Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

These Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes are rich and fudgy with a chocolate ganache center and a bright and tangy raspberry buttercream. They're topped off with a chocolate ganache drizzle and a raspberry and there's even a raspberry hidden in the center, suspended in ganache!

These cupcakes are so delicious and so fun to make. They have several elements that come together to make a beautiful dessert. You'll make the chocolate cupcakes first followed by the chocolate ganache and raspberry buttercream. Trust me, you're going to love these.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Room Temperature Ingredients:
  • Butter: It’s important that the butter for both the cakes and frosting is softened. In a pinch, you can put your butter in the microwave for about 5 seconds on each side, but watch closely to make sure it is just softening and not melting.
  • Eggs: You also want to make sure that the eggs are at room temperature to ensure that they are properly incorporated into your batter. If you forget to leave them out before you start baking, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until they becomes room temperature.
• Measuring Your Ingredients:
  • I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
• Oven Temperature:
  • Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.
• Check out My Favorite Baking Tools to see what I use when I bake.

Preheat oven to 350º F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt and set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with your spatula as needed. Add vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the buttermilk.

Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, alternate between adding the flour mixture and the coffee to the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, carefully scoop 2 tablespoon of batter into each cupcake liner. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and split the remaining batter among the cupcakes until they look even.

Bake for 22-24 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the pan cool on the cooling rack for 15 minutes before gently pulling the cupcakes out of the pan and letting them cool completely on the cooling rack.

Place the chopped chocolate in a heat safe bowl. Place the heavy cream in a smaller heat safe bowl and microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring in between until the cream is hot. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until combined. Reheat for 10 seconds if the chocolate isn't fully melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until smooth. With the mixer on low, slowly add in spoonfuls of the powdered sugar and freeze dried raspberry powder followed by the cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Chill frosting until needed.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a cupcake corer or a small knife to carefully cut out the center of each cupcake about ¾ of the way down. Save the tops that you cut out as these will be added back.

Add the chocolate ganache to a pastry bag and carefully pipe into the centers of each cupcake until they're ⅓ full. If your ganache is too thick, carefully reheat in the microwave for 10 seconds until it is a better piping consistency.

Place a raspberry on top of the ganache and gently push down. Pipe more ganache into the hole until the raspberry is covered. Gently add the tops back so they cover up the chocolate ganache.

Let your buttercream come closer to room temperature if it's been in the fridge for a while. Scoop the raspberry buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 1M or similar piping tip.

Starting at the outside rim of the cupcake, begin to pipe the frosting in a clockwise motion, moving to the center until you have covered the entire top in a beautiful swirl design. Repeat this with the remaining cupcakes.

Drizzle each cupcake with the remaining chocolate ganache. If your ganache is too thick, carefully transfer to a small bowl and reheat in the microwave for 5-10 seconds before adding to a new piping bag. Top each cupcake with a raspberry. Enjoy!

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