Fresh raspberries, Framboise, and plenty of dark chocolate come together in these decadent Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes.
Tessa, who’s seven, grabbed a box of little chocolate heart cookies at the store the other day. When my girls ask to buy cookies, I usually tell them that we should just make them ourselves.
Before I could say a word this time, she asked,”Wouldn’t these look perfect on top of some Valentine’s Day cupcakes?”
She held the box up to my face to make sure I’d taken in the full measure of their chocolate-covered-pink-and-white-sprinkled adorableness.
“Why, yes. Yes, they would.”
The girl is good. With one simple question, she got me to buy her cookies AND make some Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes.
Not only that, her idea of topping cupcakes with little cookies is a genius trick for turning already cute cupcakes into super festive treats.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can make your own cookies, but if you’re like me, you don’t want to bake cookies and cupcakes at the same time. Am I right? Just buy ’em.
With or without a cookie on top, you’re going to want these cupcakes.
Dark chocolate cake full of raspberry goodness awaits you under all that sweet raspberry buttercream. The cupcake batter includes both Framboise and sweet, tart raspberries, which make these little treats super moist and delicious.
Raspberry and chocolate are made for each other, we’re talking serious BFFs, so that makes these Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes just perfect to share with the ones you love.
Bake these sweet treats for Valentine’s day or any day you want to spread around a little extra love.
You’ll be a hero, especially if you add little cookies on top.
Two desserts are totally better than one.
Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- Cupcakes
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup Framboise
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter softened but still cool
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries at room temperature and gently crushed
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- Raspberry Buttercream
- 3/4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon Framboise
- 1 tablespoon milk or cream as needed
Instructions
- For the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350° F. Grease or paper-line 24 muffin tin cups. Set aside.
- Combine chocolate and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Carefully pour in boiling water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the ingredients are well combined. Add sour cream and Framboise and mix well. Set aside.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until well combined.
- Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until well blended.
- Add the flour mixture, alternating with the chocolate mixture, to the egg-butter mixture. Stir until the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Stir in raspberries and their juices. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Add batter to prepared muffin cups, filling each one about half full.
- Bake until the cupcakes are set and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
- For the buttercream, place raspberries in a mesh strainer over a bowl. Press the berries against the side with a spatula to release their juices into the bowl (you should have about 1/4 cup of juice).
- In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, combine butter, 3 1/2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, the raspberry juice, and Framboise. Mix slowly with the paddle attachment to combine, and then increase speed to medium-high and beat until combined. Add additional powdered sugar or milk, as needed, to achieve a smooth, creamy consistency that will hold up on your cupcakes.
- Pipe frosting atop cooled cupcakes or use a small spatula to add a generous layer of frosting to each cupcake. Garnish with cookies, if desired.
PIN RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES FOR LATER
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These look absolutely amazing!
Thanks, Jessica! Enjoy!
What is Framboise?
Framboise is liqueur made from raspberries. It’s quite inexpensive at Trader Joe’s.
I live in Canada and “Framboise” is a raspberry wine . Would that work in your recipe?
Absolutely! Happy baking!
My cupcakes didnt rise very much. What am I doing wrong? There is no baking powder in the recipe only baking soda. Would that make a difference? Want to make these for my daughter’s wedding. My three girls and I made a test batch last month and they didnt rise very much then either but tasted very good. Am I supposed to be using self rising flour? Just wondering.
I’m sorry to hear your cupcakes didn’t rise much! They are on the denser side, but they should definitely rise as they bake. I used unbleached all purpose flour for this recipe. The acid in the sour cream should interact with the baking soda to help them rise, though it can lose effectiveness if the batter sits for awhile before baking.
Hi. I tried these cupcakes last night and they ended up sinking. I followed the recipe exactly and not sure why this happened. Any ideas? They taste good though and the frosting is very good also.
Thanks,
Vicky
Sorry to hear that your cupcakes sank! Did they sink after they came out of the oven or did they just not rise? It’s possible that they weren’t baked all the way through. Were they gooey inside? Another question — how fresh was your baking soda? Glad to hear that they tasted good, even if they didn’t turn out perfectly. Thanks for checking in — hope we can get to the bottom of this!
Hi. Yes they did sink after I took them out. Baking soda is pretty fresh, opened just a week ago. I had them in oven for about 15 mins but maybe they needed more time. They ended up looking like a brownie in a cupcake liner lol. Will try this recipe again but do you think I should add more time to the baking and how much more?
Thanks for trying to help me figure this out!
Vicky
Oven temperatures can vary, so try adding a few extra minutes. If a toothpick doesn’t come out clean, add a few more minutes and test again. Hope this helps! Thanks for following up!
Hi these cupcakes look delicious. I was wondering if they could be made a few days in advance, if so how many? Would they still be as good? Thanks.
You can certainly bake them two to three days in advance. Store the cupcakes, once completely cool, in an airtight container. I would frost them — at most — a day ahead of time! I think they actually taste better a day after baking. I’d love to hear how they turn out for you, Isabelle!
What kind of cookie is that on top of the cupcake. Did you make them?
The cookies are from Trader Joe’s, and they usually carry them around Valentine’s Day. They are chocolate covered chocolate cookies! So good! Happy baking, Miriam!
Hi suzanne
what can i substitute the framboise with?
dor the frosting is it possible if i just use 2 cups of confectioner sugar?
thank you.
Feel free to substitute the Framboise with another liquid — more water or milk — and the cupcakes should work just fine. Give the frosting a try with two cups of confectioners’ sugar; if the consistency looks good for frosting your cupcakes, go for it. If it’s not quite right, just add a bit more until it looks good to you! Happy baking!