With a surprise homemade raspberry jam filling and frosting made with real berries, these Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes are packed with flavor. The cake is dark chocolatey, fluffy, and moist. The buttercream is luxuriously creamy, with a lovely pink color from fresh raspberries.
Recipe highlights
- Moist dark chocolate cupcakes. With a full cup of cocoa powder, these cupcakes have a deep, rich chocolate taste. Buttermilk & sour cream make them ultra moist and tender.
- Tons of real raspberry flavor. The cupcakes are filled with raspberry jam and topped with a raspberry frosting that’s made with more fresh berries!
- The perfect silky buttercream. We’ll use a Swiss meringue style buttercream here, for a frosting that’s gorgeously silky and not too sweet.
- Feeds a large group. This batch size makes 20+ cupcakes, perfect for bringing to summer parties!
Tips for making the chocolate cupcakes
Use full-fat buttermilk & sour cream. The high amount of fat in the buttermilk and sour cream give the cupcakes moisture and contribute to the tender texture of the cake.
Sift the cocoa powder. To avoid clumps in the batter, I highly recommend you sift the cocoa powder before mixing it with the other dry ingredients.
Smooth out the batter before baking. The final batter of this cake is quite thick. After scooping the batter into the cupcake pan, smooth it out with the back of a spoon or small offset spatula to even out the tops. They’ll bake more evenly this way.
Don’t over-bake them. Start checking the cupcakes a few minutes early to see if they’re baked through. For the best flavor and texture results, pull them out of the oven right when the tops spring back when pressed gently.
Making the raspberry buttercream
For this recipe, we’ll make a Swiss-style meringue buttercream. This is my favorite type of frosting because it’s simple to make and is light on sweetness!
To make a Swiss buttercream:
- Start by whisking together the egg whites and sugar in a stainless steel or glass bowl. Place the bowl over a pot with a few inches of water in it. The bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water in the pot.
- Bring the pot of water to a boil and then immediately turn the heat down to maintain a low simmer.
- Cook the egg white mixture over the simmering water, whisking frequently to prevent burning, until the sugar dissolves (about 160° F). The mixture will feel smooth between your fingers, not grainy.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
- Whisk on medium-high until the mixture cools down significantly, to about 90° F. It should be fluffy and voluminous.
- Then slowly and gradually add the butter, about a tablespoon at a time. Continue to whisk this mixture until the butter is fully emulsified and the frosting is completely smooth.
Once you have a perfectly smooth buttercream, add 2-3 tablespoons of the homemade raspberry jam and whisk it in thoroughly. The frosting will turn pink, with bits of berry throughout. Taste and adjust the flavor with a little additional raspberry jam if desired.
Filling the cupcakes
I filled these raspberry chocolate cupcakes with a fresh tart raspberry jam to intensify the berry flavor. It’s a small extra step, and it’s totally worth it!
To fill cupcakes, start by cutting out a small hole in the center of each cupcake. You can use a paring knife or a wide round piping tip for this. Cut a small hole, about ½ inch deep. (I just eat the extra little bit of cake that comes out!)
Next, scoop a bit of raspberry filling into each hole. It will take about a teaspoon or two of filling, depending on how big you make the holes.
Jam it up
Want to intensify the raspberry flavor? If you’d like to make deeper holes to fill the cupcakes with a larger amount of filling, you may want to 1.5x the jam recipe here.
The cupcakes may look a bit messy at this point, but they will be covered in beautiful raspberry buttercream soon!
Simplify this recipe
If you’re looking to save a little time and effort, there are two ways you could simplify this recipe:
Option 1: Use a store-bought jam instead of making your own. Use this jam to fill the cupcakes and add to the buttercream. Just note that the final cupcakes will be quite a bit sweeter than the recipe written here, as I don’t add nearly as much sugar as a store-bought variety will have.
Option 2: Skip the jam filling and simply make the cupcakes and the frosting. Use a store-bought jam to flavor the frosting, or add crushed freeze-dried raspberries to the frosting until you get your desired flavor and color.
Substitutions & variations
Swap for another berry. Chocolate and raspberry is a classic summer combo, but these cupcakes would be delicious with other berries as well. Try strawberries or blackberries in place of the raspberries.
Make them more chocolatey. If you’re a big chocolate lover, try boosting the chocolate flavor. Add mini chocolate chips to the cupcake batter or drizzle the frosted cupcakes with some dark chocolate ganache. You could even fill the cupcakes with ganache instead of raspberry jam!
Use a different frosting. If you don’t feel like making raspberry buttercream, you could frost the cupcakes with raspberry whipped cream or vanilla mascarpone instead. Or, you could spread them with silky dark chocolate frosting.
If you make these Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes, please let me know what you think! Leave a star rating and comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you!!
Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream
Equipment
- Cupcake pan
- Paper cupcake liners
- Stand mixer with paddle & whisk attachments
- Piping bag & large star tip optional
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, soft room temperature
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Raspberry Jam
- 2 ½ cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Raspberry Buttercream
- 3 egg whites
- ½ cup sugar
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft room temperature
- 3 tablespoons raspberry jam, from above
Instructions
For cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two cupcakes pans with paper liners.
- Whisk together buttermilk and sour cream in a liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with electric beaters until mixed well, 1-2 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated and stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add vanilla. Beat for a few minutes, until soft and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add about ⅓ of flour mixture; mix on low until almost incorporated. Add about ½ of buttermilk mixture with mixer running on low. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
- Continue alternating flour mixture and buttermilk mixture in two more additions, ending with flour. Mix just until barely combined. Batter will be fairly thick.
- Scoop cupcake batter into prepared pans, filling about ¾ of the way up. Smooth batter to even out.
- Bake until baked through and tops spring back when touched, about 20-25 minutes.
- Place cupcake pan on a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from pan. Let cupcakes cool completely before filling or frosting.
For raspberry jam:
- Cook raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and pinch of salt on medium heat, stirring frequently until thick, about 10-15 minutes.
- Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until fully chilled.
For raspberry buttercream:
- In a stainless steel bowl, combine sugar and egg whites. Place over a double boiler on medium heat.
- Cook, whisking frequently, until warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved (it will feel smooth between your fingers). Mixture should be about 160° F. Pour into the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Whisk on medium-high until mixture cools to around 90° F, about 3-5 minutes. It will be fluffy and voluminous.
- Add butter, a tablespoon at a time. Continue to whisk a minute or two after all butter is added, until buttercream is smooth and fluffy.
- Add 3 tablespoons of the raspberry jam and whisk until incorporated.
To assemble cupcakes:
- Cut a small circle into the center of each cupcake using a paring knife or a wide piping tip, about ½ inch deep.
- Fill the holes with about 2 teaspoons of raspberry jam, pushing it in gently with the back of a spoon.
- Pipe buttercream on top in any desired fashion (I used a large star tip). Alternatively, frost cupcakes using a small offset spatula or spoon. Decorate with fresh raspberries and/or edible flowers, if desired.
Did you try this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment below!
