Beautifully elegant and utterly delicious chocolate raspberry cupcakes! Soft, light and airy cupcake base, flavoured with concentrated raspberry juice and a hidden raspberry jam centre, topped with swirls of luscious chocolate buttercream.
Easy and quick to make, these pretty cupcakes taste just as good as they look, if not better!
Whether you're looking for a little treat to spoil your loved one on Valentine's or an easy bake for an every day celebration, or any time of the year, these raspberry and chocolate cupcakes will be a great choice!
This cupcake recipe is similar to my Lemon and Poppy Seed Cupcakes, but we are infusing the cake batter with raspberry reduction (concentrated raspberry juice). This turns the sponge not only into this beautiful, bright pink colour, but also gives the cupcakes incredible raspberry flavour.
Ingredients
Let's look at the ingredients you will need to make these easy chocolate and raspberry cupcakes:
- Dry ingredients: Sugar, self-raising flour (see recipe notes for the alternative), baking powder, salt. Additionally, icing/ powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder, for the chocolate buttercream.
- Wet ingredients: Butter, raspberries, eggs, vanilla, pink food colouring (optional), raspberry jam and dark chocolate (for the buttercream).
Optional items include dried raspberries and chocolate hearts, but feel free to use any other decorations of your choice.
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the recipe card and the full list of the ingredients.
Instructions
Cream the room temperature butter and the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and raspberry reduction.
Combine the mixture with the dry ingredients and fold until you have smooth, thick batter.
Divide the batter between cupcake cases, filling each case no more than ⅔ full. Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes.
Cool the cupcakes for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make a hole in the middle of each cupcake and fill it with raspberry jam.
Top each cupcake with chocolate buttercream and add any other decorations of your choice.
Substitutions
- Raspberries - Use fresh or frozen raspberries in this raspberry chocolate cupcake recipe. I like to use frozen ones, because they are much cheaper.
- Sugar - White caster sugar will work best, but you can also use granulated sugar, or golden sugar.
- Pink food colouring - I add small amount of the food colouring to the cake batter, about ½ tsp. Gel food colouring works best, as it is more concentrated. You can also use red berry powder or beetroot powder instead of the food colouring.
- Self-raising flour - Swap it for plain, all purpose flour instead. Just remember to add raising agent and salt to it (see recipe notes for full details).
- Raspberry jam - That hidden pool of raspberry jam adds even more flavour to the chocolate raspberry cupcakes. But feel free to use your favourite jam instead.
- Cocoa powder - To make the chocolate buttercream, small amount of cocoa powder is added to the butter and sugar, to give them that rich chocolate flavour. If you don't have any cocoa powder on hand, you can skip it. Melted chocolate alone will do the trick!
- Decorations - Feel free to use your favourite sprinkles instead of freeze dried raspberries. You can also swap them for some cocoa nibs, or chocolate curls or shavings. The little chocolate hearts that I used are from Dr Oetker (they can be found in baking isle in most supermarkets). Or why not use fresh raspberries instead? Fresh raspberry on top of each cupcake will look just as beautiful and elegant!
Variations
- Frosting/ buttercream - Swap the chocolate buttercream for raspberry frosting (mix the same amount of butter and icing/ powdered sugar, but add 1-2 tablespoon of raspberry reduction instead of cocoa and chocolate). Or try cream cheese frosting from my Chocolate Orange Cupcakes recipe instead.
- Gluten free raspberry cupcakes - For a gluten-free version of raspberry cupcakes, check out these Raspberry White Chocolate Cupcakes from The Scran Line.
- Vegan raspberry cupcakes - Check out these Vegan Raspberry Cupcakes from Addicted to Dates for a vegan version.
Equipment
Here's a list of an equipment you will need to make this raspberry cupcakes recipe:
- Electric mixer - Handheld electric mixer or freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment.
- Cupcake baking tin - 12-hole cupcake or muffin tin.
- Piping bag - To pipe the chocolate buttercream. Alternatively, you can use a zip-lock type of bag, and snip one of the corners with the scissors, to pipe the chocolate frosting on cupcakes.
- Piping nozzle - Use any type of decorative nozzle/ piping tip. I used Wilton 2D.
Storage
Store these chocolate raspberry cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Alternatively, you can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring the cupcakes to room temperature before serving.
Plain cupcakes (without the raspberry jam filling, or chocolate buttercream) can be frozen for up to 2 months. To freeze, wrap each cake individually in a double layer of clingfilm/ plastic wrap and freeze. Thaw overnight at room temperature.
Chocolate buttercream is also suitable for freezing for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, then bring to room temperature and re-whip using an electric mixer.
Top tip
Allow your raspberry cupcakes to cool completely, before adding the jam filling and the chocolate buttercream. If they're still warm, your buttercream will turn into a puddle of mess!
If the cupcakes baked with domed tops, but you want them to be flat, use a small serrated knife, and cut a bit off creating a flatter surface.
After beating your chocolate buttercream, mix it at the end with a spatula. This will help to get rid of air bubbles, and make it look beautifully smooth.
FAQ
To make your own self-raising flour from the plain, all purpose flour, use the following formula: add 2 teaspoon of baking powder to each 150g of plain flour, and sift together until they are evenly combined. You can also add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, but only if the recipe you're making has cocoa powder, buttermilk or yoghurt in it.
Absolutely! Grab a glass that fits snugly into your cupcake baking tin. Cut squares from the baking paper (roughly about 15cm big), then press the square of baking parchment around the bottom of the glass to shape it to a size that fits in the tin.
To pin this recipe and save it for later, use the button on the recipe card or on the photos above.
If you try this recipe, or any other recipe on Anna Banana, please take a moment to rate the recipe and/ or leave me a comment. I love hearing from you, but it also helps other readers who are thinking of making the recipe.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Equipment
- 12-hole cupcake baking tin
- cupcake liners
- hand-held electric mixer or freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment
- Piping bag
- piping nozzle
Ingredients
For the raspberry cupcakes:
- 200 g raspberries fresh or frozen
- 180 g butter softened
- 180 g sugar caster or granulated
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 180 g self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon pink gel food colouring optional
- 6 tablespoon raspberry jam
For the chocolate buttercream:
- 150 g dark chocolate chopped
- 300 g butter softened
- 200 g icing sugar
- 50 g cocoa
For decoration (optional):
- 2 tablespoon freeze dried raspberries
- 12 small chocolate hearts
Instructions
To make raspberry cupcakes:
- Prepare the raspberry reduction first. Place fresh or frozen raspberries in a small saucepan over a medium heat, and cook for 5 minutes, or until the raspberries have released their juices. Remove from the heat. Push the raspberries through the sieve, discarding the seeds and the skins. Return the raspberry juice into the saucepan and cook for further 5 minutes (it will thicken and reduce in volume). You should get about 4-5 tablespoon of raspberry reduction. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Line a 12-hole cupcake baking tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Using a handheld electric mixer, or a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar together, until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and scraping the bottom and the sides of the bowl as and when needed. Add the vanilla and raspberry reduction, and mix to combine. If you want the colour of the cupcakes to be more intense, add a little food colouring to it.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix again to combine, until you have smooth, thick batter. Divide the batter between cupcake cases, filling each no more than ⅔ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
To make chocolate buttercream:
- Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and melt (you can also use microwave). Make sure the bowl doesn't come to touch with the water, otherwise the chocolate may cease. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and set aside, allowing it to cool.
- Using a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the icing sugar, in two additions, and mix on low speed, until combined. Add the cocoa powder and mix again on low speed.
- Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium, and pour in the cooled, melted chocolate. Beat for another minute or two, until you have smooth, fluffy and thick buttercream.
Assemble the cupcakes:
- When ready to assemble the cupcakes, scoop out a small hole in the middle of each cupcake, and fill with about ½ tablespoon of raspberry jam.
- Pipe the chocolate buttercream in swirls into each cupcake. Sprinkle with freeze dried raspberries and decorate with chocolate hearts (optional). Enjoy!
Please note that all my recipes are developed and tested in metric grams. I recommend that you use digital scales for a more accurate results. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
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