It’s been a bit of a soul-searching week for me. Starting with this mantra on Monday – I’ve been going back and forth between cleansing, energizing, and rediscovering my passions and values. Pretty emotional…and it’s still only Thursday! (Good thing I have friends like K who I can count on to enjoy life and its endless desserts with me.)

It wasn’t intentional, but these blueberry lemon cupcakes kind of represent how I’ve been feeling. There’s the pure comfort and delight of blueberries, which remind me of simple backyard family time. Our go-to summer dessert was always fresh berries over whipped cream and pound cake. They’re like home base. Soul food. The lemon is everything I want to be right now. Bright, vivacious, to-the-point. A boost of energy and excitement. The goal is to marry these two lovely flavors to create heartfelt impact.

Well ok, that was just a long winded way to say that these are yummy cupcakes. It’s no surprise these two flavors go so well together – add in some cream cheese frosting and you’ve got a no frills (or super complex if you look at it through my feelings) summer dessert. Perfect for sharing with girlfriends at book club on a candlelit deck.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Cupcakes – makes about 20 cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups plus and extra 2 tablespoons flour, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoon. baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Zest of 1 large lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line muffin tins with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in lemon zest, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice. Alternate incorporating flour mixture and milk into the batter.
4. Toss blueberries in the extra 2 tablespoons of flour and gently fold blueberries into the batter. Pour into cupcake cups and bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating pans half way.
5. For the frosting, beat all the ingredients together and frost on cooled cupcakes. Top with more blueberries and lemon zest.

Tell me about one of your summer dessert memories. Or a dessert that embodies how you’re feeling today. Sometimes it’s just a little easier to process your worries and ideas when you break them down to simple sugar and butter.