Book Nerd Mommy

raising readers

“Winnie the Pooh” and Blackberry Honey Cupcakes

“Winnie the Pooh” by A.A Milne and E.H Shephard

I have always thought Winnie the Pooh and his little clan looked like a jolly bunch, but to be honest they were never a big part of my childhood.  I don’t really know why, most likely because we didn’t get the T.V channel with the show when I was a kid and I never knew it was a book.  Either way, now that I have toddlers my curiosity has been peaked.  Generation after generation has loved Winnie the Pooh and I decided that maybe I was missing out.  Then when I saw this gorgeous edition from Folio Society I knew the time had come to see for myself.

Guess what? I absolutely adored every second reading this book.  It captures the innocence, joy and wonder of childhood and celebrates love and friendship.  I found myself literally smiling while reading it and am completely won over.  Let’s just say that I am absolutely certain that these charming critters will be a part of the childhood of my kiddos.  And this edition, I would be amiss not to mention how swoon-worthy it is! From the gold embossed linen spine and cover to the illustrations by E.H Shephard smattered throughout, to the short biographies of the author and illustrator at the end which make me love the story even more.  I will treasure it for years to come and can’t wait until I can share it with my kiddos.

Click here to purchase “Winnie the Pooh”

“Winnie the Pooh” inspired Blackberry Honey Cupcakes

There is a part toward the end of the book where Christopher Robin decides to host a party for Pooh in honor of him saving Piglet from a flood.  When Pooh finds out he excitedly asks “Will there be those little cake things with pink sugar icing?”.  Well, that immediately got me excited and the thought that naturally jumped in my head was cupcakes!  I decided then and there to create a cupcake recipe in honor of Winnie the Pooh that would be worthy of his little celebration (pictured in the interior photo above).

He mentioned pink icing so naturally my buttercream would be pink, but other than that I just thought of Winnie the Poohs preferences (bunny!) and bears in general, hence the Blackberry Honey cupcakes.  I think they turned out absolutely wonderfully and like to humor myself into thinking that were Winnie the Pooh real he would be quite pleased.  However, bear or not, they are incredibly scrumptious.

The pink icing is made with blackberry compote and the recipe calls for more than you need for the frosting so when you are done you can drizzle some over the top of your cupcakes.  It adds just the right amount of extra tartness and excitement.  Plus, I just had to have an excuse to use those adorable sugar bees that were still sitting around the celebration isle at Walmart…

Blackberry Honey Cupcakes

Created by on January 18, 2017

If you are making a cake instead of cupcakes I would recommend changing the honey to 1/4 cup and oil to 1/3 cup. Otherwise, without the cupcake liners it can be too sticky. Heavily grease your pan as well.

Ingredients

Honey Cake

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup honey

Blackberry Buttercream

  • 2 cups butter (4 sticks)
  • 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon blackberry compote
  • small pinch of salt
  • 4 cups confectioners sugar

Blackberry Compote

  • 1 cup fresh blackberries (heaping cup)
  • 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • juice from half of a lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
  2. In a large bowl mix together cake mix, whole milk, eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream and honey. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Then, scoop the batter into cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for 14-16 minutes until toothpick comes up clean from the center.
  3. To make the blackberry compote heat all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan over high heat. Mash the berries and other ingredients together as the berries begin to soften (I used a potato masher) and then stir once it is all mashed. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce begins to thicken and all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and press through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Let it cool to room temperature before using.
  4. After cupcakes have cooled make the frosting. Cream the butter, whipping cream and vanilla until light and fluffy. (Take your time beating.) Then add the salt and blackberry compote and gradually mix in the powdered sugar until desired consistency.
  5. Top with sugar bees or blackberries and drizzle with the remaining blackberry compote if desired.
Source: Book Nerd Mommy

If you give this Beyond the Book activity a try I’d love to hear how it goes! Share it on Instagram using hashtag #beyondthebook (I’m on Instagram as @book.nerd.mommy) or even just comment here with your thoughts. It would make my day! Or to simply save for later pin the image below.

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