Chocolate raspberry cupcakes are decadent and delicious! Moist dark chocolate cupcakes filled with tart raspberry filling, swirled with raspberry buttercream frosting, drizzled in chocolate ganache with a fresh raspberry. These cupcakes would be perfect for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion!
Ingredients for Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Chocolate cupcakes
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Dark cocoa powder: I love using Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder. You can use regular cocoa powder for a lighter chocolate flavor.
- Boiling water: Combine boiling water with chocolate chips and cocoa powder.
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking soda: Leavening agent to help the cupcakes rise.
- Salt
- Vegetable oil: Or use your preferred neutral baking oil.
- Eggs: Large eggs, room temperature.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract enhances the chocolate flavor.
Raspberry filling
- Raspberries: Frozen raspberries.
- Granulated sugar: For a bit of sweetness.
- Lemon juice: Brightens the flavor of the filling.
- Cornstarch + water: Mix together to create a slurry to thicken the raspberry filling.
Raspberry buttercream frosting
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature.
- Powdered sugar: Confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar.
- Raspberry reduction: Cooked and pureed raspberries. Check out this blog post to see how to make raspberry reduction.
- Salt: A pinch of salt contrasts the sweetness of the raspberry frosting.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract adds a bit more flavor.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream to smooth out the buttercream.
Chocolate ganache
- Semisweet chocolate chips + heavy cream
Tools & Supplies for Making Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
How to Make Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Chocolate cupcakes
To make the chocolate cupcake batter, all you need is a bowl and a whisk!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Stir together chocolate chips, dark cocoa powder, and boiling water. Set aside to cool.
- Whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Add cooled chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and mix.
- Add vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Portion cupcake batter into cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove cupcakes to the pan and cool to room temperature.
Raspberry filling
Make the raspberry filling on the stovetop! There are only a few ingredients and it comes together in no time at all. Check out this blog post on how to make raspberry filling to learn more about the steps!
Raspberry buttercream frosting
To make the raspberry buttercream, I recommend using a stand mixer (whisk or paddle attachment – your preference) or an electric hand mixer.
- Whip room temperature unsalted butter for 5 minutes until light, pale, and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar in two additions, mixing on low in between each addition.
- Pour in cooled raspberry reduction and mix on low.
- Add in vanilla extract and salt.
- Drizzle in heavy cream while mixing on low.
- Turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
Chocolate ganache
Because we are only making a tiny bit of chocolate ganache to drizzle on the cupcakes, let’s just keep things easy and make it in the microwave. Simply combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 15 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth.
How to Assemble Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Now that all the components are made, it’s time to assemble these chocolate raspberry cupcakes!
- Use an apple corer to remove the center of the chocolate cupcakes. Plunge the corer about 2/3 of the way down the cupcake, twist, and remove.
- Fill a piping bag with the raspberry filling and pipe the filling into the center of the cupcake.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip with raspberry buttercream frosting. Swirl the buttercream onto the cupcake.
- Use a piping bag or squeeze bottle to drizzle chocolate ganache over the raspberry frosting.
- Add a fresh raspberry to the top of each cupcake.
Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes Recipe Tips
Bake perfect cupcakes
Check out my baking tips blog post on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cupcakes to learn simple tips and tricks for making the most out of this chocolate cupcake recipe!
Use an apple corer for filling cupcakes
One of my favorite tricks to making filled cupcakes is to use an apple corer to remove the center of the cupcakes. Plunge the apple corer into the center of the cupcake about 2/3 of the way down, twist, and remove the center. Be sure not to go all the way down to the bottom of the cupcake!
Warm chocolate ganache
Be sure the chocolate ganache is slightly warm and not hot so it does not melt the raspberry buttercream frosting. If you want to take an extra step for insurance, chill the frosted cupcakes for 30 minutes before drizzling.
Break it down
To make things a little easier on yourself, you can made the raspberry filling and raspberry buttercream frosting a day before baking and assembling the cupcakes. Store the buttercream in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To use the next day, simply bring the buttercream to room temperature and rewhip for a few minutes until good as new!
Storing and serving
Chocolate raspberry cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To serve, bring the cupcakes to room temperature to soften the buttercream and to have the best taste and texture.
Click here to see a quick video on how to make chocolate raspberry cupcakes! Follow Cake Me Home Tonight on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipe videos and baking tutorials!
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Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Cupcake pan
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup dark cocoa powder
- ¾ cup boiling water
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Raspberry Filling
- 6 oz frozen raspberries
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup raspberry reduction learn how to make raspberry reduction here
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Chocolate Ganache
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Additional ingredients
- 12 fresh raspberries
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl or a glass liquid measuring cup, stir together chocolate chips, dark cocoa powder, and boiling water until the cocoa powder is dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Add vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined and smooth.
- Use a large cookie scoop to portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners, approximately ¾ full.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched.
- Remove from the oven and cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.Â
Raspberry Filling
- In a small saucepan, combine frozen raspberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice.
- Cook over medium-low heat stirring occasionally until the raspberries are broken down and the mixture is bubbling.Â
- In a small separate bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water until smooth.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the cornstarch slurry. Mix well to combine.
- Transfer the raspberry filling to a heat-proof bowl and cool to room temperature. If making ahead, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, add in room temperature unsalted butter. Whip the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally. The butter will be light, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add one half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix on low until incorporated.
- Add in raspberry reduction and continue to mix on low speed.
- Add vanilla extract and salt and mix on low until combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream while mixing on low speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed.
- Turn the speed on the mixer to medium and whip for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until the buttercream is smooth and creamy.Â
Chocolate Ganache
- Combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is shiny and smooth.
Assembling the Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
- Use an apple corer to remove the center of the chocolate cupcakes. Plunge the corer about 2/3 of the way down the cupcake, twist, and remove.
- Fill a piping bag with the raspberry filling and pipe the filling into the center of the cupcake.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip with raspberry buttercream frosting. Swirl the buttercream onto the cupcake.
- Use a piping bag or squeeze bottle to drizzle chocolate ganache over the raspberry frosting.
- Add a fresh raspberry to the top of each cupcake.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
Tasted amazing and made a full dozen! However the cupcakes came out super small. Could I maybe double the batter recipe to make them bigger?
Hi Brianna! This recipe should make enough cupcake batter to make 12 standard sized cupcakes. Were you using a standard size cupcake pan? The liners should be about 2/3 – 3/4 full. You can certainly double the batch if you find that would be helpful!
These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made and possibly the best I’ve tasted. Who knew I’d been missing out on raspberry buttercream all these years? So light and fluffy. The filling adds a tart little burst and the chocolate is not to sweet and super moist. Yum!
Wow, Katie! I’m so happy to hear you loved this recipe! Thank you so much for trying it out and leaving a positive review!