Berry Sweet...only crumbs

Blackberry Cupcakes with Key Lime Buttercream

These went so quick, I don't even have a picture but I do have one awesome recipe.  This is 100% Sweet Mary's own recipe.

Basic cupcakes with blackberry reduction

3 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup potato flour (can replace with 1/4 c flour)
1 TBSP Baking powder
1/2 TS Salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup blackberry reduction sauce (see below)
1/4 cup milk
1 TBSP vanilla

Whip egg whites into a merrange and set aside
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and set aside
Mix reduction sauce, milk and vanilla in a bowl and set aside
Cream sugar and butter
Add egg yolks, one at a time.  Mix thoroughly before adding the next egg
Alternate adding flour and liquid mixture, starting and ending with flour
Fold in egg whites
Scoop batter into lined cupcake pans
Bake 20-25 minutes at 350

Blackberry Reduction
2 cups blackberries
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP amaretto

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat over medium heat stirring constantly.  As blackberries begin to breakdown, smash them with a spoon against the side of the pan.  Once berries are broken, remove from heat and strain through a metal strainer. Push as much of the berry through the strainer as possible.  Return sauce to heat and cook on medium stirring constantly until sauce coats the back of a spoon.  If the reduction does not create 3/4 cup of sauce for the recipe, use more milk to achieve one cup of liquid in the recipe.

Keylime Buttercream
This recipe makes for a lot of buttercream so cupcakes can be topped with a large amount of frosting similar to a cupcake bakery

2 lbs powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)
1 TBSP Key lime zest
1 TBSP Key lime juice
5 TBSP Milk

Zest key limes and extract liquid.  Mix all ingredients together at low speed until incorporated then at high speed.  Add more milk if necessary to obtain desired texture.

Assembly:

Spread a small amount of frosting on each cake.  Add sliced fresh blackberries.  Pipe buttercream over the blackberries using an over sized frosting tip.  Top with a fresh blackberry and sprinkle with turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw).  ENJOY