Editor’s Note: I’ve reworked this cupcake recipe to make it IMMENSELY better, so if you want to make some stellar Raspberry Chambord hydrangea cupcakes with truffle filling, check out the updated recipe here!
Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
Yield: 17 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup raspberry jam
Buttercream Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 cups confections sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tsp Dogfish Head Blue Hen Chocolate Vodka (optional)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and position the racks toward the center. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together the jam and milk in a measuring cup (makes it easier to add). On low speed, add flour mixture and milk-jam alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Divide the batter between 15 cupcake wrappers in cupcake tins. Bake for 9 minutes, swap cupcake pan positions, then bake for 9 more minutes (total of 18) or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely.
For the frosting, beat butter on high until soft. Add the cocoa and 1 cup of sugar, beating until incorporated. Add 2 tbsp of milk, as well as the vodka, mixing until incorporated. A half-cup at a time, add the remaining 2 cups of confectioners sugar and 2 tbsp milk. Scrape down the sides, then whip the buttercream on high for a minute. Pipe onto cupcakes.
(Buttercream recipe adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop)
For this cupcake, I was excited to take down the 1/2 pint jar of raspberry jam my friend Jen had gifted me over the summer and put it to work (I hoard preserves … it’s sad). I was pleased with how the jam mixed into the batter—stirring it into the milk makes this pretty simple.
I think I could have filled a few of my cupcake wrappers a little more, so a truer yield would be more in the 12-14 range I think. I also added a smidge of pink food coloring gel, just to get the cakes nice and pink. This is totally optional.
March 25, 2011 at 7:28 am
Another good edition. It was a little simpler than some of the other cakes we’ve had on CCF, but I still liked it.
PRETTY COOL THING: A nice raspberry aftertaste that creeps up on you. It’s pretty rad.
ALSO PRETTY COOL: Good frosting texture. Some of the other frostings, while tasting great, were slightly grainy. This one was nice and smooth though, so A+.
LET’S TALK ABOUT CAKE: The actual cake was a little dryer than I’m used to from the other CCF entries, but it was still really good. It was sturdy too, hardly crumbling at all.
THOSE SEEDS IN THE JAM: I was wrong about how they wouldn’t be weird. I caught one or two weirdly on my teeth, which was a little jarring. Not a big deal or anything, but it’s something that could probably removed from future batches.
March 25, 2011 at 7:33 am
Really, the cake was a little dry? Interesting. I had mine last night with Ray and they were freaky moist. Hmmmmmm.
I didn’t mind the seeds, but I may have not snagged them weirdly on my teeth. I also eat a fair amount of preserves that have seeds in them, so maybe I’m used to the sensation.
March 25, 2011 at 7:53 am
Yep, another good one!
I noticed the raspberry aftertaste too … subtle it is, leaving me want just a little more.
The chocolate buttercream was similarly subtle (thank you).
The cake’s texture was a little less moist than others have been, although if I had waited a few minutes more, perhaps it would have warmed more at NRT.
As for presentation, excellent job on the frosting and for using the metallic cups.
March 25, 2011 at 8:18 am
My first cupcake friday experience!!!
Overall it was absolutely delicious.
Cake: Nice, subtle raspberry flavor that stands up to the chocolate frosting. I didn’t mind the seeds. I think you need them. Otherwise people think you just used a raspberry extract. I wouldn’t say that the cake was dry. To me it was dense, more like a pound cake.
Frosting: Excellent! Strong chocolate flavor. Sugar was well incorporated. I will be stealing this recipe.
March 25, 2011 at 8:19 am
Loved the frosting. REALLY chocolaty, without being overly sweet.
I didn’t pick up any dryness in the cake, but like Mel, I had mine last night.
The raspberry flavor was subtle, and I think this was mostly because the cakes were smaller than usual. I’m betting bigger cakes would have punched the raspberry through harder.
Really solid this week! Just needs some tweaks.
- El Husbando
March 25, 2011 at 9:36 am
Say what, Mike and Paul? My cupcake wasn’t dry at all.
Actually, I was still finishing my cupcake while reading the above comments and never hit a seed until I read about it! Coincidence? Maybe. I agree with Julie though on that one….the (very few) seeds didn’t bother me (but they also didn’t hit awkward parts of my teeth).
The raspberry aftertaste is the first thing that popped for me. Very nice. On a superficial note, the cake part was such a pretty shade of pink/mauve/berry (whatever you want to call it). And the chocolate icing (which was great as usual) complimented the raspberry flavoring rather nicely.
Still can’t beat the limoncello cupcakes (for me), but definitely de-lish, nonetheless!
In honor of the stupid, new “word” just added to the dictionary: I <3 cupcakes!
March 25, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Damn, you ever thought about doing this full-time?
This was another cupcake that actually got better the more of it I nibbled at. So many sweet desserts hit you with that initial overplayed note of sweet and then have nothing behind it. This, like some of your other cupcakes, had such a great mix of strong and subtle flavors.
I loved that you brought a real fruit preserve, with the seeds, into the cupcake mix. Having grown up with raspberry vines on my farm in Iowa, I adore this tiny sophisticated fruit, and it works so well with the divine chocolate buttercream. Could that buttercream be better executed? No.
And, finally, another great cake base, that was moist (mine was certainly) and dense, just the way I like it. One cupcake was perfect for my post-lunch dessert. I shall fly high the rest of the day, without any need to hunt for other snacks. Thank you Melissa!
March 25, 2011 at 7:15 pm
I’m totally late with this (doozie of a day). But, never too late to say: Another fabulous installment of Cupcake Friday! I think this cupcake has earned my number four spot, above the orange chocolate ganache cupcakes, and just below the lemon limoncello.*
To me, this cupcake was simple and lovely. Great raspberry flavor in the cake. Another great, dense, moist cake. And the chocolate buttercream was so yummy. Not too sweet, fabulous chocolate flavor. Together, I think they were a nice compliment, but for me, the chocolate almost overpowered the raspberry.
Also have to comment on the decorating, which I loved this week! Good job, Melissa. As per usual!
*For those of you that are curious – my current ranking (all great, but these order from my favorite on down): Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bean/Chocolate Mousse/Irish Cream, Lemon Limoncello, Raspberry Chocolate, Chocolate Orange, Sprite’cakes, and Chocolate Cherry.
March 26, 2011 at 8:25 pm
The idea of fruit-based cupcakes was initially weird to me, but the idea of fruit-based anything other than sangria is weird to me. Between the limoncello, sprite and this one, I’ll say I’m on-board. These had more of a muffin-like consistency which worked well, and the slight raspberry tartness was perfect. Chocolate icing is a perfect complement to the flavor, although it was slightly more granular than some of the previous buttercreams.
To be fair, I’m writing this while watching Paranormal Activity, so my opinions may be worth nothing.
March 28, 2011 at 9:47 pm
This cupcake was so delicious it made me forget how stupid Paranormal Activity was.(Trust me, that was one damn good cupcake because that was a damn terrible movie.)
I loved the consistency of the cake. Adding the raspberry jam to the batter instead of making it a filling was genius on your part. The chocolate icing was sheer perfection! If I could taste it every day I would be a better person. I also thought that the proportions were just right..The size of the cake and the amount of icing were just enough to fill me up without feeling like I ate too much dessert. 48 hours later I can think of nothing else but that delicious confection.
I’m sure you have already heard of this blog, but just in case you haven’t you should check out http://cupcakeblog.com/ There is a recipe for watermelon-chocolate ice cream cupcakes that I think you need to make come summertime. I can think of no one else who could pull off that recipe.
Keep the cupcakes coming!
Kyle’s Vanessa
March 30, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Hey Vanessa!
I am familiar with Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit—I have been salivating over her blog for a few years. I adapted her triple vanilla cupcake recipe for my Vanilla Bean cupcakes a couple weeks ago. I love how innovative she is!
March 31, 2011 at 8:38 am
Despite being super late to the party here, I know my feedback is requested (and technically required to take part in this project), so here goes:
This week’s cupcake was a really delicious one…again. You certainly have a knack for picking out really good flavor combinations. The chocolate and raspberry blended really well together. The icing was delish, and I really enjoyed the cake.
This is the first cupcake where I enjoyed the cake more than the icing. I loved the little hints of raspberries in the cake itself, it made for a cool consistency and fun flavor bursts.
All in all, I really enjoyed it, but as a vanilla man it doesn’t top last week’s cupcake which is still my #1.
Hats off to the chef…err baker.
March 31, 2011 at 10:55 am
Here’s the link to the watermelon cupcakes Vanessa mentioned. That site does a good job of hiding the permalink button on its post, which is really a great design if you don’t want anyone to link to you ever.
March 31, 2011 at 11:28 am
Perfect, thank you! I do remember these cupcakes. Just not sure how I could swing the ice cream without delivering a dripping mess. I could probably make a filling though. Hmmmmmmmm. This has got me thinking.
March 31, 2011 at 11:02 am
Posting a week late (ergh!), but this cupcake still holds clear in my memory. My first reaction was that the cake was more dense than I expected, which I really liked. I didn’t have an issue with seeds, and actually wondered what it would be like if it there were chunks of raspberries? Possibly gross, I’m no baker, but I love ultra-fruity desserts.
The buttercream icing was complete heaven. In the world of sweet icings, it’s darn near perfect in my book. Since the cake was so sweet, I couldn’t help but wonder if a really dark, almost bitter chocolate would have been a nice compliment to the sweet raspberry flavor?
High points for presentation, I think the fancy icing tip was the right choice for this pink cupcake.
March 31, 2011 at 11:29 am
Thanks Kate! I too would like to go darker with the chocolate frosting. I used unsweetened cocoa, but I think a lot of the sweetness stems from the powdered sugar. I’m contemplating doing a piped ganache for the next chocolate frosting I make.