My neighbor recently hired me to make some cupcakes for her daughter's birthday party. She wanted chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting. I wanted to make a frosting that was not filled with dyes. Raspberries make a great choice when needing a shade of pink and the taste is amazing. All the kids loved the cupcakes and one told me it was the best she ever had. I will certainly be making these again. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes (adapted from bakerbynature.com)
- 2 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 c (1 stick) butter (add is 1/2 tsp salt if using unsalted)
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup hot water
For the raspberry frosting (my own original recipe):
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 6 oz. fresh raspberries
Directions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degree. Line 2 muffin pans with 16 liners and set aside.
- Place the oil, butter, and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals stirring after each interval until mixture is melted and smooth. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cocoa. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the butter mixture with the sugar mixture and beat until smooth.
- Alternately add in the flour mixture and buttermilk until just combined.
- Carefully stir in the hot water.
- Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way full and bake 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan before frosting.
For the frosting:
- Place raspberries in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons water over medium low heat. Gently stir the raspberries for 5 minutes, until the raspberries become soft and fragrant.
- Place a sieve over a bowl and drain the raspberries in the sieve. Using the back of a spoon, press the raspberries against the mesh of the sieve to get all the juice out. If some seeds get through I recommend running the liquid through the sieve again. There should be 1/2-3/4 cup of juice.
- Using a stand mixer or hand held mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar, and 1/3 a cup of the raspberry juice and beat until smooth, at least 2 minutes. (If the frosting is too stiff add in more juice 1 tablespoon at a time. If the frosting is too liquidy add in more powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time)
- Frost the cupcakes to your desire.