Mini Blackberry Cupcakes

These Mini Blackberry Cupcakes have little vanilla bases, richly-coloured buttercream flavoured with juicy blackberries and a fresh berry decoration to finish.

Updated 2026 · Now with a printable recipe, the original 2009 post is preserved underneath.

Save

These blackberry cupcakes followed an earlier recipe for Crushed Raspberry Cupcakes; the two recipes are very similar. The raspberry ones had been larger cupcakes whereas the fresh blackberry cupcakes are mini muffin sized. The other difference was how I piped the buttercream; here I piped the blackberry frosting with a star nozzle which gives a more professional appearance. On the raspberry ones I’d pasted it on free-form with a knife. You could switch around for the bigger size and more rustic method used in the raspberry ones if you like.

Print Recipe

Mini Blackberry Cupcakes

Servings: 24 mini cupcakes

Equipment

• 2 x 12 hole mini muffin tins lined with mini muffin cases
• Piping bag optional - fitted with star nozzle

Ingredients

For The Cupcakes:

• 125 g butter unsalted, softened
• 125 g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 125 g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For The Blackberry Buttercream:

• 150 g butter unsalted, softened
• 300 g icing sugar sifted - plus a bit extra to thicken the icing
• 150 g fresh blackberries
• 1 dab blue gel food colouring

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C (gas mark 4).
• In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, and mix until just blended.
• A third at a time, beat in the flour and vanilla until just combined.
• Spoon the batter evenly between the cupcake cases and bake for 10-12 minutes. Leave in the tin to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely.
• Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and icing sugar until smooth. Next take 6-7 blackberries and a dab of blue food colouring. Crush these into the buttercream until completely mixed. As the berries release juice, you may need some extra icing sugar to return the buttercream to thicker consistency.
• Pipe little swirls of the blue buttercream onto the cooled cupcake bases.
• Decorate the tops with the remaining fresh blackberries and serve.

Notes

These cupcakes are best eaten the same day as the berries will make the icing wet, but if presentation isn't an issue, they are fine to chill and eat for a couple of days - the fresh fruit means they need to go in the fridge for storage if not eating same day.

I have been very quiet this week.  My dad has been staying in the spare room where computer is so I’ve not been able to get on here first thing in the morning when I do most of my blogging.

Earlier in the week I made this batch of mini cupcakes following in the theme of my recent Crushed Raspberry Cupcakes .

The blackberries give the butter icing a sludgy lilac colour by themselves so I have added some blue food colouring here to make the icing more blackberry-like.  Personally I felt it very refreshing to see some real blackberries instead of meaning I was talking about a smart phone.  It is ironic how the word blackberry is now in common parlance yet the fruit itself is a relative rarity in the supermarket.

This weekend I am donating some cupcakes to my local National Childbirth Trust Nearly New Sale.  I will post pictures when they are decorated.