Raspberry Filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Raspberry filled chocolate cupcakes with raspberry cream cheese frosting! These moist chocolate cupcakes are filled with raspberry jam and topped with the most amazing naturally pink frosting made with freeze-dried raspberries and cream cheese. Unlike traditional raspberry buttercream that can be runny, this frosting uses a whipped cream base so it's thick, stable, and perfect for piping!
Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C and place 14 cupcake liners in your cupcake pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, light brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup natural cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
In a large jug, whisk the eggs, oil, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth.
2 large eggs, ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup sour cream
Pour the wet mixture into the flour, stirring until it is just about smooth - we don't want to over mix the batter! Then pour in the hot water and mix until smooth.
½ cup hot water
Fill the cupcake liners so they're ¾ full and bake for 18-20 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
Allow the cupcakes to cool for 15 minutes in the tray, then take them out and place on a cooling rack.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, whisk the heavy cream, salt, sugar and vanilla on medium-low for 2 minutes.
⅓ cup granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup heavy cream, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Increase the speed to high and whisk for 2 minutes, until it looks very thick like Greek yogurt.
While the mixer is running on a low speed, add the cream cheese a tablespoon at a time. Turn off the mixer, and scrape the entire bowl to make sure no cream cheese is left on the side. Add the raspberry powder. Turn the speed to high, and whip for 3 minutes until smooth.
¾ cup cream cheese, 1 cup freeze-dried raspberries
Use the bottom of a large piping tip to core each cupcake. Or, you can use a small knife to cut a circle in the middle of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with the raspberry jam.
14 tablespoons raspberry jam
Pipe the frosting on to of the cupcakes, I used a Wilton 1M piping tip and enjoy!
Notes
My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. I have provided a conversion to US cups but please note that I haven't tested the recipe with this method. Salt: If you don't have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt. Please note, I'm using Diamond Crystal kosher salt and not Morton salt which is too salty! Raspberry Jam: You might not need all the jam, it depends how much of the cupcake you core out! Cocoa Powder: I'm using natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not sure what you have? Check the ingredients. If it says 'acidity regulator' or mentions 'alkali', then it's dutch processed). You can use Dutch-processed or natural for the frosting! Storage: You can store the cupcakes in the fridge for 3-4 days. I recommend letting it come to room temperature before enjoying!