My favorite way to make fruit-flavored buttercream is always with freeze dried fruit. It gives the frosting the most authentic flavor without compromising the consistency of the buttercream. So whenever I’m perusing the freeze-dried fruit selection at my local grocery store, I always check to see what kinds are available. When I saw that freeze-dried blueberries were a thing I just had to snatch them up for a buttercream recipe!

Amazing Natural Color and Flavor

This blueberry buttercream has the most authentic flavor and the natural color is just unreal. You make it by grinding freeze-dried blueberries into a powder using a food processor, then adding them to the buttercream. 

One thing I’ve noticed is that different brands of blueberries can yield slightly different colors. This is because of a natural pigment found in all blueberries called anthocyanin. Different types of blueberries have slightly different pigments. For example, wild blueberries have more of a red-violet pigment (like you see here) and cultivated blueberries have more of a deep blue or indigo pigment. 

To give you some visual examples of how this can affect the resulting buttercream color, I made this lemon cake with blueberry buttercream using these freeze-dried blueberries from Trader Joe’s and got more of a bluish purple color.

Then for this buttercream recipe, I used Natierra Organic Freeze-Dried Blueberries and it turned out way more red-violet, but with the same amazing blueberry flavor. Pretty wild! 

What are Freeze-Dried Blueberries?

The process of freeze drying removes all the liquid from the berries while keeping the color and flavor intact. The blueberries are essentially frozen, and then the ice is vaporized after that. This preserves all the nutrients of the blueberries, since the only element eliminated is the water content. The process also makes the blueberries dry enough to grind into powder for flavoring and dying foods like buttercream. 

You can usually find freeze-dried berries in the snack section at your local grocery store. I’ve seen them at New Seasons, Whole Foods, Target, Costco, and Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find them locally, Amazon is also a great resource. Just make sure they’re freeze-dried and not just dried. 

Can I Use Fresh or Frozen Blueberries?

Since both fresh and frozen blueberries still contain a ton of water, you can’t do a straight substitution in this recipe. Adding all that water content will make your buttercream split, plus the flavor won’t be as powerful. If you can’t find freeze dried blueberries locally or online, I’d recommend trying a reduced blueberry pureè to flavor the buttercream instead. That will mean pureèing the blueberries, then cooking them down in a saucepan to remove as much liquid as you can. 

What to Pair with Blueberry Buttercream

Here are some of my favorite cakes to pair with this blueberry buttercream:

• Lemon Cake
• Vanilla Cake
• Chocolate Cake
• Vegan Vanilla Cake
• Vegan Chocolate Cake

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Freeze-Dried Blueberry Buttercream

This delicious blueberry buttercream is packed with amazing flavor, natural color, and is the perfect consistency for decorating cakes and cupcakes.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Servings 3 Cups

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup (18g) freeze-dried blueberries
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 Tbsp (45ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar
• pinch of salt

Instructions

• With a food processor, grind the blueberries into a powder and set aside.
• Whip the butter using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until it’s creamy and light in color (5 minutes). Add vanilla, milk, and blueberry powder and continue to mix on medium until fully combined.
• Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on low speed, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition. Add a pinch of salt and mix on low speed until fully combined and smooth, 1-2 minutes. 

Notes

Make it Ahead: This buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for one day, or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Bring it back to room temperature and re-mix with your mixer on low speed to bring it back to frosting consistency. 

Make it Vegan: you can easily substitute the butter in this recipe with your favorite vegan butter sticks. I like to use Earth Balance brand. Then substitute the whole milk in this recipe with your favorite non-dairy milk. Coconut and soy milk yield the best results in my opinion. 

Yield: This buttercream makes enough to:

• Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
• Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe. 

What will you do with your blueberry buttercream? Let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe!

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