Raspberry Cupcakes

This raspberry cupcake recipe is as delicious and flavorful as my strawberry-filled cupcake recipe, or with all the sweet and tart raspberry flavor like these white chocolate raspberry cupcakes.

A soft and moist vanilla cupcake base with fresh raspberries, a heart of homemade raspberry compote and a light and fluffy raspberry whipped cream frosting.

this recipe

These raspberry cupcakes are one of my favorite and super comforting recipes, along with these Oreo cupcakes and this strawberry blueberry smoothie.

Raspberry is a delicious red fruit that flavors all kinds of desserts, like this chocolate raspberry cake, these raspberry macarons or this delicious raspberry mousse tart.

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• Ingredients notes
• How to Make Raspberry Cupcake Recipe
• Storage and tips
• If you love Raspberries
• Raspberry Cupcakes

Why you'll love this recipe

The raspberry cupcakes are made up of 3 preparations, my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe to which I've added fresh raspberries, a heart of homemade raspberry compote and its delicious raspberry-flavored mascarpone whipped cream frosting.

These fresh raspberry cupcakes are perfect for special occasions, birthdays, weddings, baby showers, or just for enjoying the raspberry season.

More Cupcake recipes

Ingredients notes

Here's an overview of the ingredients needed and possible substitutions to make these cupcakes with raspberry at home. Scroll down to see the quantities in the recipe card at the end of the page.

Raspberry vanilla cupcakes

• Butter: Use unsalted butter which should be softened but not melted. Take it out in advance or warm it up a little in the microwave.
• Sugar: White granulated sugar, not flavored sugar, to preserve the flavor of the vanilla and raspberry.
• Eggs: Large and at room temperature, cold they will give a grainy texture, leave them for a few minutes in a bowl of hot water if you haven't had time to take them out in advance.
• Flour: Use white wheat flour such as cake flour, or if you don't have any, all-purpose flour with a little cornstarch.
• Milk: If possible, use buttermilk, as its acidity creates an incredible balance of flavors and softness. You can replace it with full fat sour cream or plain yogurt, or follow my advice on how to make homemade buttermilk in the recipe card.
• Yeast: Only baking powder to make the cake batter rise, if you use baking soda instead, beware of quantities as it is 4 times more powerful.
• Vanilla and salt: A must, pure vanilla extract for perfume and table salt to bring out the flavors.
• Raspberries: Just fresh raspberries if possible, but frozen raspberries work too. If using frozen raspberries, allow to thaw completely to remove excess liquid.

Raspberry filling

As an option, the raspberry compote filling adds even more flavor to these cupcakes. You can replace it with raspberry jam, or raspberry curd, or make them without.

Raspberry Frosting

• Mascarpone: Mascarpone cheese, cold and not low-fat. You can replace it with cream cheese such as Philadelphia for a raspberry cream cheese frosting variant.
• Heavy Cream: Full-fat, very cold heavy cream with at least 30% fat, or 35% heavy whipping cream.
• Powdered sugar: No granulated sugar, just powdered sugar for a smooth frosting that doesn't contain any grains of sugar. You can always blend your sugar in a food processor or thermomix if you don't have any powdered sugar at home.
• Raspberry and vanilla: Pure vanilla extract and raspberry puree to flavor the frosting, no raspberry coulis as it's too runny.

⚠️ You will find the quantities and complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page.

How to Make Raspberry Cupcake Recipe

Cupcakes batter

• Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and prepare a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
• In a medium bowl, mix and sift together the dry ingredients, cake flour, baking powder and salt, then set aside.
• In another large mixing bowl, place the softened butter with the sugar and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until creamy.
• Add the room-temperature eggs and vanilla extract and beat again for 3 minutes until smooth.
• Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, in batches, and mix with a rubber spatula until smooth, then add the raspberries and mix just until incorporated.
• Pour the raspberry cupcake batter into the prepared pans, filling the cupcake cakes up to ¾ full.
• Bake for approx. 15-17 minutes, until golden on top.
• Allow the cupcakes to cool before removing them from the muffin pans and leaving them to cool completely on a wire rack.

Raspberry filling

• Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan, including fresh or frozen raspberries, sugar and lemon juice, and lemon zest.
• Cook over medium heat until boiling, then reduce heat to low and continue cooking for about 10-15 minutes, until you have a thick purée-like preparation.
• Allow the raspberry compote to cool completely, then place it in a covered jar in the fridge.
• Fill the center of the cooled cupcakes with the raspberry compote mixture, previously scooped out with a cupcake corer.

Tip: Blend and sieve the raspberry compote to remove the seeds and obtain pureed raspberries for making the raspberry frosting.

Raspberry whipped cream

• Place all ingredients in a large bowl: cold mascarpone, cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and raspberry puree.
• Mix with an electric mixer at medium-low speed for about 2-3 minutes until thick, smooth, and firm.
• Fill a piping bag fitted with a star icing tip (in this case 1B) with the raspberry whipped cream and decorate the tops of the raspberry cupcakes with a swirl.
• Add fresh raspberries for decoration and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Storage and tips

In the fridge: This raspberry cupcake recipe can only be stored in the fridge for around 3-4 days, in an airtight container or under plastic wrap.

Freezer: Only unfrosted cupcakes can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them defrost gently overnight in the fridge.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before you decorate them with the raspberry frosting, otherwise, the heat will melt the frosting.

You can replace raspberries with other fruits like blueberries and these blueberry cupcakes, or mango, lemon-like these lemon cupcakes with lemon curd filling, to make lemon raspberry cupcakes.

Switch with a raspberry buttercream: Use my vanilla buttercream recipe or this Swiss meringue Buttercream and add the same amount of raspberry purée to make a raspberry buttercream frosting for these cupcakes.

Can I replace raspberry puree with freeze-dried raspberries? Yes, you can make whipped cream or buttercream simply by using freeze-dried raspberry powder.

If you love Raspberries

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