Passionfruit Butter

I am always, always looking for a reason to make dessert. If a loved one is stressed, if our house is sadly lacking in sweet carb-filled indulgences, if I’m itching to try out a new recipe or idea… I’m on it, and I’m armed with an electric mixer to boot. The same can be said whenever a holiday approaches, which is probably why I spent seven straight hours at exam time last December making peppermint bark and seven variations of scrumptious cookies for the entire upper school. (Hey, what can I say? Inescapable stress and holiday season are a double whammy of a justification for baking.)

The 4th of July is tricky, though, because the colors of our flag call to mind that all-too-familar protest: “But there’s nothing in nature that’s blue.” Well, exactly, and I was certainly not in the mood to whip up a blue cake. So in spite of the common response to that popular refrain (“but blueberries are naturally occurring, and they’re blue!”) – you know, the response that says, well, actually, blueberries are purple – I decided to make those lovely indigo fruits a main ingredient in this year’s 4th of July confection: red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and blueberry compote. Not that I’m the first person to use blueberries on the 4th, but I found that blueberries in compote form reconcile themselves much more agreeably with the red velvet cake, complementing rather than competing. You’ll notice a resounding affirmation that, indeed, these blueberries aren’t blue… but I swear it was worth it. So, so worth it.