Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Maybe the best chocolate cupcakes we’ve ever made! A super moist and incredibly chocolatey cupcake with a raspberry jam center and intensely chocolatey buttercream frosting made with natural cocoa powder. A must try recipe!
Servings 12
Calories 457kcal
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder
- ½ cup fresh black coffee (double espresso topped up with boiling water)
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Filling
- 12 teaspoon raspberry jam
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup natural or dutch processed cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoon whole milk
To Garnish
- ¼ cup freeze-dried raspberries blitzed to a powder
Instructions
Make cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners and set aside.
- To a small mixing bowl add the cocoa powder and hot coffee. Mix thoroughly until the mixture looks like a thick paste then set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, sugar, oil, sour cream and vanilla then whisk on a medium speed until smooth.
- Add the chocolate paste to the mixing bowl and whisk on a medium speed until completely combined and uniform in color.
- Tip the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the mixing bowl. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients together until just combined. Be sure to thoroughly scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl to check for any pockets of flour that might not have mixed in.
- Transfer the cupcake batter to the prepared cupcake liners. The batter will be very thin, which is completely normal.
- Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 18 minutes or until the cupcakes feel springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcakes should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make chocolate buttercream
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the softened butter. Beat on a medium speed until creamy. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
- Cover the mixer and bowl with a kitchen towel before turning it back on to a low speed. Leave the kitchen towel there for a minute.
- Remove the towel and mix on a low speed until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Pour in the milk and gradually increase the speed to medium/high.
- Beat for 5 minutes, or until the buttercream is smooth and creamy. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with an open star tip(we used a Wilton 1M).
Core out the middle
- When the cupcakes have cooled core out the middle. We use an upturned piping tip for this but you can use a cupcake corer if you have one, or a sharp pairing knife.
Cupcake assembly
- Fill each hole with a teaspoon of raspberry jam.
- Pipe a swirl of chocolate buttercream on top of each cupcake.
- For a final flourish, dust the tops of each cupcake with the freeze-dried raspberry powder.
Nutrition
Calories: 457kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 55g | Vitamin A: 462IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg
