Chocolate Cupcakes With Spinach And Blueberries Recipes

Steps:

• Make sneaky chef purple puree (this recipe calls for 3/4 cup) by cooking the spinach and blueberries until soft. I microwave them for 4 minutes, but you could also put them in a pan and gently cook (covered). Take the cooked spinach and blueberries and puree them in the food processor or blender. I find that the liquid that cooked off from the spinach is the right amount to make the puree work. Process until smooth. You don't want the texture to give away the presence of the veggies! 1 cup of each makes approximately 3/4 cup of "purple puree" and I find that whatever the yield has worked in this recipe.
• Preheat oven to 350°F and prep your pan(s) with cooking spray or liners.
• Melt the butter and chocolate chips together. I use 30 seconds in the microwave, but you could do this over the stove.
• Stir together the wet ingredients (melted butter and chocolate, pureed spinach and blueberries, egg, vanilla, and sugar).
• Whisk together the dry ingredients (white flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt). If you follow sneaky chef, the original recipe called for 1 cup of her flour blend.
• Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.
• Pour into cupcakes or mini-bundt pans. I got 16 of the little silicon mold cupcakes or 6 of the wilson mini-bundt pan size.
• Bake at 350°F for 23 to 25 minutes for the cupcakes. I baked at 340°F for 25 minutes. You'll know they are done when the top springs back to the touch, or when a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool completely before tasting. If you taste these while warm, you can kind of smell the spinach even though you can't taste it. The large amount of vanilla helps cover any spinach smell that might linger.

Steps:

• Make the topping: Mix together granulated and brown sugars and cinnamon.
• Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in upper third of oven. Line cups of a standard muffin tin with baking cups. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour. Fold in blueberries.
• Divide batter among baking cups. Add topping, pressing to adhere to batter. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 20 to 21 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tin, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Make the icing: Beat together butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and gradually beat in vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat 1 minute. Spoon jam on top of icing, and without stirring, spoon icing into a disposable pastry bag. Snip off a 3/4-inch opening in tip, and pipe swirled mounds of icing on top of each cupcake. Although best if eaten immediately, cupcakes can be refrigerated up to 6 hours and brought to room temperature 45 minutes before serving.