Blueberry Key Lime Cupcakes
These cupcakes are soft, citrusy, and topped with a blueberry cream cheese frosting that gets its color from real blueberries. I make the blueberry sauce myself, so the flavor stays bright and genuinely blueberry. It's one of my favorite ways to bring blueberries and key lime together for spring.
What I Love About My Blueberry Key Lime Cupcakes
Key lime and blueberry are one of my favorite spring pairings. I love turning both into a from-scratch dessert with real, fresh fruit flavor.
- You get soft, tall cupcakes every time, since I skip creamed butter for whipped egg whites and oil.
- The blueberry frosting comes from a real blueberry sauce I simmer myself, giving it a naturally deep purple color.
- I use fresh key lime zest for a bright, true citrus flavor in every bite.
- These cupcakes work for pretty much any spring occasion, from Easter brunch to a baby or bridal shower.
- I use this same batter a lot because the texture never lets me down. It’s the same method I use for my maple bacon cupcakes.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredient Notes
- Egg whites – Room temperature egg whites whip up to a bigger volume than cold ones. That trapped air is what gives these cupcakes their lift.
- Vegetable oil – Any neutral oil works here, like canola or avocado oil. Oil keeps cake batters moist for longer than butter does, since it stays liquid even after the cupcakes cool.
- Key limes – This recipe uses just the zest, for a clean, bright citrus flavor throughout the batter. If key limes aren’t available, you can use zest from one or two regular limes instead. The flavor will be a little less bright, but it still works.
- Buttermilk – Low-fat buttermilk keeps the crumb soft and adds a gentle tang, and it’s the version I use in this recipe. I find that low fat one works best.
- Cream cheese – Use the full-fat, brick-style kind, rather than whipped or reduced-fat tub kind, for the best frosting results. Let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before beating, so it blends smooth without lumps.
How to Make Blueberry Key Lime Cupcakes
- Make the blueberry sauce – Simmer the blueberries with sugar and lemon juice about 15 minutes, lid cracked, stirring so it doesn’t boil over.
- Strain and puree – Set aside about 3 tablespoons of the juice for drizzling later, then puree the rest for the frosting base.
- Whip the egg whites and sugar to full volume – Using the paddle attachment, beat egg whites a few seconds, then stream in the sugar. Beat 3-4 minutes until truly white and fluffy. This whipped foam is what gives the cupcakes their lift, so it’s worth getting right before you move on.
- Stream in the oil – With the mixer still running, pour in the oil slowly so it emulsifies into the batter. Pouring it in too fast, or mixing too long once it’s in, can weigh down the foam.
- Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk – Lower the speed and alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk in two parts, mixing just until combined. Stirring too long here develops the gluten, which makes the crumb tough and heavy.
- Add the key lime zest – Mix in the zest on low speed, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl so it’s fully incorporated.
- Fill, bake, and cool – Divide the batter among the liners, filling each about two-thirds full, and bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes. The toothpick should come out clean, and if the centers still look wet, bake another minute or two. Ovens vary, so the middle cupcakes sometimes need a little longer than the ones near the edges. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will melt right off.
- Make and finish the frosting – Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Lower the speed and beat in the powdered sugar and the reserved blueberry sauce. Turn the speed back up to medium-high and beat 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and drizzle the reserved blueberry juice over the top.
Occasions for Blueberry Key Lime Cupcakes
- These are great cupcakes for Easter brunch.
- The soft citrus and berry flavors work well for Mother’s Day or any spring get-together.
- For a baby or bridal shower, arrange them on a tiered stand with lime wheels and blueberries around the base.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat Blueberry Key Lime Cupcakes
- Make Ahead: Bake and frost the cupcakes up to a day ahead, then keep them in the refrigerator, covered airtight, until ready to serve. Muffin pan with a lid works perfectly. I don’t recommend making the frosting ahead on its own, since it never rewarms evenly once it’s chilled.
- Store: in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 3-4 days, since the frosting needs to stay cold. Let them sit out about 15 minutes before serving so the frosting softens a little.
- If they’re not frosted yet, they’re fine at room temperature, covered, for a day or two.
- Freeze: unfrosted cupcakes typically freeze well, wrapped airtight, for about 2-3 months. This exact recipe hasn’t been tested for freezing, so bake a test batch first if it’s for a big event.
- Reheat: these don’t need reheating, just thaw frozen cupcakes in the refrigerator overnight, then bring to room temperature before serving.
Blueberry Key Lime Cupcakes Recipe FAQs
Why are my key lime cupcakes dense?
There are three main causes for this type of batter:
Deflated egg whites – stirring too hard or too much after egg whites are whipped knocks the air back out.
Oil added too fast – pouring it in quickly or overmixing once it’s in can weigh down the foam.
Overmixed flour – stirring too long or too fast after the flour goes in develops gluten, which makes the crumb tough and heavy.
Does whipped cream frosting work on blueberry key lime cupcakes?
Yes, my whipped cream cheese frosting works here too. Add the reserved blueberry sauce about a tablespoon at a time while it whips. Keep the sauce cold, since warm sauce melts whipped cream fast.
How many cupcakes does this recipe make?
This recipe makes 12-14 standard-size cupcakes. Yield can shift a little depending on your pan and how full you fill each cup. Keep an eye on the batter level if you’re using a different size tin.
Why doesn’t my blueberry frosting taste enough like blueberries?
You can always add more actual blueberry sauce onto the cupcake itself. Adding too much to the frosting will loosen it too much. So you can make double the amount of sauce and drizzle some on a warm cupcake, before adding the frosting. This will increase the blueberry flavor in the overall cupcake.
More Recipes From Me
- Strawberry Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting
- Boston Cream Cupcakes
- Key Lime Pie Cheesecake
- Key Lime Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies
- Berry Filled Cupcakes with Strawberry and Blueberry Marble Frosting
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Blueberry Key Lime Cupcakes Recipes
These cupcakes are soft, citrusy, and topped with a blueberry cream cheese frosting that gets its color from real blueberries. I make the blueberry sauce myself, so the flavor stays bright and genuinely blueberry. It's one of my favorite ways to bring blueberries and key lime together for spring.
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Servings: 12
Calories: 376kcal
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 cup low fat buttermilk
- Zest of 3 key limes
Blueberry Sauce:
- 1/2 pint blueberries
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lime juice from zested limes
Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 Tbsp blueberry sauce
- 1½ – 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Blueberry Sauce:
- Add blueberries into a small sauce pot, heating over medium heat.
- Add lemon juice and sugar. Stir well.
- Cover (leaving a crack for the steam to escape) and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often. (Watch it closely, it may over-run.)
- Strain off some juice (about 3 Tbsp) for topping the cupcakes and puree the rest in a blender.
Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Sift flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder together and set aside.
- Make sure your other ingredients are ready.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer (using paddle attachment), beat egg whites for a few seconds and slowly start pouring in sugar. Beat for 2-3 minutes, until white and fluffy.
- Start pouring in oil, slowly, as the eggs are still beating on medium-high.
- Add vanilla and lower the speed to low.
- Alternating, add flour mixture and buttermilk in two parts (still on low speed or stir). Mix until just combined. Do not overmix or mix for too long.
- Fold in key lime zest. Make sure to scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and mix gently until all incorporated.
- Divide batter among the cupcake cups, filling them about 2/3 of the day.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Cool completely before frosting!
Frosting:
- Beat butter and cream cheese together, on medium-high speed, until smooth, 1-2 minutes.
- Lower the speed to low and beat in powdered sugar and blueberry sauce.
- Turn up the speed back to medium-high and beat for about 3-4 minutes, until the frosting is light, smooth and fluffy.
- Frost the cupcakes and drizzle blueberry sauce that you've set aside on each cupcake.
Notes
- No key limes on hand? Use zest from 1-2 regular limes instead, though the flavor will be a little less tart.
- For more blueberry flavor: Make a double batch of the sauce and drizzle some over the warm cupcakes before frosting. Adding extra sauce to the frosting instead will loosen it too much.
Nutrition
Calories: 376kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 519IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 1mg
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Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
These cupcakes were very good. I used regular cupcake tins and baked for 15 minutes. The recipe yielded 20 regular sized cupcakes.
I did add extra powdered sugar to the frosting to make it more stable. Mine seemed very soft. Perhaps my cream cheese was too soft.
Overall, really good!
Perfect for Mother’s Day.
These came out as described, nice and airy, and taste delicious. I used a handheld beater since I don’t have a stand mixer. I’d definitely recommend a 20min bake time, though, mine looked perfect after 18min but the ones in the centre of my muffin tray collapsed as they weren’t *quite* cooked through.
Some ovens can run hot so unfortunately, it is hard to pinpoint the exact cook time. I am so glad you liked the recipe though.
These are really beautiful cupcakes – and i love the flavor profile. I too found the cupcake very dense and not at all as described. Instructions say to whip egg whites using a paddle attachment, which really doesnt incorporate as much air as the whisk? Perhaps thats the problem?
I was thinking the same thing. Im going to make them tonight, I will add the whipped eggs last and hand mix them into the batter.
Hey, I actually always use paddle attachment when making this cupcake batter and it’s my go to to airy cupcakes. These are the most common causes for cupcakes coming out dense:
Deflated Egg Whites: Over-folding or stirring too hard/too much after egg whites are whipped knocks the trapped air out of them.
Pouring oil too fast or overmixing once the oil is added can weigh down the delicate foam created by the egg whites.
Overmixing Flour: Stirring too long after adding flour develops gluten, which makes the crumb tough and heavy.
I really hope it helps!
I am looking forward to trying this out, I was hoping to make stabilized whipped cream as the frosting instead, will the blueberry sauce incorporate into the stabilized whipped cream?
Hi there! You can definitely use the whipped cream frosting on top just be careful not to add too much sauce. Add a tablespoon of blueberry sauce at a time while whipping the cream. (I would think it will take 2 tablespoons as well.) Make sure the blueberry sauce is cold when you drizzle some more on top because whipped cream will melt fast if the sauce is warm.
Enjoy!
I made these little wonders, but I made some extra puree and before I put thhe frosting on I scooped a little hole out of the top of each cake and filled it with puree. makes them a bit messy to eat but adds to the deliciousity!
Oh yea, great flavor burst! If you give them just a few minutes to soak in, it sounds like the cupcakes would be the bomb! Thank you, Annie!
Hi 🙂 I’m in Australia and just wondering if your cup measurements are metric ie: 1 cup = 250ml? Thanks Jody
Hey! Yes, I have a toggle right in the recipe card, you should be able to toggle it for metric. I hope it helps!
Hi there! I made these and they were great! Do you have any input regarding how long they can be made in advance? Or if the cupcake base can be frozen and thawed? Thanks!
Of course, you can make them a day ahead and store them in the cupcake pan with a lid. They should be refrigerated and covered air-tight. That’s why a domed lid the coves the baking pan is perfect. You can let cold cupcakes sit on the counter for about 30 minutes and they will warm up.
Absolutely beautiful! I’m so excited to try these out. How many will one batch make?
Thank you so much! It makes 12. I hope you will like it!
These look delicious. Do you only use the zest of the limes? Why lemon juice instead of lime juice?
Hi there! It’s actually just a habit of putting lemon juice when cooking fruit and berries. You can definitely use lime juice. Thanks, I’ll add that in.
I did use only lime zest in the cupcakes.
I hope you will try it 🙂
These cupcakes turned out SUPER dense and the frosting tasted of mostly cream cheese, there wasn’t enough blueberry flavor, just the color…
I’m not sure what went wrong there, but they’re very light and airy cupcakes. I’m sorry they didn’t turn out the way you hoped. I hope you will give them another try. Thank you!
I did put together the reasons why the cupcakes like these can come out dense:
Deflated Egg Whites: Over-folding or stirring too hard/too much after egg whites are whipped knocks the trapped air out of them.
Pouring oil too fast or overmixing once the oil is added can weigh down the delicate foam created by the egg whites.
Overmixing Flour: Stirring too long after adding flour develops gluten, which makes the crumb tough and heavy.
I really hope it helps!
So lovely! And perfect for Summer!
Thank you, Ashley!
These are gorgeous!! I love how you used the blueberries in the frosting! Yum!
Thank you, Megan!
These cupcakes are so gorgeous! I love that spoon too. Where did you get it? Be fearless is a message we can all use.
Thank you so much, Laura!!
I believe that the spoon was send to be as a gift from a brand I worked with. I’ve had it for a couple of years 🙂