Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

I wanted to make something that combined chocolate and raspberries, so I took a regular old chocolate cupcake recipe and added raspberries. Easy as! If you make these, they will last longer if kept in the fridge, although at the moment Canberra is so damn cold I really don't think it would make a difference if I left them out all night.

This recipe made 24 mini-cupcakes, 12 regular cupcakes and 1 muffin. As you can tell, I had so much batter I had to basically fill up whatever cupcake tins I had until it ran out.

I hope you like them!

Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes
made 37 cupcakes of varying sizes

1 1/3 cups plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup cocoa powder
45g butter, softened
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
frozen raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 F). Line muffin tins with cases.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk and beat well.
5. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full. In each individual cup, place a frozen raspberry and push down a little way into the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in tins for at least 10 minutes, then frost when completely cool.

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

The recipe for this is really imprecise. Basically you have to play with the quantities until you get the colour and consistency you want.

150g butter, softened
2-3 cups icing sugar
frozen raspberries, quantity depends on how much of a raspberry taste/colour you're after
1/3 cup milk

1. Cream the butter. Add the icing sugar and raspberries and beat well. If you find you need more liquid in the frosting, add milk gradually.
2. Frost away!