Raspberry Cupcakes

These delicious raspberry cupcakes are just the right dessert to have in summertime, or anytime for that matter. They are slightly sweet with the tang of the raspberries and the sweetness of the frosting…. so good and so fluffy. I add a bit of red food coloring to help bring out that gorgeous raspberry color and they are the prettiest pink color. You can add pink food coloring but I wanted them to be more on the red side than the pink side to help bring out that color.

I was going to put fresh raspberries on top of these but my neighbors little girls decided on sprinkles instead. They love helping me make all the sweet treats. These are perfect for your little ones to help make. I am all for getting young ones in the kitchen. They just feel so good getting to eat what they help create. ANYWAY…. Just thought I’d throw that tid bit in there for no reason. lol.

Let’s get into the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

212 g – Flour
1 Tsp – Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp – Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp – Fine Salt – ( I always use pink mineral salt in all of my baking)
225 g – Sugar
175 g – Butter – (Melted – Cooled)
60 ML – Milk – (Room Temp)
100 ML – Buttermilk – (Room Temp)
70 ML – Raspberry Preserves – ( I use smuckers seedless preserves)
2 Tsp – Vanilla Extract
3 Egg Whites – (Room Temp)
3-4 Drops Of Red Food Coloring -(optional but the cupcakes will have a slight gray color if not used)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*. Line your cupcake tin with cupcake liners and set aside. I use silicone molds for my cupcakes which require no prior lining or greasing. Set aside until ready to use.
2. In a bowl sift together the four, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. This ensures there are no lumps or hard sugar bits in your batter. Set aside.
3. In a bowl whisk together the butter, milk, buttermilk, raspberry preserves, vanilla, egg whites, and food coloring. This mixture will look clumpy and curdled. It is fine and will come together when we combine the wet and dry ingredients.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together until just combined. It may be slightly clumpy and that is just fine. If the color is not the perfect dark pink color you would prefer add a bit more. Gently fold the batter until smooth. This will ensure you do not over work the batter. If you over work the batter it will become dense and chewy. We don’t want that. We want soft and fluffy cupcakes.
5. Using either two spoons or an ice cream scoop, scoop out the batter and place into your prepared cupcake tin. Make sure to only fill the liners about 2/3 full with the batter. If you fill more than that it will be a mess and you will have more batter on your tin than in your liners. It’s a mess with any batter. 2/3 full is max you can fill. depending on your tin you will have either 12 cupcakes or 16 cupcakes. My molds are quite small so it makes about 16 cupcakes for me.
6. Place in your preheated oven and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean and the top is springy. This means if you touch the top the batter springs back and doesn’t leave an indention in the top of the cupcake.
7. Remove and let cool completely. You can also let them cool about 15 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely as well. Either way it is perfect. Once they are cool you can frost and decorate as desired. I use my Russian frosting (see recipe) for these cupcakes. I find they pair really well.

• You can use what ever style of frosting you prefer. It is your kitchen and your perfect flavor pallet so you do you.
• Please adjust cooking temp and time to your altitude. I can not reference this for you. This goes for all of my baking recipes. I forget to mention this because I honestly do not know your altitude or baking time. Adjust accordingly.
• Please allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting as it will make the frosting or decorations melt.
• You can also make these a day or two in advance and chill in the fridge covered before frosting. I have a huge tub that I put them in when storing in the fridge or freezer. Let them come to room temp or leave slightly chilled before frosting to reduce sweating.
• You can freeze these up to 2 weeks or up to 2 months before using. I wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the freezer. I let them thaw about 2 hours or so before frosting. Letting them come to room temp just helps reduce sweating in the cupcakes or cakes. I usually leave them slightly cool to the touch before frosting.
• You can also hollow out a section in the middle of the cupcake, making sure not to go completely through the cupcake, and fill with raspberry preserves. This kicks these cupcakes up a notch and is absolutely delicious as well. I often do this with some cupcakes. If your preserves are to thick to squeeze through a bottle simply warm it up slightly in the microwave until just liquid-y and fill your cupcakes. The preserves or jam will thicken back up as it cools to room temp. Plus it is a delicious surprise to your cupcakes.
• Store in an airtight container up to 2 days at room temp and then chill in the fridge covered or in a container with a lid. If you are in a hotter climate then keep chilled covered in the fridge.
• Great for parties or get togethers.