These white chocolate raspberry cupcakes look absolutely beautiful and taste even better. The white chocolate cupcakes are moist and fluffy. Then they’re decorated with white chocolate raspberry frosting made from real berries.
Sweet white chocolate and bright raspberries come together to make these white chocolate raspberry cupcakes one of the most special cupcakes recipes you’ll ever try. I love making these for Valentine’s Day, baby showers or bridal showers – but they’re perfect for any special occasion thanks to the beautiful pink frosting. The white chocolate flavor of the cupcakes is delicate without being too sweet. Best of all, they have the perfect moist and tender crumb. The frosting is sweet and creamy with the ultimate white chocolate raspberry flavor. It’s made with real berries and white chocolate and tastes like you’re biting into a white chocolate covered raspberry.
Delicious.
For the White Chocolate Cupcakes
These white chocolate cupcakes are moist with a soft crumb and delicate white chocolate flavor. They’re made with primarily butter for lots of flavor and just the right amount of white chocolate. While you can definitely taste the white chocolate, the flavor isn’t overly strong. I found that adding too much white chocolate made the cupcakes too sweet and too dense in texture. The moist and tender cupcake crumb comes from using whole milk (2% is OK but I do not recommend using skim) and just a touch of oil to keeps them tender for longer.
Note that this recipe uses just egg whites for a fluffier cupcake texture. This also helps to combat any heaviness that can be caused by the melted chocolate. Be sure to only use the egg whites – and not the entire egg.
For best results, be sure that:
- You melt the white chocolate very slowly
- The eggs are at room temperature before getting started. Separate the eggs first (separating eggs when they’re cold is easier), then let the egg whites sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or until they no longer feel cold to the touch.
- The butter is at room temperature before getting started, but not starting to melt.
- The cake flour is sifted before using. I find cake flour is typically quite lumpy. Even if the bag/box says that it is pre-sifted, be sure to sift it yourself. If you don’t have cake flour, I’ve included a substitution in the recipe notes below.
- The batter isn’t overmixed. Overmixing causes cupcakes that are tough instead of tender and can lead to a poor rise. You’ll add in the dry ingredients and liquid by alternating between the two and only mixing until combined. I always do the last few additions whisking by hand to minimize the possibility of over mixing.
For the White Chocolate Raspberry Frosting
The frosting for these white chocolate raspberry cupcakes requires a few extra steps because we need to add both flavors and because we’re using real berries. However, the flavor payoff is 100% worth the extra effort. This recipe can be a bit tricky so be sure to read all my tips and tricks below.
For the raspberry flavor, we’re using real berries (fresh or frozen). You’ll first pulse them in a food processor until they’re a liquid, then pour the puree through a metal sieve to remove the seeds. I do this about ½ at a time and press it through with the back of a rubber spatula (it is quite thick). From there, the puree is boiled down in a saucepan to concentrate the flavor and remove excess liquid. Make sure to stir the puree as it boils especially at the end to avoid burning. When you’re done, it should be thick like jam and you should only have a few tablespoons left. You can see the differences between the two below:
**This step is 100% necessary. If you simply add the puree to the buttercream it make the frosting watery and then separate.
For the white chocolate flavor, you’ll need to melt the chocolate. Whenever melting chocolate, especially white chocolate, it’s important to go very slowly. Otherwise the chocolate can bake or burn and become grainy. Chop the chocolate very finely. You can then either melt it in a double boiler over low heat or in the microwave. If using the microwave, be sure to melt on medium power in 45-second intervals, stirring between each interval. Do not use high power, which is often the default. High power will cause the chocolate to become grainy.
Before adding both the melted white chocolate and boiled down raspberry puree to the butter they must be fully cooled. If the chocolate or raspberry puree are still warm, they will melt the butter and cause the frosting to be too thin.
So to summarize, make sure to:
- Boil down the raspberry puree until it is very thick. You should only end up with about 3-4 tablespoons after it’s boiled down.
- Cool the puree fully before adding it to the frosting. It shouldn’t feel even slightly warm. You can make the puree and boil it down the day before you make the frosting to save time the day of.
- Melt the white chocolate very slowly to avoid it becoming grainy. Only add the white chocolate to the butter once it’s at room temperature. If it’s still warm, even slightly, it will melt the butter.
Note: This frosting recipe makes enough to pipe each cupcake with a large amount of frosting. If you plan to frost each cupcake with a knife or a thinner layer of frosting, feel free to half the recipe.
These white chocolate raspberry cupcakes look absolutely beautiful and taste even better. Fluffy and tender with a hint of white chocolate in the cupcakes and then frosted with the creamiest white chocolate raspberry frosting – this recipe is impossible to resist.
And if you love raspberries & chocolate, then I highly recommend trying:
- Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
- Raspberry Brownies
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
- Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Equipment
- 12-cavity muffin pan
Ingredients
White Chocolate Cupcakes
- 3 ounces white chocolate (85 grams)
- ½ cup whole milk (120 ml) 2% works too
- 1 ½ cups cake flour (180 grams) sifted
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter (75 grams) cut into cubes
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (15 ml) or canola oil
- 2 large egg whites discard the yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
White Chocolate Raspberry Frosting
- ¾ cup raspberries (188 grams)
- 4 ounces white chocolate (112 grams)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (168 grams) softened to room temperature
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar (330-440 grams) as needed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoon whipping cream as needed
Instructions
White Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a 12-cavity muffin tin with muffin papers.
- Finely chop the white chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl.
- Heat the milk until warm, then pour over the white chocolate. Give the mixture a stir and let sit for 2 minutes. Microwave on medium power (not high power, which is often the default) for 45 seconds and stir. If the chocolate has not quite melted yet, microwave again for 30 seconds on medium power. Set aside.
- Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt and whisk for about 10 seconds. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the oil and vanilla extract.
- Be sure that the egg whites do not feel cold to the touch, then beat them into the batter 1 at a time. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl after each addition.
- With the mixer on a low speed, beat about ⅓ of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Then beat in about ½ of the milk and melted chocolate mixture.
- Whisk in about ⅓ more of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the milk. Lastly, whisk in the rest of the flour until there are no lumps in the batter. I always recommend doing the last few additions by hand to avoid overmixing the batter.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, distributing the batter equally between the 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for about 19-22 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few cupcake crumbs but no batter.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack to continue cooling.
White Chocolate Raspberry Frosting
- Pulse the raspberries in a food blender or blender until smooth.
- Pour the puree through a metal sieve/sifter and push through using the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds.
- Place the puree in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Bring the mixture to a low, slow boil while gently stirring. As the mixture boils, you will need to stir it constantly as it gets thicker. It will need to boil for about 20 minutes or until it is about ¼ of the original volume and looks thick like jam. Remove from the heat and cool fully. You can transfer the boiled down puree to a small bowl and place in the fridge to speed up the process.
- Finely chop the white chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds on medium power (not high power). Remove from the microwave and stir. Repeat the process until the chocolate is smooth. Set aside and let cool.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth.
- Ensure the melted white chocolate is no longer warm to the touch. It should feel room temperature. Then beat the fully cooled white chocolate into the butter.
- Beat in 1 cup of powdered sugar, followed by 1 tablespoon of the fully cooled boiled down raspberry puree. Again, ensure the puree is no longer even slightly warm, as it will melt the frosting.
- Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, alternating with 1 more tablespoon of boiled down puree until the desired flavor and thickness is reached. If your frosting seems thin, place it in the fridge to firm up.
- Decorate the cupcakes either by frosting with a knife or transferring the frosting to a piping bag and piping the frosting on. I used a piping bag with a 1M tip.
Notes
- White Chocolate: Be sure to use high quality white chocolate and no candy melts or almond bark. Candy melts and almond bark will not provide the proper flavor.
- Cake Flour: Cake flour provides a more delicate crumb. Be sure that you are not using self-raising cake flour. If you don't have cake flour on had, measure out 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch whisk together. Then sift 3 times before using.
- Raspberries: Fresh or frozen will work, however, frozen will take longer to boil down.
- Make Ahead Tips: Cupcakes can be made the day before you plan to serve. Cool fully, then store in an airtight container. Make the raspberry puree and boil down the puree the day before you plan to serve (steps 1-3 of making the frosting). Cool fully then place in an airtight container in the fridge overnight. Make the frosting (steps 4-9) the day you plan to serve the cupcakes.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 cupcake with frosting, assuming the recipe yields 12 equal cupcakes and all the frosting is used.
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