17 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. 

6.      Cool on a wire rack. 

7.      Meanwhile mash the blackberries in a bowl with a fork.  Place them inside of cheesecloth with a large bowl underneath. Squeeze until there is a good amount of juice in the bowl.  Be careful as blackberry juice will stain. 

8.      In a large mixing bowl beat the blackberry juice and butter with a hand mixer.  Add in the vanilla.  Stir in the powdered sugar half a cup at a time until the frosting reaches the desired consistency.  

9.      Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.  Top each with half a blackberry.

This post linked to:
Meatless Mondays, Mangia Mondays, Making You Crave Monday, Mouthwatering Monday 
Sweets for a Saturday, Seasonal Inspiration
Recipe Lion BlogHop

5 Comments

  1. These cupcakes look fabulous. I just love the color that the blackberries give the frosting. Johnna is adorable. These are the perfect cupcakes for a great cause. 😀 -Kim

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