Cupcake of the Week: Wait is that VINEGAR? Blueberry Cupcake || Week 21

One of the weirder taste experiences I had while visiting the motherland (which in case you were confused by my generally non super specific Asian features, is Japan) was at the huge department store Takashimaya.  In their "exhibitor gallery" space which was at first a totally foreign concept, but was in fact more like the best parts of Costco combined into one small space, we wandered the aisles sampling pickles, cakes, cookies, ice cream, salted meats, and drinking vinegar.  Wait. Wait wait.  Drinking vinegar?

Why yes.  Apparently it's quite common to find a Japanese person sipping a concoction of a sweet dessert vinegar (similar to a reduced balsamic) mixed with soda water or even MILK.  It's good for digestion.  And it's surprisingly just plain good.  So while I realize this is a cupcake with a slightly more exotic ingredient, I say, take this recipe and use it as justification for a little weekend trip to Tokyo!

Wait is that VINEGAR Blueberry Cupcake
yield 2 dozen mini cupcakes || 20 minutes prep; 25 minutes cook

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup muddled blueberries

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. in a bowl mix together all of the ingredients, adding the blueberries last. line your cupcake tray and fill each cupcake 2/3 of the way full. bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. this recipe will yield 2 dozen mini cupcakes.

blueberry vinegar frosting

1/2 cup (one stick) of butter
1 box of powdered sugar
1 tbsp whole milk
2 tbsp blueberry vinegar
blue sprinkles to garnish

in a bowl whip the softened butter until it's nice and smooth. slowly incorporate the powdered sugar, milk + vinegar, alternating until you've reached your desired consistency.  garnish with a sprinkle of blue for a nice blueberry touch.