Raspberry cupcakes

Soft and moist, these raspberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are made with freeze-dried raspberries, which give the cupcakes an amazing raspberry flavor. 

Why you should try these raspberry cupcakes

• Prominent raspberry flavor – Adding freeze-dried raspberry powder in both the cupcake batter and the frosting gives these cupcakes a delightful burst of raspberry flavor. The powder intensifies the natural sweetness and tartness of the raspberries, resulting in a prominent and irresistible taste. If you're looking for more raspberry desserts, you have to try these Raspberry cookies that are also made with freeze-dried raspberries.
• Soft and moist cupcakes – Nobody likes a dry and crumbly cupcake, and these raspberry cupcakes are anything but that. The combination of room-temperature butter, vegetable oil, and whole milk in the batter ensures a moist and tender texture.
• Easy to make – Don't let the thought of baking from scratch intimidate you. This raspberry cupcakes recipe is straightforward and beginner-friendly, making it a great choice for everyone.

How to make freeze-dried raspberry powder

To make freeze-dried raspberry powder at home, start with crisp and moisture-free freeze-dried raspberries. Place the raspberries in a blender or food processor and blend them until they turn into a fine powder. Once the raspberries are ground to a powder consistency, use a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds, ensuring a smooth and seed-free powder.

Ingredients you will need

For the raspberry cupcakes

• Flour – you can use all-purpose flour or cake flour to make this raspberry cupcake recipe.
• Freeze-dried raspberry powder
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Unsalted butter – Make sure you bring the butter to room temperature before whipping.
• White granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Oil – I use extra mild olive oil in this recipe, but any odorless vegetable will work in this recipe.
• Eggs – Bring the eggs to room temperature before using.
• Milk – I use whole milk at room temperature.
• Frozen raspberries – You can use fresh raspberries instead.

For the raspberry cream cheese frosting

• Unsalted butter at room temperature
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract 
• Cream cheese – I use Original Philadelphia cream cheese. Take it out of the fridge one hour before using it. 
• Freeze-dried raspberry powder

Cooking tips

• Combine the dry ingredients before adding them to the wet ones. To ensure a well-incorporated and evenly distributed batter, it's important to combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding them to the wet ingredients. This step helps prevent any lumps or clumps in the batter and ensures a smooth and consistent texture in your cupcakes.
• Don’t mix the cupcake batter for too long. When incorporating the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, it's crucial not to overmix the batter. Overmixing can lead to gluten development, resulting in dense and tough cupcakes. 
• Don’t overwhip the frosting. Overwhipping can lead to a runny consistency or even curdling of the cream cheese. I like to stop the mixer every 15 seconds to check if the cream is at the right consistency.
• Don’t frost warm cupcakes. Warm cupcakes can cause the frosting to melt or become runny, resulting in a messy presentation. Allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack for a sufficient amount of time, usually until they are no longer warm to the touch, before applying the frosting.

Step by step directions

Making the cupcake batter

1. Combine the flour, freeze-dried raspberry powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract for 3-5 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Then, add the oil and beat until incorporated.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat to emulsify.
4. Add the dry ingredients while alternating with the milk and mix on low, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. 

Baking the cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 340F (170C) and line a muffin pan with 9 cupcake liners.
2. Fill the paper liners ⅔ full spread the chopped raspberries on top and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake in the middle of the pan comes out clean.
3. Remove from the oven and let the cupcakes rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Then, transfer onto a cooling rack to cool down to room temperature before decorating with the cream.

Preparing the cream cheese frosting

1. Beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until white and fluffy.
2. Add the cream cheese and raspberry powder and beat until fully incorporated, smooth, and stable. 
3. Place the cream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle. Decorate completely cooled cupcakes. 

Flavor variations

• Lemon - Add the lemon zest of 1 lemon to the cupcake batter to make lemon raspberry cupcakes. You can also incorporate a teaspoon of lemon juice into the frosting to enhance the lemon flavor.
• Chocolate – Fold ⅓ cup of semi-sweet or white chocolate chips into the cupcake batter (like I did with my Zucchini chocolate chip muffins) before baking the cupcakes.
• Raspberry coulis – To add raspberry coulis as a filling to your raspberry cupcakes, first, core out a small portion from the center of each cupcake. Fill your cupcakes with some Raspberry coulis (with cornstarch version) and pipe the frosting on top.
• Buttercream – If you are not a big fan of cream cheese, you can always use whatever frosting you like. American buttercream or raspberry buttercream made with raspberry puree will work great with these vanilla raspberry cupcakes.

FAQ

More dessert recipes you may like

Raspberry cookies

Lemon curd cake

Blueberry muffins

Recipe card

Raspberry cupcakes

Soft and moist, these raspberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are made with freeze-dried raspberries, which give the cupcakes an amazing raspberry flavor.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 9 cupcakes

Calories: 628kcal

Author: Anna

Equipment

• Digital kitchen scale
• Stand mixer or hand mixer and a large mixing bowl
• Muffin pan
• 9 Cupcake liners
• Piping bags
• Piping nozzle

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon freeze-dried raspberry powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 100 g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 150 g white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 20 g vegetable oil such as canola or sunflower oil
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 150 ml whole milk at room temperature
• 70 g frozen raspberries whole or roughly chopped

Frosting

• 200 g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 80 g powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 400 g cream cheese take it out of the fridge one hour before using it
• 1 tablespoon freeze-dried raspberry powder

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

For the cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 340F (170C) and line a muffin pan with 9 cupcake liners.
• In a bowl, combine the flour, freeze-dried raspberry powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer and a bowl), add the butter, sugar, and vanilla extract and beat for 3-5 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Then, add the oil and beat until incorporated.
• Add the eggs one at a time and beat to emulsify.
• Add the dry ingredients while alternating with the milk and mix on low, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Should look like this – dry/half of the milk/dry/the rest of the milk/dry. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl and mix again until homogenous in consistency.
• Fill the paper liners ⅔ full, and spread the chopped raspberries on top and bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake in the middle of the pan comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and let the cupcakes rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Then, transfer onto a cooling rack to cool down to room temperature before decorating with the cream.

For the frosting

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer and a bowl), beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until white and fluffy.
• Add the cream cheese and raspberry powder and beat until fully incorporated, smooth, and stable. It will take no more than 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl and beat again for 10 seconds.
• Place the cream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle. Decorate the completely cooled cupcakes.

Video

Notes

Store in the fridge for 4 days.

Freeze unfrosted cupcakes for 2 months.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Raspberry cupcakes

Serving Size

 

1 cupcake

Amount per Serving

Calories

628

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

46

g

71

%

Saturated Fat

 

27

g

169

%

Trans Fat

 

1

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

3

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

12

g

Cholesterol

 

155

mg

52

%

Sodium

 

364

mg

16

%

Potassium

 

151

mg

4

%

Carbohydrates

 

48

g

16

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

29

g

32

%

Protein

 

7

g

14

%

Vitamin A

 

1515

IU

30

%

Vitamin C

 

3

mg

4

%

Calcium

 

124

mg

12

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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