Ingredients
Scale
For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled (125 g))
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder (25 g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
- ¼ cup softened unsalted butter (56 g)
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar (150 g)
- 1 egg (at room temperature)
- 1 egg yolk (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk (at room temperature (120 ml))
- ¼ cup sour cream (at room temperature (61 g))
For the Raspberry Chocolate Ganache:
- 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (chopped (113 g))
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream (90 ml)
- ¼ cup raspberry preserves (85 g)
For the Raspberry Buttercream:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (softened (168 g))
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (195 g)
- ½ cup freeze-dried raspberries (measured then ground (16 g))
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup raspberry preserves (85 g)
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners.
- Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar until fluffy.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, mixing until light and fluffy.
- Mix in milk and sour cream on low speed.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and combine on low speed.
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ full with batter. Bake for 17-20 minutes.
- Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
For the Raspberry Chocolate Ganache:
- Heat heavy cream until steaming, then pour over chopped chocolate. Stir to combine.
- Add raspberry preserves and mix. Let ganache cool for 15 minutes, then transfer to a piping bag.
For the Raspberry Buttercream:
- Beat butter and salt until smooth and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and mix on low speed.
- Add ground freeze-dried raspberries, raspberry preserves, and vanilla extract. Mix until fluffy.
Assembling the Cupcakes:
- Remove centers of cooled cupcakes and fill with raspberry chocolate ganache.
- Pipe raspberry buttercream on top of each cupcake.
- Decorate with fresh raspberries, then serve and enjoy!