These Raspberry Vanilla Cupcakes are the perfect treat all summer long! Delicious vanilla cupcakes are topped with a raspberry buttercream frosting that will have you licking the spoon! Love raspberries? Try these raspberry favorites: Raspberry Lemon Muffins, Chocolate Raspberry Cake, and Lemon Raspberry Trifle!
Raspberry Vanilla Cupcakes
One of my favorite things about summer is the enjoying fruit at the peek of it’s season. As delicious as fresh fruit is on it’s own, it’s only natural that I love to turn summer’s bounty into dessert! Vanilla desserts lend themselves so nicely to an accompaniment of fruit, and for these pretty pink cupcakes I’ve simply topped my favorite Vanilla Cupcakes with a delicious Raspberry Buttercream.
I recently shared a similar pairing, with my Blackberry Vanilla Cupcakes in a Jar. Certainly either recipe would be lovely as a single cupcake, cupcake in a jar, or even a cake.
Do you have a favorite summer fruit? My favorite is usually the one I’m eating (at any given moment)! =)
More Cupcakes To Try
How to Make Raspberry Vanilla Cupcakes
Raspberry Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour
- 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup oil vegetable canola or extra light olive oil
- 1/3 cup milk whole or low fat but avoid fat free
- 1/3 cup sour cream full fat or light but avoid fat free
Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks
- 8 oz cream cheese 1 block
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons fresh raspberry puree from about 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350*F.
- In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with whisk, and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds. Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add vanilla and oil, beat.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add the milk, then the rest of the flour and the sour cream. Beat until just combined. Scrap down the side of the bowl.
- The batter will be thin. Pour batter into a muffin pan prepared with paper liners. Fill liners about 2/3 full.
- Bake cupcakes in pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes.
- Cool in pan 1-2 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan (carefully) and finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Frost as desired when fully cool.
Raspberry Buttercream
- In the bowl of a large electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
- Add the cream cheese, and beat further until the butter and cream cheese are fully incorporated and smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
- Add vanilla.
- Again, with the mixer on low, add the raspberry puree, one tablespoon at a time.
- Continue beating, increasing speed to medium for about 30 seconds.
Notes
A note about Cake Flour- Cake Flour has a lower protein content than traditional all-purpose flour, which results in a more tender, delicate crumb in the finished product. If you can not find or access cake flour, feel free to substitute as necessary, but your results will vary from the original recipe.
Nutrition
Raspberry Buttercream
Ingredients
Instructions
- In the bowl of a large electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
- Add the cream cheese, and beat further until the butter and cream cheese are fully incorporated and smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
- Add vanilla.
- Again, with the mixer on low, add the raspberry puree, one tablespoon at a time.
- Continue beating, increasing speed to medium for about 30 seconds.
- Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, and the moisture in your berries, the frosting may be on the soft side. I put the whole bowl of finished frosting in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to help the frosting firm up. If needed, you could add an additional cup of powdered sugar.
These look delicious! Going to try this recipe for my sisters bridal shower… But how do you make the raspberry puree?!
I made these this past weekend! Everyone in my family loved them. I had just bought raspberry cupcakes at a bakery and didn’t care for them. These were so much better.
These cupcakes look amazng! How long would the raspberries stay fresh until if I leave them out?
Thank you for the recipe Glory!
I would suggest adding the frosting and berry garnish the same day you plan to serve them.
Hello. Too new to this. How can I make the purée?
Hi Hala, Simply blend the fresh berries in a blender or food processor.
Happy baking!
Gloria. I am trying to get started on Baking (just for fun for my kids) What pipe number should I use for the frosting?
Hi Camila, I used a 1M tip to frost these. I have a full post on frosting cupcakes here, https://www.glorioustreats.com/cupcake-basics-how-to-frost-cupcakes/
i have tried this recipe over and over. i just cannot seem to get it right. i feel as though when i add the amount of raspberry puree it says on the recipe, the cream cheese flavor over powers it. and it doesnt taste like raspberry. there have been times i add more puree but the frosting ends up all liquidy so i just end up dipping the cupcakes in it. though they do look cool like that, i would like to know if there is any tips you can give me to get the consistency and flavor right. thank you
Hi Karla, I guess some of it may come down to personal tastes. I love the recipe as is, but feel free to experiment to adjust to your tastes. If you don’t care for the cream cheese flavor, I might suggest reducing the cream cheese to 1/2 block (4 oz) and increase the butter to 2 sticks (1 cup). Yes, as you mentioned, if you add too much raspberry it will add too much liquid to your icing, and it will not be appropriate to be piped on cupcakes. Certainly the flavors of the raspberries themselves may vary a lot if you are berries from the grocery store, or from a direct farmers market. You may want to try some additional flavorings, such as Loranns (http://shop.lorannoils.com/templates/product.aspx?ProductGuid=0764-0800&GroupGuid=10 ) to up the raspberry flavor.
Happy baking!
This icing looks identical to what is used at Courtney’s Bakery in Fort Wayne, IN. I have been buying them because of this one icing recipe – amazing. It keeps me coming back for more. I cannot wait to make it myself and impress the family. I sincerely thank you.
These were fabulous. Icing tastes like raspberry whip cream. Cupcakes were really food!
I made these today, they were delicious! I’ve never made icing before, though so i think I messed up somewhere. The icing is soft, fluffy? (not sure if thats the right word lol)
(even after in the fridge for well over an hour)
You can see the confection sugar in it and taste it a bit, gritty? I think it has to do with the butter, either i used to little or too much because it didn’t have a line for 3/4 so i had to wing it lol
But for a first time run, I think they turned out swell!
Hi Amanda,
Occasionally with frosting recipes that use powdered sugar, there may be a tiny bit of texture (grit) in the icing. Generally, the creaminess of the cream cheese helps off set this a bit. Also, try beating the icing a bit longer to help dissolve the sugar.
As for the butter, any butter sold in the U.S. has marks on it for tablespoons and 1/3 cup and 1/4 cup. For the butter you should be using 1 stick (1/2 cup), plus 1/2 of another stick (which is 1/4 cup). In this recipe it would be fine to use a tablespoon or two less or more.
Happy baking!
Could i substitute the raspberry puree with strawberry puree? Will it come out the same? (:
Yes, feel free to replace with any fruit puree (make sure the puree is not too watery).