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Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes are a mouthful of deliciousness. Rich, moist decadent chocolate cupcakes topped with a luscious raspberry buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are just the thing you need to satisfy those dessert cravings.
This post was inspired & sponsored by Princess Cruises. All opinions expressed are my own.
Fun fact: I love fruity desserts. They are my absolute favorite. Especially this strawberry panna cotta. I have made it several times since returning from my cruise with Princess Cruises.
By the way, The Panama Canal Cruise was fantastic! We were on the Coral Princess and let me tell you, the desserts on that ship are out of this world delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much chocolate.
Today’s cupcakes are inspired by some I had while on the cruise. They were so pretty, I just had to photograph them. Then photographing them turned into eating them. They reminded me a lot of my chocolate cherry cupcakes, just with raspberry instead.
That’s what sparked the idea to recreate them for the blog. Besides, you can never have too many fruity cupcakes. My favorite kind!
These homemade chocolate cupcakes are so soft and rich with plenty of decadent chocolate flavor. The sweet raspberry frosting compliments the cupcakes wonderfully.
You can actually pair these cupcakes with any fruity frosting. Salted caramel frosting would also be a great option!
Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes
The chocolate cupcake recipe is adapted from my chocolate pistachio cake recipe. I halved most of the ingredients and added a little oil for extra moisture. I love the flavor that butter adds to cakes but sometimes it just doesn’t yield a moist cake. Combine the two and you have the best of both worlds!
You simply cream the softened butter, oil, and sugar together until it’s light a fluffy. Properly creamed butter and sugar should increase in volume so let that mixer fun for at least 5 minutes. Then you’ll add 2 eggs, vanilla, and melted unsweetened chocolate.
The dry ingredients are your basic ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. To this, I also sift in some unsweetened cocoa powder. Like I mentioned before, these chocolate cupcakes are rich and decadent.
After combining the wet and dry ingredients, add buttermilk and strong brewed cold coffee. I love to use coffee in my chocolate cake recipes but you can omit this and use more buttermilk in its place.
This recipe makes between 12 and 14 regular size cupcakes and they take around 20 minutes to bake. It’s all very easy.
Fluffy Raspberry Frosting
While the cupcakes cool, start making the raspberry buttercream frosting.
I find that raspberry preserves or jam are easiest to use. Follow the steps for making basic vanilla buttercream and add the raspberry jam last.
I used a large open round piping tip to frost the cupcakes but you can frost them however you like! For a finishing touch, I topped the cupcakes with a chocolate wafer so they’d look just like the ones I had on the ship.
These homemade chocolate raspberry cupcakes come together in less than an hour. If you’re in a rush, pop the freshly baked cupcakes into the refrigerator to cool. Enjoy!
You might also enjoy this Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil and Banana Bran Muffins from Dinners, Dishes and Desserts.
If you’d like to learn more about cruising the Panama Canal, take a look at Panama Canal Cruise Ports, Travel Tips for your Panama Canal Cruise, and 15 Activities to do on a Cruise.
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Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes are a mouthful of deliciousness. Rich, moist decadent chocolate cupcakes topped with a luscious raspberry buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are just the thing you need to satisfy those dessert cravings.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
For the frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
- ½ cup raspberry preserves or jam
- chocolate wafers for garnish
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk and set aside.
- Add the chocolate to a small heatproof bowl and set it over a pot of barely simmering water. Stir continuously until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld electric mixer beat the butter, oil, and sugar together on medium-low speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Add the melted chocolate and mix until well incorporated. With the mixer set to low speed. gradually add half the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk and coffee, and then the remaining flour mixture. Beat just until combined. The batter will be thick.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the cupcakes are set and just firm to the touch, about 18-20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for about 10 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the cream, vanilla, and salt. Continue to beat until incorporated.
- Add 2 cups of confectioner's sugar, beat on medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened. Gradually add in the remaining sugar, ½ cup at a time. You may need more or less depending on how soft the butter is. Beat on medium-low speed until the sugar is moistened. Turn the speed up to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Beat in the raspberry preserves. If the frosting becomes too loose or looks curdled, add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting comes together again.
- Pipe the frosting over the cupcakes and top each one with a chocolate wafer.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1 cupcakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 447
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the values shown are just an estimate.
Chocolate and raspberry are my favorite combo!