Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

As a last pitch for your Valentine’s baking this year, today I’m sharing these perfect chocolate raspberry cupcakes that are chocolatey, a little tart, and very fluffy and soft. I filled them with raspberry curd, topped them with chocolate ganache, and overall it’s SO good!

The cupcakes are simple to make and I have several variations that you can work with here- let’s get to it!

How to Make Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

For the cupcakes, we’re using a pretty simple ingredient list including buttermilk and sour cream to make the cupcakes extra soft and pillowy. To start off we’re whisking the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, including flour, dutch-processed cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. For this recipe that’s buttermilk, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract. You want to just whisk until everything comes together, but some lumps are ok here; everything will smooth out once you add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture.

Scoop the cupcake batter into a muffin tin with paper liners and then it’s off to the oven to bake.

For the filling, I’m using a homemade raspberry curd here, but there are several options that work well in these cupcakes. I love the raspberry curd because it’s tart and a little creamy! You can also fold in fresh raspberries to the cake batter if you prefer here, and finally, another great option would be to use raspberry jam.

The ganache is also super simple- just some hot heavy cream and the chocolate of your choice- I’m using a mix of milk and dark because the dark I had was a higher percentage than I usually like along. Toss in a little salt and vanilla extract and let her cool down for about an hour before frosting these babies.

I used a sharp knife to cut a little indent into the cupcakes, and then saved the top of the cutout portion to re-cover after filling. Then spread your cooled ganache all over the top and give each one a little raspberry hat!

I love these cupcakes- hope you enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for the Perfect Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Here are some tips to help along the way towards these delightful cupcakes:

• Do I have to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder? I always use Dutch-processed cocoa powder and I definitely recommend using it here.
• Whisk the cake batter by hand to avoid over mixing and because it’s just easier here.
• Do I have to use buttermilk? You can replace the buttermilk by putting 1 tsp. of white vinegar into your measuring cup and filling it to 1 cup with any other kind of milk you have on hand.
• How do I know when the cupcakes are finished baking? The cupcakes should be puffed and should no longer look wet on top. A toothpick inserted into the center of one cupcake should come out with just a few crumbs on it.
• Do I have to make the raspberry curd? You can optionally fill the cupcakes with raspberry jam instead, or you can fold fresh raspberries into the cake batter before scooping and baking. However, the raspberry curd is really yummy.
• Be sure to cool the ganache slightly before frosting- it will thicken as it cools, and while it should drip off the edges slightly, you don’t want it to all run off.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

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Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract

For the filling and frosting:

• 4 oz dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup raspberry curd or raspberry jam
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and set this aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until everything is combined with no dry pockets of flour remaining.
4. Divide the batter between all 12 muffin cups evenly- they should be fairly full. Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
5. Cool the cupcakes completely before filling and frosting.

For the frosting and filling:

1. Chop up the dark chocolate roughly. In a microwave safe bowl, heat the heavy cream until steaming and just starting to simmer- about 45-60 seconds. Place the chopped chocolate into the hot cream and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted.
2. Whisk in the vanilla extract and salt. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let this mixture cool for about 30-45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, use a sharp knife to cut out the center of each cupcake- be sure not to go through the bottom of the cupcake, just cutting a wedge in the center of the cupcake. Save these tops for later.
4. Fill each cupcake with your curd or jam and top with a chunk of the cake you cut out of the cupcake.
5. Spoon the chocolate topping over the top of each cupcake and spread to completely coat the top. Top each cupcake with a fresh raspberry and enjoy! Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days or in the fridge for about a week.

Nicole Hampton

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!