These raspberry and white chocolate cupcakes have a soft, plushy vanilla cupcake filled with homemade whipped white chocolate ganache and topped with a creamy raspberry buttercream. These white chocolate-filled cupcakes are so simple that you'll think 'Why the heck was I buying cupcakes from the grocery store or bakery??' The cupcakes are super soft and moist thanks to a combo of butter and oil (buttery flavor 🤝 moist texture), and the frosting is naturally pink thanks to freeze-dried raspberries. Both the cupcakes and the white chocolate ganache can be made ahead of time!

A vanilla cupcake with a bite taken out of it, it has a white chocolate ganache filling and pink frosting.

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When I was testing out my almond cupcakes with a raspberry filling, I knew I wanted to make another version but with white chocolate. White chocolate and raspberries are a classic combo, you guys! The tart raspberries with sweet white chocolate? Doesn't get better than that.

These vanilla raspberry cupcakes with white chocolate filling use my favorite cupcake base that I first developed for my vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. It's a super soft and moist vanilla cupcake that doesn't just use butter as the base but also a neutral oil.

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache 🤍

Testing out this whipped white chocolate ganache filling was so fun because white chocolate has (obviously) a very different cocoa percentage than dark or semisweet chocolate, so you need a different ratio.

Instead of a 1:1 ratio like you see with my super easy whipped chocolate ganache frosting, white chocolate ganache uses a 3:1 ratio.

Ok Ella, what the heck does that mean? It means we need a different amount of cream to white chocolate. With regular chocolate ganache, we want an equal amount of both. For white chocolate ganache, we want (as an example!) 3 lbs of white chocolate and 1lb of heavy cream.

You also have to be careful what type of white chocolate you use. Look at that ingredient list and make sure cocoa butter is the fat, we don't want any extra oils in there! A higher quality white chocolate = a better ganache.

Once the ganache has set, we're going to whip it up with a handheld mixer or stand mixer so it's light and fluffy!

Grab your ingredients!

All the ingredients needed to make raspberry white chocolate cupcakes, weighed out into small bowls.

Freeze-Dried Raspberries: Make sure you're buying freeze-dried raspberries and not frozen! You want to blend them into a fine powder.
White Chocolate: Buy high-quality white chocolate for the ganache.
Lemon: Adding fresh lemon juice is going to amplify the raspberry flavor in the frosting and keep it from being too sweet.
Neutral Oil: Removing some of the butter from the cupcakes and adding in a neutral oil is our lil secret to getting super moist and soft cupcakes! Use a neutral oil like sunflower oil or vegetable oil, something without a strong taste or smell.
Sour Cream: Another ingredient to help keep our cupcakes moist for daaaays! You can always swap it out for Greek yogurt or full-fat yogurt.

Let's make this recipe!

A large glass mixing bowl with creamed butter and sugar in it.

A large glass mixing bowl with vanilla cupcake batter.

Combine the butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy. While that's mixing, preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit and line a cupcake pan with liners.
Add eggs + sour cream. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix. I recommend stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is getting mixed. Then add in the sour cream.
Add dry ingredients. Combine all the dry ingredients, followed by the milk.
Fill the cupcake liners so they're about ¾ full with cupcake batter; any more than that and they'll overflow in the oven! Bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack for 18-22 minutes. Let them cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then let them cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

A bowl with chopped white chocolate and heavy cream poured on top of it.

Make the white chocolate ganache. Place the finely chopped white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Heat up the heavy cream in a small saucepan on the stove until it begins to simmer. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes.
Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until smooth. If you still have a few chocolate chunks left, microwave in 5-10 second increments (we don't want the white chocolate to seize up!). Let sit for a few hours, or place in the fridge to speed up the process.
Whip the ganache with a handheld mixer until light and fluffy, this should take about 1-2 minutes. Core each cupcake and fill them with white chocolate ganache filling!
Make the raspberry buttercream by combining room temperature butter with confectioners' sugar. Once light and fluffy, add the freeze-dried raspberry powder, lemon juice, salt, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Frost your cupcakes and enjoy!

Pro Tip

You can make the white chocolate ganache filling first, as it needs a few hours to set up!

Vanilla cupcakes filled with white chocolate ganache.

Vanilla cupcakes frosted with pink raspberry buttercream.

Freeze-dried or Fresh Raspberries? 🤔

The secret to this super pink, intensely flavored raspberry frosting? Freeze-dried raspberry powder! Now, don't go thinking these are frozen or dried raspberries. Nope! Freeze-dried raspberries go through a special dehydration process so that all the moisture is taken out of them.

This makes them the perfect ingredient when it comes to making raspberry buttercream. You've got all the flavor, all the color, and none of the extra soggy water.

I've found them at my local grocery store or ordered them online. You can buy the fruits whole or already blended into a powder. Just make sure if you buy them whole that you blend them really well in your blender. We want a fine powder!

Cupcake Decorating Tips

Number one rule when it comes to decorating cakes or cupcakes: Make sure your cupcakes are completely cool before you start filling and decorating! Otherwise, the ganache will melt, and the frosting will slide right off.
I like to use the base of a large piping tip to core each cupcake. Just gently press down in the middle of the cupcake until you're a little more than halfway into the cupcake and presto! You have a cored cupcake. Then you get to each the cored cupcake pieces as a chef snack - you're welcome.
The easiest way to fill the cupcakes is to place the whipped white chocolate ganache in a piping bag with a large round piping tip and pipe it into the cupcake.
I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to decorate the cupcakes. I then decorated them with a fresh raspberry and a piece of white chocolate for some ✨ pizzaz ✨

Storage & Making Ahead

Store these frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. I recommend letting them get to room temperature before enjoying, that way, the frosting and the filling have time to soften up.

You can make the cupcakes 2-3 days ahead of time. Once cool, place in an airtight container at room temperature (if your kitchen isn't too warm!).

A hand holding a vanilla cupcake with a bite taken out of it, it has a white chocolate ganache filling and pink frosting.

Make these filled & stuffed cupcakes next!

Ella from Alpine Ella is holding a cake stand with cupcakes on it.

Made This Recipe?

Make sure to leave a ⭐️ rating and review below! You can tag me on Instagram @alpineella or follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok!

Thank you!

Ella