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Close up of chocolate cupcakes with raspberry buttercream, with a decorate chocolate heart on top
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Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp espresso powder
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup boiling water

For the Raspberry Buttercream

  • 1.5 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 3 cups icing sugar

Instructions

Make the Cupcakes

  • Pre-heat your oven to 325°F.
  • Place cupcake liners into a muffin tin. This recipe makes enough for 12 regular sized cupcakes.
  • In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder. Mix well to combine.
  • Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla to your dry ingredients and mix  together on medium speed until combined.
  • Adjust speed to low, and slowly add the boiling water. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl half way through.
  • Distribute the cake batter evenly across 12 muffin tin cups. They should be about 1/2-3/4 full when you're done.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the centre of a cupcake.
  • Allow to cool completely before frosting or decorating.

Make the Raspberry Buttercream

  • Heat the raspberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Break them up with a spoon or fork as they warm.
  • Let simmer on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Your goal is to try and evaporate some of the water content out of the raspberries.
  • Strain the raspberry sauce through a fine sieve to remove all of the seeds. You should end up with about 1/3 cup of puree. Place the raspberry puree in the fridge to cool down completely.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until nice and fluffy. Add half of the the icing sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well between each addition.
  • Add the raspberry puree (about 1/3 cup), and beat well until combined.
  • Continue adding the remaining half of the icing sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until your desired consistency is reached.
  • Transfer buttercream to a piping bag and decorate your cupcakes!

Notes

  • You can add a little more or less raspberry puree, depending on the colour and flavour you want, but you may also need to adjust the amount of sugar a bit to get the right piping consistency.
  • Recipe for the chocolate cupcakes from Add a Pinch