I had no intention of using the blackberries in cupcakes but I was on one of those end-of-the-season grocery store trips where I had this seasonal sense of urgency. “I didn’t eat enough tomatoes!” “There weren’t enough peaches in my diet!” “I promised myself I’d buy a case of apricots and I didn’t.” Somberly I dreamt of all the missed pies and cans of jam that I won’t get to tuck into in on a cold morning in January. Where did summer go?

So into my cart I tucked five pints of various colored cherry tomatoes, bags of soft peaches and fragrant nectarines and a flat of blackberries still dusty from the fields. The stone fruit never aspired to more than snacks for the kids and quite honestly I think the tomatoes had the same fate. But when a spontaneous evening sailing invitation came up and I volunteered to bring dessert to the little party, those blackberries found their calling.

This cake recipe is not new to this site. In fact I’m sure this is the third or quite possibly the fourth time it’s been printed here. It’s made so often in this house I have the recipe hand written and taped to the back of my cupboard for easy access. It’s delightfully easy (only takes one bowl!) and perfectly tender with a hearty chocolate flavor that satisfies my bittersweet cravings. At this point I should have it memorized. But the blackberries stirred carefully into the nearly black batter, now that is new and a very happy discovery. Tart cream cheese frosting and a bit of vanilla flecked salt was going to be the final flourish but a friend (hi, Krissy!) and I decided that a salty caramel would really put these little cakes over the top.

If I have completely missed the mark on sharing this recipe and berry season is well behind you, you’ll be happy to hear that frozen berries work very well and raspberries make a fine blackberry substitute. So regardless of the season these tart, sweet and oh so pretty cupcakes can shine any time of year.

One final word – for those of you who have shared your email address with me over the years you may have noticed a shiny, new surprise email from me! That’s right, I’ve become a big kid and started a newsletter. We’re aiming for this to be a monthly thing and we’ve got plans for all sorts of fun topics to discuss. This month we’re celebrating the in between – you know when the sun still shines but the leaves lose their green for shades of crimson and orange. Where peaches and apples briefly share the same shelf space and we can finally turn on the oven again without fear of overheating. There are a few recipes from the site that are my favorite to cook right now and then there’s a bonus recipe for a pungent Ginger, Pear Bourbon Punch that is perfect early Fall drinking. I’m aiming for a bonus recipe or something else definitely worth your while – so be sure to sign up!

Chocolate Blackberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese + Caramel

makes 3 8” inch layers or 24 cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar (I’ve used white or brown or a combination of the two and all work well)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup vegetable oil (or other, nearly flavorless oil)

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups warm water

4 cups blackberries (fresh or frozen)

//

Prepare two cupcake pans with liners.

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl until everything is well blended.

Add the wet ingredients and whisk to combine. Fold in the berries.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops slowly spring back when gently nudged.

Let cool in the pan for five minutes before finishings the cooling on a rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 (8-ounce) packages / 680 g cream cheese, at room temperature

1⁄2 cup / 115 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 - 2 cups confectioners’ sugar (depending on the desired amount of sweetness)

1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or the seeds from 1 vanilla bean

For the frosting:

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Stop the machine and add the confectioners’ sugar, salt, and vanilla. Turn on low and mix until combined.

Turn up the speed to medium and beat 4 minutes more.

The frosting can be made up to 1 week in advance and stored, covered, in the fridge.

Caramel

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup heavy cream

Flake salt

Combine the sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Bring a boil and let the sugar caramelize until it’s smoking and deep copper in color. I teeter the edge with my caramel - close to burnt so you get complex flavors rather than a flat, just-sweet, caramel.

Carefully add the cream (it will bubble up vigorously) then stir to combine.

Let cool.

Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cool. Drizzle on the caramel then top with flake salt.

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you… I could walk through my garden forever.”

– Alfred Tennyson

And in this garden of mine we would picnic everyday, as we did the other night. There would always be stiff Manhattans in the flask, sweet strawberry cupcakes in hand and rich chocolate pudding capped with bourbon whipped cream.

You’d pick me a flower just as two more would pop up next to us.

I could live in this ever-growing garden always, as long as you were there with me.

Strawberry Cupcakes // Chocolate Pudding

Strawberry Cupcakes
adapted from Look, I made that
makes 16-18 cupcakes

Strawberries are definitely not in season here and yet I needed these cupcakes. I imagine the flavor to be much more strawberry-like if the berries are used were ruby red throughout. I’ll try again in June. But regardless we ate them happily. These we topped with brown sugar buttercream and while delicious we decided that lightly sweetened whipped cream and sliced berry on top would have been wonderful too.

2 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tea vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean (optional)
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature, beaten
1 cup pureed strawberries
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 tea rose water (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with cupcake papers.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
Combine the vanilla seeds (if using), sugar and butter and beat until well combined. Add the eggs in a slow stream, beating well after each addition. Beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Gradually add the buttermilk mixture and beat for 1 minute at medium speed.
Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Stir in the pureed strawberries and the orange zest.
Spoon into the prepared cake pans and bake until the cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center, about 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from the pan.
Cool completely before frosting.

Brown Sugar Buttercream

4 large egg whites
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, sugar, and salt.

Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.

Transfer to the clean bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy and cooled, about 15 minutes.

Raise speed to high; beat until stiff peaks form. Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and whisk to combine.

Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 6
This really is the perfect classic pudding. The creamy texture is reminiscent of the boxed variety I remember and crave. And really, it's no more difficult to make. Unless you use the instant pack - that's way too easy and a little odd how it firms up so quickly. 
I used dark brown sugar instead of the white which added more richness and depth to the pudding but I imagine white is the more classic choice. I’ll leave it up to your pudding discretion.

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar (see note)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups whole milk
7 ounces chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 60% chips)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Whisk well to remove any lumps.
In a large saucepan bring the milk to a boil to a simmer. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and whisk together for one minute, or until thick. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and everything is well combined.
Transfer the pudding to a bowl, or individual bowls, and place wax paper or plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
Refrigerated until cold and set.

Bourbon Whipped Cream

There's no recipe except to add as much bourbon as you think necessary to a bit of whipped cream. I added nearly 2 tablespoons to about 1 1/2 cups of already whipped cream.