Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Whipped Cream
These raspberry cupcakes are moist, light, and made with fresh raspberries. I love pairing raspberries and chocolate so I top them with chocolate whipped cream for a perfect combination!
Most raspberry desserts, simply mix in fresh raspberries into the batter or use them on top – like my raspberry scones. Other recipes like raspberry lemonade cookies call for freeze dried raspberries. What makes these cupcakes special is that in addition to whole raspberries, there is pureed raspberries mixed into the batter.
Tips for Making the Best Raspberry Cupcakes
Raspberry seeds in your batter can yield an off-putting texture and the seeds can get stuck in your teeth. To get strong a raspberry flavor without dealing with the seeds.
To avoid this, food process the raspberries and then strain out the seeds in a fine sieve.
Use lemon zest in the batter. Raspberry and lemon go really well together. The lemon will brighten the raspberry flavor!
Add a couple of fresh raspberries to the cupcakes, but dust the raspberries in flour first. This will help to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cupcakes during the bake.
How to Make Raspberry Cupcakes
If you’ve never made cupcakes before, read my post on how to make cupcakes before starting.
Whisk together eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla until smooth and soupy.
Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, and sugar with butter in a separate bowl. You can do this with an electric mixer or by hand.
If you use an electric mixer, start on low speed and then increase to high until the ingredients are fully combined.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients a little at a time.
If necessary, pause and scrape down the side of the bowl during mixing.
Tip: If you use a beater blade [paid link] like the one shown in my photos, the blade will scrape the side of the bowl for you.
Mix in the strained pureed raspberries to lighten up the batter.
Be careful not to overmix. Mix until just combined.
Tip: Overmixing batter can make the cupcakes gummy. Read more in my post on overmixing cake batter.
Fill cupcake liners about halfway full. Use an ice cream scoop/disher to easily transfer the batter to the cupcake liners.
Dust two raspberries per cupcake in flour and place them on top of the cupcake batter prior to baking.
Bake!
You’ll know the cupcakes are done when a toothpick comes out clean.
Take the hot cupcakes out of the cupcake tin immediately and set them on the counter to cool to room temperature before frosting.
Which Frostings Go Well With Raspberry Cupcakes?
I love using chocolate whipped cream (the recipe is in this post). It’s light and intensely chocolaty.
But, you could also use raspberry buttercream, chocolate cream cheese frosting or a healthy yogurt frosting.
Can You Use Frozen Raspberries?
Yes, you can use frozen raspberries instead of fresh raspberries. Bring them to room temperature before using them.
(If you have extra frozen raspberries, try making raspberry sorbet! It’s easy and so good!)
Raspberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Whipped Cream
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour not self-rising, plus a little extra for dusting raspberries
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest zest from 1 small lemon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries to puree
- 30 fresh raspberries 2 for each cupcake, to put in the cupcakes
Chocolate Whipped Cream Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream cold
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
Cupcake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and vegetable oil until smooth.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, lemon zest, and butter on high speed until fully combined.
- Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients a little bit at a time until just combined.
- Puree the 6 ounces of raspberries in a food processor or blender.
- Use a sieve to strain out the berry seeds and retain the liquid.
- Measure the raspberry liquid in a liquid measuring cup. It should be about 1/2 cup. If it isn't enough, you can add water to make it reach 1/2 cup.
- Mix raspberry liquid into the batter until just combined.
- Fill cupcake liners halfway full.
- Dust remaining raspberries with flour and place two raspberries into the top of each filled cupcake liner.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from cupcake tin immediately and set on the counter to cool.
Chocolate Whipped Cream Instructions
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the cold heavy whipping cream on high speed.
- As you whisk, you'll notice that the cream will begin to get bubbly and then thicken.
- Keep on whisking until it is thick enough that it doesn't collapse when you lift up the whisk or place some on a spoon. After this happens, mix in the cocoa powder and sugar until just combined.
- Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
Notes
- You can use all-purpose flour in this recipe instead of cake flour. The results won't be dramatically different. The cake will just be a little more dense.
- Yogurt can be substituted 1:1 for the sour cream.
- Be careful not to overmix to keep your cupcakes from getting gummy.
- Only fill your cupcake liners halfway. To be completely certain that you are filling the right amount, bake a single test cupcake before baking the rest of the batch.
- Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting so that the frosting doesn't melt.
- Make sure the heavy whipping cream is cold.
- If you are trying to whisk by hand, use a metal bowl and chill it in the refrigerator before whisking.
- Making whipped cream takes a few minutes, so keep whisking until the cream is the desired consistency.
These look absolutely delicious!
What a great week of posts! I love the flavor combination of this recipe. I can’t wait to see what else you come with!
Those look YUMMY!
Now those are some fabulous looking cupcakes. I want one! Now! (I think I just turned into a five-year-old.)
Looks delicious! what a great combination of flavours!
Impressive!
Oh. My. Goodness. Great job!
Those sound and look amazing! What a great flavor combo.
The cupcakes are lovely!
Great blog! Just found you for the first time. I’m lovin all these cupcakes!
I would totally buy scratch-n-sniff internet just for your awesome baking.
I love that the cupcake base was raspberry and the lemon and chocolate were just the proverbial icing on the cake. Good stuff, Stef!
You can’t go wrong with a lemon/chocolate/raspberry combination!!
I just added all these to my shopping list.. I have to try these because I love all 3.. what a genius idea to put all 3 together.. yummy! I have to try these as soon as I get a chance (and before it gets too hot to turn the oven on in my apartment again, lol)
Wow. Lemon, chocolate and raspberry in one tasty treat! Can’t wait to try this one myself…
yum, these look sooooooooo good!
The cupcakes look fantastic.
Drool…
Those look delicious!
Wow, that looks so good. I love chocolate and raspberry. And I love chocolate and lemon. I never thought of putting them all together. Brilliant!
This is like the lovechild of all my wildest flavor dreams. So saving this recipe. :)
Those sound delicious!!! I love the different combinations of the same flavors that you offer. Very creative.
traceyrtch at gmail.com
I love raspberry and lemon together, and raspberry and chocolate together, but I’d never considered combining all 3 flavors before. I will have to give this a try — it sounds great!
Chocolate, lemon, and raspberry! Wow. Those look great!
These look great! Can’t wait to try them.
oh wow. wowie wow wow. and yum.
Those look delish!
I am going to try to make some this weekend.
Oh my goodness! I normally don’t like the raspberry flavor, but those look and sound amazing!
Those look so pretty! I like the idea of fresh raspberry too.
Oh wow…those look amazing! Definitely a recipe to try!
lovely! i’ve made several of your cupcakes (my favorites – keylime and the margarita) but these will have to be the next on my list!
How on Earth did you nkow I was planning on making chocolate raspberry cupcakes today? I’m super excited to try these!
These sound fantastic! I can’t wait to try them out….
Those cupcakes look DIVINE!
what a fabulous combination of flavors. vere inspired, indeed. you are so inventive and talented–well done! :)