You’re going to love these chocolate raspberry cupcakes, not least because it’s the best chocolate cupcake recipe ever, truly, but also because that beautiful swirl of frosting you see on top uses puree made from real raspberries. And, there’s a surprise raspberry centre. Surprise!

There are 3 gloriously scrumptious parts to these cupcakes;

  • The most amazing chocolate cupcake that’s soft, tender, light, moist and rich in chocolate flavour.
  • An easy homemade raspberry puree (using frozen raspberries so you can have these any time of year without breaking the bank).
  • A truly silky-smooth and creamy raspberry buttercream.

The chocolate cupcake base itself will become your new go-to. It’s just got the perfect mix of flavour, texture and is incredibly easy to make.

Raspberries and chocolate are so good together. Check out these Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies too.

This recipe was first published here on February 2nd, 2016 and has been updated with new images, better instructions and a gooey raspberry centre.

Closeup of a chocolate raspberry cupcake.

Table of contents

Ingredients notes

Ingredients for chocolate raspberry cupcakes on a marble surface.

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

  • Flour: You just need plain flour / all purpose flour.
  • Dutch cocoa powder: I use Dutch processed cocoa powder which gives them a better flavour but you can use regular unsweetened cocoa powder in these cupcakes.
  • Sugar: You’ll need both granulated white sugar and dark brown sugar in the chocolate cupcakes. Light brown sugar will work in place of the latter. The buttercream also just uses white sugar but I like to opt for caster sugar here (aka superfine sugar, not powdered sugar).
  • Baking powder and baking soda: A combination of both baking powder and baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda) gives these cupcakes great lift and texture. Don’t confuse the amounts as they work quite differently.
  • Butter: Use unsalted butter for these cupcakes. You can also swap the butter for ⅓ cup vegetable oil but they will taste slightly less rich.
  • Eggs: I use regular large eggs.
  • Buttermilk: Buttermilk helps to give these cupcakes their tender and moist texture.
  • Vanilla extract: Vanilla actually works to intensify the chocolate flavour here. Don’t use vanilla essence which is a synthetic flavouring. It also adds great flavour to the frosting.
  • Raspberries: Onto the raspberry buttercream and I use frozen raspberries here. Mainly because they’re convenient and affordable whilst still having great flavour. You can use fresh raspberries if they’re in season but you may need to add a little dash of water when cooking them too.
  • Lemon juice: Just a touch of lemon adds more amazing tang to the raspberry flavour.
  • Whole milk: This is used in the buttercream and I don’t recommend using a light version. Half n half will work though. The milk is cooked with a little flour to make a pudding base for the raspberry buttercream – read more on that below.
Closeup of the inside of a cupcake cut open to show the inside.

Kitchen tools notes

  • My favourite muffin pans are silicone muffin pans (you can see them below), for no other reason than I love the shape they give. This is one of the questions I get asked the most about my cupcakes – “how do you get those straight sides” – it’s the silicone muffin pans. Ok, they may not be the cheapest in the world but keep in mind, they last forever. I’ve had mine for years and they just can’t be destroyed, they don’t rust, they go in the dishwasher just fine and they turn out cupcake after perfect cupcake.
  • A saucepan with a heavy base is best for cooking the raspberry puree as it just distributes heat more evenly.
  • A medium ice cream scoop or ¼ cup size cookie scoop is great for portioning out the batter evenly.
  • I find a stand mixer with paddle attachment much better for making the buttercream as it needs to mix for some time.
  • Cupcake corer – while not absolutely necessary, this is really helpful if you make a lot of cupcakes. If not, just use a paring knife.

How to make raspberry chocolate cupcakes

There are 3 separate components to these chocolate raspberry cupcakes. The chocolate cupcake portion is wonderfully quick and easy. The raspberry puree is also very easy and takes a little time on the stove to cook down but you can be doing this while the cupcakes bake. Finally, the buttercream has one extra step over a regular buttercream but it’s worth every second. This frosting is truly smooth – no grittiness whatsoever – just see the comments.

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

1. Make the raspberry puree

The raspberry puree is used as both the filling in the middle of the chocolate cupcakes and the flavouring for the raspberry frosting. It’s really easy to create too. Just add your raspberries, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon sugar to a pan and let it simmer away for 15-20 minutes until it’s really thick and reduced like the image below.

The raspberry puree cooking in a pan.

Push it through a strainer to remove the seeds but make sure to push as much of the actual raspberry puree through as possible – you need ¾ cup by the end If you find you have much more than this, add it back to the pan and reduce it further as it’s probably not reduced enough.

The raspberry puree after it has been strained.

2. Make the chocolate cupcake batter

The chocolate cupcakes are the most moist and delicious cupcakes ever. I have received so many wonderful comments here on the blog, on Pinterest and in person about how good these are and I just know you’ll love them too. They even freeze and thaw perfectly too.

No creaming butter and sugar here. The method I use for my favourite chocolate cupcakes is melted butter – it increases the moist and delicate texture and keeps things simple. Start by mixing together the dry ingredients in a bowl then set it aside.

The dry ingredients for the cupcakes.

Beat together the melted butter and sugar before adding in the eggs and vanilla.

Melted butter, sugar and eggs whisked together in a bowl.

Alternate the buttermilk and dry ingredients until all folded through. A silicone spatula is my best friend when making batters as it scrapes everything from the sides with ease.

The cupcake batter in a mixing bowl.

3. Portion and bake

Divide the chocolate cupcake batter evenly between 12 paper cupcake liners in a muffin pan, then bake for around 18-23 minutes (the baking time will depend on the type of muffin pan you use as well as your oven). To check whether they’re done, poke a toothpick into the centre of one of the middle ones and it should come up with just a few crumbs attached.

The muffin pans filled with cupcake batter.
Top down view of the baked cupcakes in the muffin pans.

The silky smooth raspberry frosting

What is ermine frosting?

If you haven’t had the pleasure, then I beg you to try it. Also known as cooked milk frosting or boiled-milk frosting, ermine frosting is made by mixing a cooked milk and flour paste with butter and sugar until it’s ethereally light and very similar in texture to whipped cream. It begins, a little unusually, with flour and milk cooking to a thick pudding consistency. Once cooled, this pudding gets added to mostly normal buttercream ingredients and beaten until thick and whipped.

I say mostly normal because ermine frosting uses granulated sugar (or I prefer to use caster sugar / superfine sugar which is just finer granules) and not powdered sugar, and yes, it turns out more smooth than a regular powdered sugar buttercream.

It takes an extra step over regular ABC (American buttercream) but the payoffs are many, including being not so sickeningly sweet as traditional buttercream. The pudding base only takes minutes to make though and I promise you, it’s worth every moment.

3. Make the flour and milk paste

Add a little of the milk to the flour in a pan and whisk to a smooth paste. Add the remaining milk, half the caster sugar and the vanilla and cook over low-medium stirring constantly until it gets really thick to the point that it doesn’t settle back on itself in the pan. The real key here is to keep stirring so you don’t get lumps. Transfer it to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap pressed to the surface and cool to room temperature.

The pudding base for the buttercream in a saucepan.

This pudding base can be made at any time but it must be at room temperature before you begin to incorporated into the buttercream. Too warm or too cold and it just doesn’t work.

Once it is cool, you can begin making your buttercream. Start by beating together butter and the remaining granulated sugar until light and creamy.

The butter and sugar blended together.

Add the flour paste 1 spoonful at a time, letting each incorporate on low-medium speed before adding the next one. Then, give it a good beat for a few minutes on medium-high speed. At the end it almost looks like really thick whipped cream.

The buttercream before adding the raspberry puree.

To turn it into a raspberry buttercream frosting, add the raspberry puree and vanilla and just beat it through. Done!

The raspberry buttercream when it's ready in a mixing bowl.

4. Assemble your raspberry chocolate cupcakes

Now, all your parts are ready to assemble your chocolate raspberry cupcakes. Start by cutting a hole in the top of each cupcake and fill it with raspberry puree.

12 cupcakes filled with raspberry puree.

Now, simply spread or pipe your buttercream on top of the cupcakes. Nice and thick, since this buttercream is not as sickly sweet as regular ABC (American buttercream) so much nicer to eat.

Piping raspberry buttercream on top of cupcake.

Tips and tricks

  • Weigh your ingredients: I’m talking especially about flour, cocoa and sugar here. Measuring by cups can give you more than you need and you’ll end up with dry cupcakes. But if you need a reason other than accuracy to weigh your ingredients, it also saves on washing up since you can measure directly into your mixing bowl. A kitchen scale is so cheap and lasts forever too.
  • Don’t overmix: If you’re finding the flour mixture isn’t blending into the wet ingredients smoothly, you can get a balloon whisk in there to smooth it out but just don’t overmix your cupcake batter or you may end up with tough cupcakes.
  • All ovens vary and yours may cook quicker or slower than mine so judge when your cupcakes are done by poking a toothpick into the middle of one. It should come out with a few sticky crumbs but not wet batter.
  • Different muffin pans will cook at different times too. My silicone muffin pans bake the cupcakes slower than when I use a metal pan. A metal pan might have your cupcakes done around the 18-20 minute mark while the silicone cupcake pans take around 23 minutes.

Storage

Store your raspberry filled chocolate cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days, if they last that long. Let them come to room temperature before serving.

I don’t recommend freezing the assembled cupcakes but the chocolate cupcake base is fine to freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

A chocolate raspberry cupcake among a batch.

Wouldn’t these Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes be perfect for a party on a sunny day? Please excuse me now while I devour another of these beauties.

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A batch of cupcakes with one cut open to show the raspberry puree middle.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
5 from 6 ratings
Chocolate raspberry cupcakes are moist and tender cupcakes, filled with raspberry puree and a silky smooth raspberry frosting and so scrumptious.
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Ingredients

FOR THE RASPBERRY PUREE

  • 4 cups frozen raspberries (460g / ~1lb)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice (notes 1)
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar

FOR THE CUPCAKES

  • 130 g plain flour (all purp flour) (1 cup / 4.6oz)
  • 40 g Dutch process cocoa powder (⅓ cup / 1.4oz)
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda (bicarb soda)
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 113g g unsalted butter melted (½ cup / 1 stick / 4oz)
  • ½ cup caster sugar (superfine sugar) (100g / 3.5oz)
  • ½ cup packed dark brown sugar (100g / 3.5oz)
  • 2 large eggs room temp
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup buttermilk (180ml)

FOR THE RASPBERRY FROSTING

  • 1 cup whole milk (250ml)
  • ¼ cup plain flour (all purp flour) (33g)
  • 1 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar) (200g / 7oz) (divided 50:50)
  • 226 g unsalted butter softened (2 sticks / 1 cup)
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • Raspberries for topping

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • THE RASPBERRY PUREE:
    In a heavy based medium saucepan over low-medium heat, add the frozen raspberries, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer while stirring and crushing the raspberries every so often for about 15-20 minutes until it becomes a very thick puree.
    While the raspberries cook, you can start making the cupcake batter.
  • Once it’s very thick and you can see the bottom of the pan for a few seconds when you drag the spoon through, strain the puree making sure to press as much through the sieve as possible. You should get just over 3/4 cup – if you have much more than that, you need to reduce it down more. Cool to room temperature before using (notes 3).
  • FOR THE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES:
    Preheat your oven to 350F / 180C / 160C fan and line your muffin tins with paper cases
  • In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well to combine.
  • In a separate bowl using a balloon whisk or the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat together the melted butter and both sugars until combined.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl each time and beating until fully incoporated. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.
  • Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Stir through gently until just combined.
  • Now add half of the buttermilk, mix gently again. Continue like this until all the flour and buttermilk is combined… just. It is important not to overmix or be too heavy handed otherwise your cupcakes will turn out dense and tough.
  • Fill the cupcake cases to about only to about ⅔ full. Bake in the oven for around 18-23 minutes (notes 5), turning the pan around in the oven half way through to make sure they bake evenly. When a toothpick inserted comes out with just a crumb or two, they are done.
  • Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Make sure they are completely cool before frosting.
  • FOR THE RASPBERRY FROSTING:
    Whisk the ¼ cup of flour and a little milk together in a small saucepan to make a smooth paste, then add the remaining milk and ½ cup of the sugar. Heat over a low heat, continuing to whisk until it gets very thick (like a pudding or thick custard).
  • Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed to the surface. Cool this mix to room temperature (notes 3).
  • Once everything has cooled:
    In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat together the butter and remaining ½ cup sugar on medium-high speed until really creamy. About 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl a few times through the process.
  • Add the cooled milk mixture a spoonful at a time, beating on low-medium until each spoonful is incorporated before adding the next..
  • Once the paste has all been added, mix on medium-high for another 5-7 minutes. If it looks like it separates, don’t worry, just keep on beating. It will all come together into a beautiful, almost whipped cream looking frosting.
  • Once the frosting looks whipped and light (and not split), add the vanilla, ¼ cup (60ml) of the raspberry puree and a pinch of salt. Beat on low just to incorporate then stop.
  • ASSEMBLE YOUR CUPCAKES:
    Cut a 1 inch hole in the top of your cupcakes and spoon in 2 teaspoons of the remaining raspberry puree.
  • Pipe or spread your frosting on top of each cupcake, then top with a fresh raspberry.
  • Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.

Notes

  1. Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
  2. For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
  3. It’s important to cool the flour and milk paste (and the raspberry puree) to room temperature before adding to your butter. While you can cool it more quickly in the fridge or freezer, it must be room temperature before using it.
  4. Once the raspberry puree is added to the buttercream, only beat just until it’s incorporated or the acid in the fruit may split the mixture you so lovingly whipped.
  5. All ovens vary and the type of muffin pan you use will also affect the bake time. I find silicone molds take the cupcakes about 22-23 minutes to bake fully in my oven. Start testing for doneness at 18 minutes.
  6. Caster sugar / superfine sugar, is granulated sugar but with a finer texture. It is not powdered or icing sugar.
  7. Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
MORE CUPCAKE RECIPES!
Calories: 453kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Australian, World
Love this recipe?Add Sugar Salt Magic as a preferred Google source.
Nutrition information is approximate only and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use and any changes you make may cause variations.

 

Nutrition Facts
Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Amount Per Serving (421 g)
Calories 453 Calories from Fat 234
% Daily Value*
Fat 26g40%
Saturated Fat 16g100%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 7g
Cholesterol 96mg32%
Sodium 114mg5%
Potassium 228mg7%
Carbohydrates 54g18%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 39g43%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin A 822IU16%
Vitamin C 11mg13%
Calcium 85mg9%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.