Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

These chocolate raspberry cupcakes are a fantastic Valentine’s Day dessert that is low on effort, but big on flavor!

The cupcake is moist and delicate, topped with a rich chocolate ganache, garnished with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings. A beautiful cupcake that is equally delicious too!

For another fantastic Valentine’s Day dessert try my Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting or my Flourless Chocolate Cake with Creme Anglaise

Use Two Types of Chocolate

• To make these cupcakes extra chocolatey, I use a combination of semi-sweet chocolate chips and unsweetened cocoa powder.
• When using unsweetened cocoa powder I like to allow it to “bloom” with hot water, to bring out its best flavor.
• It only takes 5 minutes of resting to bloom the cocoa powder, while also melting the chocolate chips. Then you’ll whisk to combine.

Making Cupcakes Extra Moist

• There are 3 tips for making a cupcake extra moist.
• First, use oil over butter. Vegetable oil is pure fat (whereas butter has milk solids in it) and I have found it’s the secret to a moist cupcake. I do the same for my Banana Bread and Pumpkin Bread recipes and it always yields fantastic results! Cupcakes also have so many other flavors going on that you can get away with the oil, and not need the flavor of the butter. Unlike muffin recipes where I use a mix of both butter and oil.
• Secondly, skip the milk in favor of water. Milk will weigh down the cupcakes whereas the water will make them light, fluffy and extra moist!
• And lastly, easy does it on the flour! Too much flour will make your cupcakes dry and dense. I only use 3/4 cup of flour in this recipe which I think is the perfect amount.

Prepare the Cupcake Pan

• I like to use a jumbo cupcake pan for these cupcakes because they look really impressive and decadent! But you could also make 12 standard-sized cupcakes with this recipe too.
• Just be sure to line the cupcake tin with muffin papers. I like to use Dark Brown Muffin papers since they blend into the cupcake and make for a seamless presentation.
• The papers also help to protect the light and fluffy texture of the cupcake.

Create Jammy Filling

• The chunky raspberry filling adds a wonderfully refreshing quality to the cupcakes.
• I like to use a combination of store-bought raspberry preserves and fresh raspberries for the best texture and flavor.
• To make the filling it’s as easy as mashing the raspberries with a fork into the jam until a chunky filling forms.
• This is also much easier than pureing the raspberries! The chunks of fresh raspberry adds more flavor and texture to the cupcake too.

Adding the Chocolate Ganache

• Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding the chocolate ganache.
• These cupcakes are very moist and fragile when warm, and the filling also makes them a bit fragile too.
• Once cooled they will set up and be easier to handle.
• Dip the tops into the ganache, allowing the excess to drip back into the pot.
• This will create a nice even glaze on top (as opposed to spooning the ganache on top which can create drips)

Adding the Fresh Raspberries

• Once the ganache starts to set it creates a sticky surface that will hold the raspberries in place.
• I like to add a lot of raspberries, setting them close together, for an impressive presentation. I find adding fruit like this is a much easier way to create a “wow-factor” without dragging out the piping bag filled with frosting! It’s also tastier too!
• They also add a wonderful refreshing flavor against the richness of the chocolate.

The Chocolate Shavings

• Create decorative chocolate shavings with a bittersweet chocolate bar (I like to use Ghirardelli 60%, Bittersweet Chocolate) and a vegetable peeler.
• Not only does it look pretty, but it adds a nice texture on top too.
• A cold chocolate bar will create chocolate shavings, and a room-temperature bar will create mini chocolate curls.
• The chocolate shavings is a simple “finishing” trick that can make plain cupcakes look fancy!

Chocolate and Raspberry Filling

• The raspberry filling combined with the chocolate cupcake and ganache makes for a wonderful flavor combination, especially for Valentine’s Day.
• Keep the cupcakes refrigerated until ready to serve.
• Then remove the cupcakes from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. It will soften the ganache and the cupcake texture will be better too.