Rich, decadent chocolate cake filled with a raspberry jam turn these Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes are the best cupcakes I’ve ever made!
We have tons of summer birthdays in our family. It feels like I’m constantly trying to find new and exciting recipes for cakes and cupcakes to switch things up. Once I made these Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes, my whole family told me to stop searching… the perfect recipe had been found and we could eat these cupcakes every single day for the rest of our lives if we had to. This summer everyone is getting my favorite shrimp recipes for dinner with a decadent dessert of Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes!
CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES
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Is there anything better than pairing rich, dark chocolate with fresh fruit? My initial reaction would be, “absolutely not, you can’t get better than that.”
But that was before I realized you can pair rich chocolate, fresh fruit, AND cupcakes. Now there is nothing better than that. Oh man, I am not kidding when I say these chocolate raspberry cupcakes are HEAVENLY.
These cupcakes are not only decadent and delicious, but they’re so beautiful that it’ll look like you got them from a high-end bakery! With a beautifully piped raspberry frosting top and a raspberry jam filling, you will wow your guest’s eyes AND their taste buds. But don’t fret – these are not at ALL hard to make. Yes, even an inexperienced baker can make delicious, filled cupcakes (and bonus – you use a boxed cake mix for this chocolate raspberry cupcake recipe)!
Ingredients
Cake Mix – my secret to elevating a store-bought cake mix to make the flavor even more delicious is to add in some dry instant pudding mix. To make these delicious chocolate raspberry cupcakes you’ll need one box of the classic Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix and one box of instant chocolate pudding!
Raspberries – obviously for a chocolate raspberry cupcake you’ll need some raspberries! For your frosting, you’ll need some freeze-dried raspberries and for your cupcake filling, you’ll need about 12 ounces of raspberry pie filling – which you can find at any grocery store or make at home. I always love to garnish my chocolate raspberry cupcakes with a fresh raspberry on top. It adds a great fresh flavor as well as acts as an adorable decoration!
Instant Pudding – my secret weapon when making cakes is ALWAYS instant pudding. It adds a real depth to your flavor that you just don’t get otherwise. We already know you need some chocolate pudding for the cake mix, but you’ll need a box of vanilla instant pudding for your raspberry cupcake frosting too!
How to make Chocolate Cupcakes
A good baker always plans to bake and prep in stages. Your first stage is always your cake. Here’s how to start your chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line your cupcake pan with liners.
- Grab your stand mixer and dump in all of your cupcake ingredients. Use a whisk attachment to beat all of the ingredients until they’re well combined.
- Next, fill your cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full. You don’t want them under-filled because you’ll have flat cupcakes, but not over-filled because they’ll spill over and become messy.
- Bake your chocolate cupcakes for 18 to 22 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when a toothpick comes clean from the center.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and transfer them to cooling racks to finish cooling to room temperature.
How do you put jam inside a cupcake?
It’s super important to let your cupcakes cool completely before coring them. Otherwise, your filling will melt and leave you with a total mess! So once they’re cooled, it’s time for stage two: filling!
- Use a cupcake corer to core the middle of the cupcakes then fill them with the raspberry filling. Fill them so that the raspberry filling is even with the top of the cupcake. It doesn’t have to be beautiful, it’ll all get covered by delicious frosting!
How do you make raspberry frosting from scratch?
The store-bought frosting is delicious. No one is denying that. BUT, there is something that is so special about making frosting from scratch.
This raspberry frosting is especially delicious and totally worth the few extra steps it takes to make it! Here’s how:
- Put your freeze-dried raspberries to a food processor and blend until a fine dust forms. Set your raspberry dust aside.
- Next, whip the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and pudding mix in a stand mixer or large bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
- Beat in the raspberry powder until stiff peaks form again.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and pipe onto the filled cupcakes.
- Add a raspberry on top of each cupcake and you’re ready to serve the most beautiful (and delicious) cupcakes you’ve ever made! You can even sprinkle on a little of the freeze-dried raspberry dust if you have some leftover.
Need more summer dessert inspiration?
- Air Fryer Blueberry Shortcakes
- Texas Sheet Cake
- Strawberry Pound Cake with Champagne Glaze
- Strawberry Dessert Nachos
- Mini Raspberry Mousse Cakes
- more DESSERT recipes…
Tools used to make Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Cupcake Corer: this simple little tool takes your cupcakes from ordinary to extraordinary!
Piping Kit: piping bags are the BEST way to frost cupcakes. Of course you can just use a knife to spread it, but they look SO much better when the frosting is piped on!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
- 3.4 ounces instant chocolate pudding mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup whole milk (or 2% milk)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 12 ounces raspberry pie filling
Raspberry Frosting
- 1 ounce freeze-dried raspberries
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup instant vanilla pudding mix
- Fresh raspberries for garnish
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with liners.
- Combine all of the cupcake ingredients in a stand mixer and beat until combined with a whisk attachment.
- Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full, about a scant 1/4 cup of batter.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until a toothpick comes clean from the center.
- Remove from oven and transfer cupcakes to cooling racks to finish cooling. Make sure they are at room temperature of the frosting will melt.
- Use a cupcake corer to core the middle of the cupcakes. (You can also use a pairing knife to cut a circle into the top of each cupcake.) Then fill them with the raspberry pie filling.
Raspberry Frosting
- Add freeze-dried raspberries to a food processor and blend until a fine dust forms. Set aside.
- Whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and pudding mix in a stand mixer or large bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
- Beat in the raspberry powder until stiff peaks form.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and pipe onto the filled cupcakes. Serve immediately for the best texture. I like to top these cupcakes with a fresh raspberry and a little sprinkle of freeze-dried raspberry dust.
Notes
- Any leftover frosting does require refrigeration since it’s a whipped cream base.
- The frosting thickens with time and has the best texture immediately after making, but is good for up to 24 hours after being prepared.
- The cupcakes can be prepared in advance and frosted right before serving.
- Cook and serve pudding mix does not work in the cake or frosting recipe, you must use instant pudding.
Emilie Stick says
Do the frosted cupcakes have to be refrigerated? Or just the excess frosting?