Photo Courtesy of Leah 

I was very excited to make these cupcakes. Yeah, they were a process but definitely worth it for two reasons. One, because they are totally delicious and two, they were to celebrate a birthday.

I've known for months now that I was going to bake my friend, co-worker, and fellow foodie Leah cupcakes for her birthday. I mean, she made some killer cupcakes for my birthday so of course I had to come up with something that measured up. Luckily, a couple of weeks before her birthday, Leah sent me a list of possible cupcakes that she would like to have me make. I am so glad these were on her list. Something about the combination of chocolate and raspberry is pure magic. The frosting is equally amazing. The seedless raspberry jam really shines through and takes regular buttercream to the next level.



Photo Courtesy of Leah

 

Devil's Food Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

3/4 C. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 C. hot water
3 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1 1/2 C. unsalted butter
2 1/4 C. sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbl. plus 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. sour cream, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over med-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on med-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 min. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filing each 3/4 full. Bake until cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 min. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Once cooled, then core the cupcake and fill with raspberry filling. I have a cupcake corer that I used to make a hole for the raspberry filling. If you don't have one, you can gently cut out a circle in the middle of the cupcake and then use a piping bag or small spoon to fill the cupcakes with the filling. Then frost with raspberry buttercream.

Raspberry Filling
from Smitten Kitchen
(I cut the original recipe in half since I was only making 2 dozen cupcakes)

1 10oz bag of frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 C. sugar
1 T. cornstarch

Puree the raspberries in a food processor, blender or immersion blender. Press the puree through a fine-mesh strainer with the back of a spoon, removing the seeds. Heat the puree in a small pot with the sugar and cornstarch until mixture boils, stirring constantly. As it boils, it should quickly thicken.

Raspberry Buttercream
from Annie's Eats

16 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. seedless raspberry jam

To make the frosting, place the butter and jam in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.