Purple Blueberry Cupcakes - "Paint it Purple" campaign

This weekend I had a cupcake party and made a batch of purple cupcakes with the girls (esp Alice, Bec and Cat). 

Why purple?

I am taking part in the annual "paint in purple" campaign to help paint the internet purple and in turn raise awareness about violence against women. The campaign also raises funds for The Pixel Project which is "an innovative virtual volunteer-led non profit organisation using social media and online strategies to turbo-charge global awareness about violence against women while raising funds and volunteer power for the cause."

They raise money through purple cupcake bake sales (yum) and "Paint it Purple" parties. They emailed me and asked me if I would like to contribute a purple cupcake to their "Paint it Purple" cupcake recipe gallery and of course I accepted. Hopefully my cupcake recipe and photos, including others, with inspire people to have cupcake bake sales and give them recipes to try.

The symbol for The Pixel project is a white and purple ribbon. I was interested to read that purple was one of the three colours original used by the women suffrage movement and the white is to signify men and women working together to end violence. I tried to incorporate these colours in the flowers and balls (with a bit of shimmer just for fun!).

Making and eating cupcakes is always fun but to do it for a great cause is delicious and rewarding!


The "Paint it Purple" campaign is happening from 8 October – 24 November 2011. Have a look on the website http://paintitpurple.thepixelproject.net/ if you would like to know more, or submit a recipe.

Blueberry Cupcakes


230g caster sugar
110g unsalted butter, 60g melted and 50g at room temp
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
175g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
2 large eggs, beated
75ml crème friache or sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
120 ml milk
50ml single cream

1. Preheat then oven to 170C and fill your muffin tin with muffin cases. This mixture will make 15 muffin size cupcakes.
2. Cream together the caster sugar and butter (at room temp), stir in the vanilla bean paste.
3. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Beat eggs in a separate bowl and stir in the crème friache,  vanilla essence and melted butter. Beat this mixture into the main mixture with an electric whisk. (I added some blue and red food colouring here to make the cakes purple but when cooked it didn't come out as dark but you still sort of see it)
5. Stir in the milk and cream. The mixture will be quite runny, so transfer it to a jug and pour into the muffin cases. Fill just under two thirds full.

6. Pop 3-4 blueberries (depending on how many you like) into each case and push down. I like to do it this way to get an even distribution of blueberries.

7. Bake in the centre of the oven for 16 minutes. Remove the cakes when they are golden on top and when, pierced with a skewer, it comes out clean.

Blueberry buttercream

225g butter

250g icing sugar

pinch of salt (I have discovered this tip - it takes away the too sweetness - trust me!)

3 tbsp blueberry purée (100g blueberries, tbsp sugar, 30ml water - simmer in a pan and mash with a potato masher until purée like (10-15mins))


1. Schmoosh together the butter, sugar and blueberry puree. When it is mostly combined whisk it together with an electric whisk. I do this so the icing sugar doesn't go all over my kitchen (although I secretly love breathing in the icing sugar cloud!)
2. Add the salt, whisk until fluffy.


I covered the cakes with fondant icing flowers that I made with my new cutters!