Blueberry Pie Cupcakes

Let's be honest: Fruity desserts are kind of wimpy. If I'm investing in calories, I want to go rich: chocolate and peanut butter and caramel and so much sugar my tongue hurts. I don't want some delicate, flaky little pastry posing as dessert. I need decadence.

But, lately, I've been on a blueberry kick. It started with blueberry fro-yo, which I discovered is quite delicious when paired with graham cracker crumbs, fresh fruit, and marshallow creme. (Trust me. Try it.) Then it was blueberry pie. I had to eat it, really—I was, after all, at a blueberry festival. 

As much as it pains to me to say it, it was incredible. 

So I was proven wrong. Fine. I'm okay with that. But I'm not ready to give up on decadence just yet. My compromise: I flipped the typical filling-crust ratio, creating a pie-inspired treat with lots and lots of crust and just a little filling. That way, I don't have to be that obnoxious person who serves myself a giant piece of crust and leaves behind the fruit filling. (I have no problem doing this.)

The final product was incredible. I filled cupcake liners halfway with crust batter, baked it, then piled on homemade fruit filling and oatmeal crumble and baked it again. It had all the buttery, flaky goodness of pie crust packed into a handheld vessel, and just enough fruit to justify it as breakfast.

Blueberry Pie Cupcakes
Adapted from Cakespy 

What you need

The crust
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 ½ cups flour
¼ tsp salt 

The filling
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
¼ cup brown sugar
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 Tbsp cinnamon

The topping
½ cup walnuts
1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats*
1 cup flour
 ¾ cup light brown sugar  
1 tsp cinnamon  
¼ tsp baking soda  
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened  

*I used 2 packets of Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal, plus ½ cup plain oats. I liked the extra maple note.   

Put it all together

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place liners in a cupcake pan.
2. To make the crust, beat the softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then add the flour, and mix on low speed until well-combined.
3. Spoon the dough into the cupcake liners, filling them about halfway. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Let cool completely.
4. To make the filling, heat the butter and brown sugar in a skillet over high heat. Add the blueberries, stirring occasionally (making sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet) for about 8 minutes. You can add a little bit of water if necessary to prevent scorching.
5. To make the topping, toast the walnuts for about 8 minutes. Let them cool, then chop them up. Combine the walnuts, oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda, and use two knives to cut in the butter until a coarse mixture forms. (Hint: Use your hands to create ½" clumps, which will yield a crispy crumb, rather than a loose crumble.)
6. Place a tablespoon of blueberry filling in the center of each pie crust cup. Top it with a liberal portion of oat crumb. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crumb is lightly browned and crispy.

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Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Butterscotch-Bourbon Sauce and Blackberries   
Fat Witch Bakery Lime Squares

The Best Bakeries in Los Angeles

Last weekend, I flew out to California to visit my best friend, Alicia, with plans to lay out, veg out, and dine out. But, then, she unexpectedly had to work on Sunday, which left her hubs with the job of babysitting me. Like me, he's a dessert addict, but because of Alicia's opposition to sugar, he suppresses his love of sweets. He rebelled. We took a tour of the best bakeries in Los Angeles—and ate multiple treats at every one. 

Porto's Bakery & Cafe in Glendale

We began our journey at Porto's Cafe, a Cuban bakery and sandwich shop—by far the cheapest of our stops. Our first pick was a Blueberry Yogurt Cupcake. Unfortunately, the presentation was the best part. The blueberry flavor was disappointingly mild, and the cake just tasted like normal yellow cake. 

Next up was the Cheese Roll, a flaky Cuban pastry that was absolutely delicious. (The filling was cheese like you'd find in a cheese danish, not the kind on a sandwich.) And it only cost $.70. Amazing.

We saved the best for last: Oreo Cheesecake. Creamy, sufficiently cookie-filled, and perfectly dense.

Next stop: Susina Bakery & Cafe. Warning: If you go here, ask the prices before making a purchase. The desserts are expensive! 

We started with Susina's signature cake, the Berry Blossom. The menu description made it sound delicious...

Three layers of vanilla sponge cake brushed with orange liquer, filled with white chocolate mousse and fresh berries. Decorated with crumbled meringue and white chocolate shavings. 

Sadly, this was another disappointment. The orange liquer was undetectable. The too-sweet mousse drowned out the berries. It just tasted like a heap of sugar. Not a Berry Blossom, whatever that means. And it cost me a small fortune. 

Don't be fooled by the appearance of decadence.
Source: Hisstyley.com

Next was the Apple Pie. Although equally expensive, this buttery, cinnamon- and sugar-coated baby was well worth the money. It was similar to traditional apple crumble, one of my favorite desserts, but with a more shortbread-like crust.

Source: brian1.net

We wrapped up our day of gluttony at Sprinkles Cupcakes, just off of Rodeo Drive. 

First up was the Carrot Cake Cupcake. I very nearly housed it in three bites. It was that good. The cake was moist, and the portion of icing was generous...exactly what I like in my cupcakes. 

Next up: Red Velvet Cupcake. Not bad, not amazing.

We finished with the Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcake. The frosting, made from dark chocolate, was a little too bitter for my sensitive sweet tooth. The marshmallow filling, however, was quite delightful, since I am a fan of sugar whipped into a fluffy frenzy. 

It was hard work finding the filling!