These homemade chocolate cupcakes with raspberry frosting will remind you of an indulgent raspberry truffle. We start with super moist chocolate cupcakes which are made from simple everyday ingredients and pack a TON of chocolate flavor. Though chocolate buttercream is our usual go-to topping for these cupcakes, you’ll especially love them with this extra creamy frosting made with fruity raspberry preserves.
Welcome to our favorite chocolate cupcakes on the planet, a base recipe we enjoy topping with everything from chocolate ganache to peanut butter frosting. They’re moist, super soft, fluffy, sponge-like, and fudge-like all at the same time. This recipe is an example of how often I mix and match recipes to create new ones. And I encourage you to do the same! How about spreading this Nutella frosting on our homemade brownies? Or the swirled frosting from these marble cupcakes on our red velvet cupcakes? You can even find today’s exact raspberry frosting recipe on these lemon raspberry cupcakes, too.
Tell Me About These Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting
- Flavor: These cupcakes are wonderfully chocolate-y and get all their flavor from natural unsweetened cocoa powder. This rich chocolate flavor pairs beautifully with the fresh tartness of raspberry frosting. If you love raspberries and chocolate together, you’ll enjoy how we decorated this flourless chocolate cake. Yum!
- Texture: The combination of oil, brown sugar, and buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute) makes these the moistest chocolate cupcakes we’ve ever made. The batter is thinner than you would expect and it helps create their spongey, yet rich texture.
- Ease: For the cupcakes you need 2 bowls, 1 whisk, and 1 spatula. That’s it! Since we aren’t creaming butter, you won’t need to break out your mixer—though you absolutely can (you will need it for the frosting). The frosting starts a similar way to this vanilla buttercream. Use your favorite raspberry preserves to add delicious fruity flavor—we use and recommend Bonne Maman brand.
By the way, this recipe transfers beautifully into cake pans to make a 6-inch cake.
Overview: How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through it quickly so you understand each step before we get started.
If it’s ever helpful, here are my 10 Tips for Baking the Best Cupcakes. Have fun!
Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 2 liners—this recipe makes about 14 cupcakes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Then half of the buttermilk. Gently stir—about 5 stirs. Repeat with the remaining wet ingredients and buttermilk. Stir until *just* combined; do not overmix. The batter won’t be very thick.
- Pour/spoon the batter into the liners—fill only halfway to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake in batches for 18-19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting. For around 30 mini cupcakes, bake for about 11-13 minutes, same oven temperature.
- Beat softened butter on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes until completely smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 1 minute. Add the raspberry preserves and beat until thick and creamy, about 2 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, is separating (due to the fruity jam) or looks too wet. And then add more salt to offset added sweetness.
- Frost cooled cupcakes however you’d like. I simply used a small frosting knife to frost the cupcakes. Top with fresh raspberries if desired.
- Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3 days. I recommend a cupcake carrier for storing and transporting decorated cupcakes.
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