This eye-catching blueberry frosting boasts a natural vibrant purple hue as well as an irresistible fruity flavor, all thanks to freeze-dried blueberries! Made with a classic American buttercream base, it comes together with just 6 ingredients. It’s a beginner-friendly recipe that looks as impressive as it tastes.
✨Trang’s Recipe Highlights
- TASTE: freeze-dried blueberry delivers a vibrant burst of blueberry flavor.
- TEXTURE: heavy whipping cream adds fluffiness as well as creaminess while also making it lighter.
- EASE: even if you never made buttercream frosting before, don’t worry, you will succeed with my step-by-step recipe.
- WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: the stunning purple color is completely natural, it’s going to make your cakes stand out and steal the show – like this lemon blueberry cake!
- VARIATIONS: swap out freeze-dried blueberries for strawberries or raspberries to create beautiful pink frostings instead – like this strawberry cream cheese frosting!
Gather your ingredients
You need just 6 ingredients to make this blueberry frosting. As always, the complete list of ingredients with quantities is in the recipe card. But here are some notes on the key ingredients.
- Unsalted butter – always use unsalted butter for frosting. I don’t recommend substituting salted butter or you’ll end up with really salty frosting.
- Cream – I use heavy whipping cream instead of milk to lighten the frosting without thinning it out too much – making it fluffier and creamier.
- Freeze-dried blueberries – this, my friends, is the not-so-secret secret ingredient that makes your blueberry frosting so amazing and beautiful – adding all the flavor without making the frosting thin or watery. I usually get all of my freeze dried fruits at Target. Blueberries come in 2 oz bags.
Types of blueberries
I think freeze-dried blueberries are the best way to incorporate blueberry flavor to buttercream frosting without adding too much liquid. Fresh blueberries on their own can make the frosting too wet, so I don’t suggest adding them directly. If you really want to use fresh berries, your best bet is to cook them down into a very thick blueberry compote or jam first. Then, add it to the frosting a little at a time, just enough to avoid making it too runny.
Yes! I’ve used Bonne Maman blueberry jam before to make a blueberry cake frosting, and it works nicely. I’ve added up to ½ cup of jam in place of the freeze-dried blueberries in this recipe.
That said, keep in mind that a single bag of freeze-dried blueberries is equivalent to about 2 cups of fresh fruit, so it delivers a much more concentrated flavor. With jam, you can only add so much before the frosting starts to get too thin, which means you might not get that same bold blueberry punch or tanginess.
Pairing suggestions
🍋 Lemon and blueberry are a match made in heaven dessert – like peanut butter and jam but with a zesty twist! Use this frosting on lemon cupcakes for a small but mighty flavor combo.
🍪 Want to recreate that tangy magic? Pair this frosting with soft lemon cookies for a bright, punchy bite.
🧁 Give vanilla cupcakes a fruity upgrade by swapping out chocolate frosting for this vibrant blueberry version. Want to take it even further? Fill the cupcakes with blueberry jam for a fun surprise inside!
🍍 For a tropical twist, try pairing this frosting with pineapple cupcakes! It’s the ultimate fruity treat that feels like sunshine in every bite!
Hungry for more?
Blueberry Frosting Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 bag freeze-dried blueberries, 2 oz, 56 g
- 8 oz unsalted butter, 2 sticks, 227 g, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 140 g
- A big pinch of kosher salt
- 6 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, 90 g, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Grind the freeze-dried blueberries – Add the entire bag of freeze-dried blueberries to your food processor or high speed blender and process until a fine powder forms. Set aside for now. TIP: Don’t grind the blueberries too far in advance—exposure to humidity can cause the powder to clump.1 bag freeze-dried blueberries
- Cream the butter – In your stand mixer bowl, beat the softened butter on medium to medium high speed until it is light, fluffy, creamy. TIP: The color of the butter should go from pale yellow to white.8 oz unsalted butter
- Add the powdered ingredients – Add powdered sugar, along with the freeze-dried blueberry powder set aside earlier and a big pinch of kosher salt. Stir first to combine to prevent the powdered sugar from puffing up. Then gradually increase mixer speed to medium high and beat until completely incorporated and creamy. TIP: You can sift the blueberry powder to get rid of seeds and big pieces for a smoother frosting if preferred.1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, A big pinch of kosher salt
- Add the liquid – Add the vanilla extract, and stream in the heavy whipping cream a little at a time while beating at medium low speed to incorporate. Then continue beating on medium high until the frosting is light and fluffy. NOTE: Incorporating liquid in small increments helps prevent the frosting from splitting, but if your frosting happens to split or curdle, don’t worry, just keep beating and it will come back together.½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 6 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Notes
- How to soften butter: Set the butter on your countertop to come to room temperature before making the frosting. Just 30 minutes to an hour will soften it enough without being too soft. You should be able to make an indentation with your finger when pressed but it shouldn’t fall apart.
- Runny frosting: First, make sure you are not using melted butter or your frosting will be runnier. If you notice the frosting is getting too loose, hold back some liquid at the end or add more powdered sugar to stiffen it up. However, before resorting to adding more sugar, which will make the frosting sweeter, I recommend refrigerating it first, frost 15-30 minutes, to allow it to firm up before using.
- Using fresh blueberries or blueberry jam: You’ll want to cook fresh blueberries down into a very thick compote or jam first before using. For store bought jam, you can use between ¼ – ½ cup for this recipe. Note that the flavor may not be as vibrant.
- Yield: This blueberry frosting recipe makes just a tad over 2 cups, enough to frost 12 – 15 cupcakes or a 2-layer 6” cake. Scale up the recipe 1.5x to 2x for a 2-layer 8” cake.
- Storage: Blueberry buttercream frosting can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature and re-whip until fluffy before using.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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