• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Breads
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
  • Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Contact/Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Desserts / Cupcakes / Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting

    August 1, 2016 Updated October 12, 2016 BySam 77 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Decadent dark chocolate cupcakes with a fresh raspberry frosting

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting -- via Sugar Spun Run

    We had a very dark and stormy Saturday.

    It wasn’t your typical summer storm — one with staggered rounds of rain and thunder sharply punctuated by sunshiny breaks in the clouds, but instead a good full day of unrelenting sheets of rain, slashes of lightning, and thunder that shook the house.

    I did what I do best in stormy weather — I went to the kitchen.

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting -- via Sugar Spun Run

    I made a stormy summer dessert to match the atmosphere.  Deliberately deep, dark chocolate — even blacker than the skies — with a distinctly dark chocolate, nearly bitter aftertaste on your tongue.  Dark chocolate, and dark cocoa powder both went into the mix (I’d made these cupcakes miniature before, here).  Rich, but not dense, these cupcakes are full-bodied but fluffy, sweet but not too sweet.

    I poured the batter into shimmering purple foil liners and set about to make the frosting.

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting -- via Sugar Spun Run

    It’s a very summer-y frosting, with fresh, ripe raspberries reduced to a simple syrup and beaten with butter, vanilla, sugar, and a hint of cream cheese for a silky buttercream frosting.  Paired with the dark chocolate cupcake base it is sheer perfection — never have two flavors played so well off each other (not even here).

    My only regret is that I didn’t stick to frosting them with an icing tip that I’m more used to, so the tops came out looking a little… unkempt.

    A little storm-swept.

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting -- via Sugar Spun Run

    Enjoy.

    Dark chocolate cupcake with raspberry frosting

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting

    Decadent dark chocolate cupcakes with a fresh raspberry frosting.
    4.95 from 19 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: cupcakes, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 45 minutes
    Cook Time: 18 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
    Servings: 15 cupcakes
    Calories: 277kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup +3 Tbsp milk divided
    • 3.5 oz quality dark chocolate chopped into small pieces (I always use a bar of Ghirardelli 72% dark chocolate)
    • ½ cup dark cocoa powder
    • ½ cup canola oil
    • ½ cup granulated sugar
    • ½ cup packed brown sugar
    • 1 egg preferably room temperature
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 cup All-purpose flour
    • ¾ tsp baking powder
    • ½ tsp baking soda
    • ½ tsp salt

    Fresh Raspberry Frosting

    • 1 cup raspberries fresh or frozen
    • 1 Tbsp sugar
    • ½ cup butter softened, 1 stick
    • 4 oz cream cheese softened
    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • ¼ tsp vanilla extract
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350F and prepare cupcake trays by lining with cupcake liners.
    • In small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup milk and dark chocolate, stirring until chocolate is completely melted.
    • Increase heat to medium-high, stir constantly until mixture begins to bubble and stir in cocoa powder. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
    • In KitchenAid, combine canola oil and sugars, beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds, scrape sides of bowl, and stir again on medium-high speed for another 30 seconds -- until ingredients are well-combined (mixture will be very thick and grainy).
    • Add egg and vanilla, beat well.
    • In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
    • With mixer on low-medium speed, gradually stir in flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
    • Pour the cocoa/dark chocolate liquid into the mixer and beat on medium speed until combined.
    • Scrape down sides of bowl and add 3 Tbsp milk, stir on medium speed again so all ingredients are combined.
    • Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full.
    • Bake on 350F for 18 minutes (toothpick inserted into middle of cupcake should come out clean).
    • Allow to cool completely before frosting.

    Frosting

    • First, prepare a raspberry reduction by combining raspberry and 2 Tbsp sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
    • Once berries begin to release their juices, increase heat to medium-high and stir constantly, mashing the berries with the back of your spoon as you go. Bring to a boil (still stirring constantly) and cook 6-8 minutes until mixture has reduced.
    • Run through a strainer to remove seeds and pulp (I add 1 Tbsp of seeds back in to the juices for a little bit of texture, this is optional) and allow to cool completely before using in frosting. Discard leftover seeds/pulp.
    • Once raspberry juices have cooled completely, prepare the frosting by creaming together butter and cream cheese.
    • Gradually add 1 cup of powdered sugar and stir until combined.
    • Add in raspberry juices and vanilla extract and stir well.
    • Add remaining sugar and beat until combined.
    • Spread or pipe frosting on top of cooled cupcakes.
    • Keep uneaten cupcakes stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 277kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 306IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    I felt it was appropriate to photograph these cupcakes during the storm, but I did get a few brighter pictures of these cupcakes when the sun came out on Sunday:

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting -- via Sugar Spun Run

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Frosting -- via Sugar Spun Run

    You Might Also Like:

    Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

    overhead of raspberry cheesecake brownies

    Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

    Dark chocolate mini cupcake with salted caramel frosting-13Easy One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

    Chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting, topped with sprinkles

    « Inside Out Cinnamon Roll Donut Holes
    Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lois Luckovich

      February 21, 2023 at 11:52 pm

      5 stars
      Yummy. A variation on this would be blackberry frosting. A friend of mine made chocolate cupcakes with blackberries in them after a day of blackberry picking and they were great

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        February 22, 2023 at 9:24 am

        Yum! We love that idea 😋

        Reply
    2. Ella

      August 08, 2022 at 10:14 am

      Hi Sam

      Is there enough batter to make a 2 layered cake? And enough frosting for in between the layers/ around the cake and to decorate ?

      Thanks

      Ella 😄

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        August 08, 2022 at 10:47 am

        Hi Ella! We haven’t tried it ourselves, but you will probably need to double the recipe for a 2-layer cake. Enjoy 😊

        Reply
        • Camille Herbel

          February 16, 2023 at 6:07 pm

          I made these cup cakes and they came out amazing! With the extra batter i made small cake balls.

    3. Katie A.

      June 30, 2021 at 6:44 pm

      Hi Sam!

      Can I substitute strawberries for raspberries in this recipe? It’s strawberry season here in MN. ☺️

      Thank you! Love your recipes!

      Reply
      • Sam

        June 30, 2021 at 9:23 pm

        Hi Katie! I haven’t tried it, but I think it could work. Let me know how it goes! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Joanna

      May 20, 2021 at 1:53 pm

      5 stars
      Perfect recipe for chocolate lovers. Its so fudgy and delicious especially after chilling. Followed the recipe to the tee with mini cupcakes. The cupcake can be a little crumbly but it very moist and fudgy. I think a lot of it happens from mixing the chocolate, cocoa and milk mixture. Im not a raspberry lover and thought of going out of my comfort flavours. The icing was very tasty with the crunch from a few of the raspberry seeds that i added after straining as mentioned. I used frozen raspberries. Will be definitely repeating this recipe. Not sure if it can be done as a cake but the mini cupcakes gave it the perfect delicate look.. i got around 36 cupcakes and froze 10 for a rainy day 🤭

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 28, 2021 at 9:57 am

        I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Joanna! This recipe should work to make into a cake. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Breanna Breault

      May 09, 2021 at 1:10 pm

      Can this frosting be used for a cake?

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 09, 2021 at 9:42 pm

        Hi Breanna! That will work great! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Cupcakes by Maria

      May 06, 2021 at 6:20 am

      5 stars
      Hi. Tried these and they were magical. Very moist. Only thing was that the cupcake liners came out a bit oily. Can I substitute the canola oil for butter? I saw in the instructions you stated “butter/sugar” mix and not oil. Do you have a Video -how-to of this recipe?

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 08, 2021 at 10:04 pm

        You can try using the butter instead of canola oil. A good way to avoid this is to remove them from the pan earlier. Unfortunately I don’t have a video for this one. 🙁

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

    Cozy Soup Recipes

    french onion soup in white bowl

    French Onion Soup

    Bowl of turkey chili topped with sour cream, avocado, and shredded cheese.

    Turkey Chili (Great for leftover Turkey!)

    bowl of chicken and rice soup with spoon scooping a bite

    Chicken and Rice Soup (One Pot Dinner Recipe!)

    Blue bowl of beef stew with chunks of beef, carrots, and potatoes.

    Beef Stew Recipe

    mason jar of chicken broth made from a homemade chicken stock recipe

    Instant Pot Chicken Stock Recipe

    CHICKEN tortilla soup in white bowl

    Chicken Tortilla Soup

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    one bite missing from a slice of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    Slice of cheesecake

    The Best Cheesecake Recipe

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    Stack of cookies made from this chocolate chip cookie recipe with melty chocolate chips and a bite missing from the top cookie

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy|Accessibility Statement

    Footer

    Subscribe To My Newsletter!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved

    • 180