Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
December 31, 2009When I saw this recipe come up on my Google Reader, I immediately starred it and marked it “Michelle” in the tags. Michelle is one of my best friends and chocolate-raspberry is one of her absolute favorite flavor combos, so I knew that at some point, I would be making these for her. I was just waiting for the perfect occasion!
And then Michelle got knocked-up with her second kid and I joined in the fray to help throw her a baby shower. Perfect! I jumped at the chance to make dessert and whipped these cupcakes up.
Michelle says they were great, but I found the frosting far too sweet. What matters is that she loved them, though, and in that regard, I was pleased with them!
Sadly, on the way over to the baby shower I had to hit my brakes suddenly and had a bit of a cupcake catastrophe. My friend Sarah recommended putting icing on the bottom of each cupcake to help hold them in place next time, and I’ll definitely be taking her advice.
Sad iPhone photo.
Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam Buttercream
Seen on Dinner & Dessert, who got it from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Deeply Dark Devil’s Food Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups warm water
Preheat oven to 325. Line cupcake pans with liners and set aside.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to incorporate. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter on medium until creamy. Slowly add the sugar and beat on high for approximately 3 minutes, creaming with the butter. Add cocoa powder and beat for another minute, scraping down the sides as you go. Beat in the eggs one at a time, combining thoroughly after each one, and then add the vanilla. On low, add 1/3rd of the flour mixture, 1/2 of the warm water, 1/3rd of the flour, 1/2 of the water, and the final 1/3 of the flour. Scrape down the sides and mix on low for 30 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pans (I use my cookie scoop to limit mess).
Bake for 13-15 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost with Raspberry Jam Buttercream.
Raspberry Jam Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
6-8 cups powdered sugar
½ cup seedless raspberry jam
Cream butter and jam with an electric mixer until well incorporated, approximately 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until you reach desired consistency. If the frosting get thicker than you prefer, add a bit of milk to thin it out.
Danielle is a wife and mother in the Baltimore area sharing her adventures (and misadventures!) here at Cloud 8 1/2: Close to Bliss and Loving It!
Bummer about them taking a fall in the car ride. I will have to try the frosting on the bottom trick in the future.
I thought that was genius – I never would have thought of it. The cupcakes certainly weren’t as pretty as when I left the house, but the guest of honor loved the flavor and that’s all that mattered to me at that point!