These raspberry cupcakes are soft, fluffy, and filled with bursts of raspberry flavor. They’re topped with a creamy raspberry frosting and perfect for any occasion!
To me, raspberries just scream summer but they are also one of the few fruits that taste delicious when bought frozen too! That means you can make year-round and that, my friend, is a win!
I love this raspberry cupcake recipe because it works for so many occasions. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays, Fourth of July…did I forget any others?! So let’s make them!
How to Make Raspberry Cupcakes
This whole recipe is of course dairy free but works perfectly with dairy ingredients too!
STEP ONE: Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set it aside from later. Beat together the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
STEP TWO: Beat in the two eggs and egg white then add in the vanilla extract and the milk.
STEP THREE: Add the dry ingredients into the batter and mix it all together – careful not to overmix! The batter will be thick.
STEP FOUR: Remove the raspberries from the freezer and toss them with 1 tbsp of flour in a small bowl. This step helps ensure the raspberries don’t sink to the bottom of the cupcakes.
STEP FIVE: For bright pops of colour like in the pictures, don’t fold the raspberries directly into the batter. First, scoop the batter into the muffin liners until they are half way full, then gently push 3-5 raspberries into each one.
This is optional of course, I just like how the cupcakes look this way. You can also gently fold the raspberries directly into the batter before scooping it in. Make sure to not mix them in too much so they don’t get too squished. You’ll get more streaks of color throughout the cupcakes with this method.
STEP SIX: Bake at 350°F for around 16-22 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out completely clean!
Let the cupcakes cool completely while you make the buttercream.
How to Make Raspberry Buttercream
Okay – so because I like my recipes to be as simple as possible, I really tried to cut down on the steps for this vegan raspberry frosting. I tried mixing the raspberries right into the buttercream but there was just too much liquid to create a pipe-able buttercream.
So to remove some of that liquid, we’re going to boil down the raspberries, which means there are a few steps involved but I promise it’s worth it!
STEP ONE: Mix the thawed or fresh raspberries in a blender or food processor until they become a puree.
STEP TWO: Add the raspberry puree to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil on medium heat.
STEP THREE: Reduce the heat to low/simmer and stir every few minutes until there is about half as much raspberry puree as there was in the beginning. This could take anywhere from 5-15 minutes.
STEP FOUR: To remove the seeds, pour the raspberry puree into a bowl through a mesh strainer, pushing it through the strainer with a spoon. You might have to scrape the raspberry puree off of the underside of the strainer. You’ll have around 4 tbsp of puree.
STEP FIVE: While the puree is cooling, beat the butter and vegetable shortening in a mixing bowl until they’re fully combined.
STEP SIX: Beat in the puree, then add in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time. Continue adding powdered sugar until the buttercream is thick enough.
Important Tips
- Careful not to over-mix – When making the cupcakes, the dry ingredients should be mixed into the wet ingredients only until just combined. This is key to getting fluffy cupcakes!
- Fill the liners only to halfway – It’s going to look like not enough cupcake batter, but filling the liners halfway prevents the batter from overflowing over the top.
- Optional: Don’t fold the raspberries directly into the batter – I think the cupcakes look extra pretty when there aren’t streaks of bluey-purple color throughout. It takes a few more minutes, but manually pushing a few raspberries into the batter after it’s been scooped into the liners (instead of folding all the berries in before) will give you cupcakes just like in the pictures!
Should I use Fresh or Frozen Raspberries?
For the cupcakes, you must use frozen raspberries. If the raspberries aren’t frozen they’ll spread out into the batter and you won’t get those bursts of raspberry flavor!
But you can definitely just freeze your fresh raspberries beforehand!
For the buttercream, it’s the opposite. The raspberries shouldn’t be frozen because it will be too hard to puree them. If you have fresh raspberries you can use those or just let your frozen raspberries thaw until they can be easily pureed.
How to store the cupcakes
The frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Storing the cupcakes in the fridge will dry them out so I don’t recommend that.
Can I freeze cupcakes?
If you want to make these ahead of time, you can wrap the unfrosted cupcakes individually in plastic wrap then put them all in an airtight freezer bag. They can be frozen for around 2 months.
To defrost, just remove them from the freezer, unwrap each one and place them on a cooling rack at room temperature.
The vegan raspberry buttercream can be frozen in an airtight container as well – then thaw it in the refrigerator and mix it with your beater again to bring back the fluffiness!
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Raspberry Cupcakes
Equipment
- Blender or Food Processor
- Muffin tin
- Standing or handheld mixer
- Small Saucepan
- Mesh Sieve/Strainer
Ingredients
Raspberry Cupcakes
- ¼ cup +2 tbsp butter (regular or vegan) (85 g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg white
- 1 cup milk of choice (regular or vegan) (240 ml)
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour, seperated (245 g + 9 g)
- ¾-1 cup raspberries, frozen* see notes
Raspberry Buttercream
- 2½ cups raspberries* see notes
- 1 cup butter (vegan or regular) (210 g)
- ½ cup vegetable shortening (100 g)
- 3-3½ cup powdered sugar (icing sugar) (390g -450 g)
Instructions
Raspberry Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with 12 liners. Line a second muffin tin with 3 more liners – this recipe makes 15 cupcakes.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 ¾ flour, baking powder, and salt and set it aside.
- In the bowl of a standing or handheld mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, around 1-2 minutes. Add in the eggs and egg white, one at a time, then add in the vanilla extract and milk.
- Pour in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix!
- Put 1 tbsp of flour in a seperate bowl and toss the frozen raspberries in it until they are covered in flour. If the raspberries are really big you can break them up a little bit, but not too small.
- Fill the muffin tins 1/2 way with cupcake batter then push 3-5 raspberries into each one. This will create perfectly white cupcakes with bright pops of raspberry. You can also fold the raspberries right into the batter before filling the muffin liners, but this will create streaks of color throughout the cupcakes.
- Bake the cupcakes for 16-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely while you make the Raspberry Buttercream.
Raspberry Buttercream
- Pour the raspberries into a blender or food processor until fully pureed. Add the pureed raspberries to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
- Allow the raspberries to boil for 30 seconds then turn the heat down to a low simmer. Continue stirring every few minutes for between 5-15 minutes, or until the amount of raspberry puree is about 1/2 of the original amount.
- Remove the puree from the heat and push it through a mesh strainer into a small bowl, leaving behind the seeds. You may have to scrape the underside of the strainer to get the puree into the bowl. You should have around 3-4 tbsp of puree.
- Let the puree cool completely, then add butter and shortening to the bowl of a standing or handheld mixer. Beat them together until smooth, then add in the puree, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time. If the buttercream is too thin, add more powdered sugar, 2 tbsp at a time until you get the desired consistency.
- Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!
These cupcakes are remarkably fluffy!!
Yay, thank you so much!
These look so beautiful and delicious. I feel like they belong on the cover of a baker’s romance novel! SO pretty <3
Hi Sarah! Thank you so much for saying so, that’s a wonderful compliment! 🙂
Please help me understand where the 1 cup of milk goes that is in the ingredient list for the cupcakes? It is not mentioned anywhere in instructions.
Shoot – I’m sorry about that! It goes in with the vanilla and the eggs, right before the dry ingredients! I’ve updated it now – thanks for bringing that to my attention!