The Story:
Going to the grocery store is quite an event. I don’t have three toddlers to wrangle through the aisles or 4 teenage boys to feed at home but I do have quite a lot of people to please.
I get weird looks at the checkout stand. But who can blame them? All I have is chocolate, cookies, cake mix, butter, sour cream, candy, powdered sugar and the occasional assortment of nuts. I’m also the crazy woman who closely examines every container of berries in produce section. I dig through the crates, shake the containers to move them around looking for the right coloring, the right size and all the other picture perfect qualities. And yes, occasionally I get told by the store employees to “pick one already!” To which I just respond with a smile.
Chocolate Almond Raspberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Raspberry Cake:
- 1 Box Devil's Food Cake Mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 C. oil
- 1 C. buttermilk or milk
- 1/3 C. sour cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 C. raspberries fresh or frozen
Chocolate Almond Ganache:
- 1 C. chocolate chips or melts
- 1/3 C. heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1 C. butter softened
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract optional
- 1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1-3 Tbsp. milk
- 2-3 1/2 C. powdered sugar
Fresh Raspberries and Sprinkles for decoration
Instructions
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.
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2. Sift cake mix into a small bowl and set aside.
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3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, milk, sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth.
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4. Stir in cake mix.
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5. Gently fold in raspberries.
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6. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 16-22 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
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7. Chocolate Almond Ganache: Place chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream in a microwave proof bowl and melt in microwave. Pull out while there are still chunks and just stir until smooth, then if it really won't melt down zap it for 10 more seconds. Stir in almond extract.
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8. Chocolate Buttercream: Beat butter for 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract, almond extract and cocoa powder and beat again. Add 1 Tablespoon milk and slowly add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add more milk if it gets too thick.
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9. To assemble, dip the tops of cooled cupcakes into the ganache and then let set for about 10 minutes (depending on the heat of the room it will take more or less time). Pipe frosting over ganache and top with fresh berries and sprinkles.
My family and friends all love your cupcakes. I do have a question, about the buttercream. When you say, 1 cup butter, softened. Is it still cool to the touch or not quite melted (sweating)?
I’ll be trying this one soon! Thank you so much for sharing!
When you touch it with your finger you want it to leave a slight indentation 🙂 Having perfectly softened butter is so huge in the baking world!
NEVER microwave your butter. Unless you are really incredibly skilled at NOT melting it. Because once you melt butter, you can never go back. It changes the chemical bonds and it won’t make a proper buttercream. Just leave it out over night so that it gets soft.
This sounds delish! I’m not always a fan of chocolate cakes but this will be worth a try and I love raspberries. thanks! 🙂
HELLO! Sounds great!!!
Lizzy,
Sometimes when I bake chocolate cupcakes in cute pattern and colored cupcake liners, they don’t look so cute coming out of the oven. They turn dark. What do you use (or what are the best colors) to keep the cupcake liners looking bright after they come out of the oven? Do you have favorite brand liners you use?
Thanks!
You need GREASEPROOF liners. That’s the magic word to look for. I like to buy mine in bulk online because it’s cheaper. Just look for that magic word, and you will be good!
Oooh, greaseproof liners! Will do that from now on. Thanks for your response and thanks for all the great posts and recipes.
these sound really good! cute story too! 😉 and i like the way you photographed them!
I sooo get the crazy woman who closely examines every container of berries thing… At least I know I’m not alone on this 🙂
<3 your anecdotes!!!
What tip did you use to to frost your cupcake?
A Wilton 2D tip that has been stretched a little bit so the prongs are further apart