Having recently feasted on a Cumbs Bake Shop “Almond Bliss” cupcake (pictured), I thought to gather some almond cupcake recipes for you.

How about a Vegan Chocolate Cupcake with Almond Buttercream and Raspberry Glaze?    The “Oh She Glows” blog site has both the recipe and fantastic photographs for step-by-step instructions, including a video to guide you through piping.

Or, how about Honey, Lavender, and Almond Cupcakes, complete with the directions for making your own lavender milk for the frosting?  The recipe from Lily Vanilli in England is in metrics, but worth the math exercise to get you there!

Finally, from the Love & Olive Oil site, let’s go for the Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting.  This yummy recipe includes almond extract, vanilla bean seeds, and coconut milk.

The lemon slices in my iced tea got me started on a recipe quest for lemons and limes.  The raspberries and blackberries were bonuses from the hunt. And remember, I’m out for fresh-picked berries, here in Upstate New York.

In the lemon category, I came across “Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes.”  Yum.  These tangy delights include lemon zest, lemon juice, and limoncello.  They’re topped with raspberries and lemon slices.

In the lime category, how about “Key Lime Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting?”  Yowee!  We’re talking lime juice, lime zest, lemon juice, and blackberries.

Now, the only question is whether it’s lemon followed by lime or lime followed by lemon?

Living in Upstate New York this time of year, we’re blessed with an abundance of fruits, like raspberries and blueberries. 

Inspired, I paraded through the Internet to locate recipes that have me headed straight for fresh picking tomorrow morning early so that I can head to the kitchen.

How about Raspberry Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream Frosting?  Wow!  But with only 4T of champagne in the frosting recipe…I better pass along my personal note that you can toss a few fresh raspberries into a flute of champagne et voila!  It’s time to have over your girlfriends in spades.

For the blueberries…did you know that freezing fresh blueberries for a few hours will stop them from sinking in the cupcake batter while baking?  Another idea is to dip them in flour, also to prevent sinking.  I settled on Chocolate Blueberry Cupcakes with a recipe calling for both bitter and sweet chocolates, goat cheese, and cinnamon.  Who needs a partner with this much comfort in a cup?

Enjoy the fresh pickings!