Raspberry-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry Buttercream

It’s been a long week at our house. My littlest man has been sick (again), so no one has been sleeping and everyone is cranky. This is the first time I’ve even looked at my blog all week.

Since I don’t have a lot of energy left to devote to posting, I’m just going to share a recipe that speaks for itself. These chocolate cupcakes are filled with fresh raspberries, topped with chocolate ganache, and frosted with raspberry buttercream. What’s not to love? They’re rich, decadent, and delicious. I made them for a coworker’s birthday, and everyone raved about them.

They do take a while to prepare, so make sure you have a few hours free if you want to make them all at once. But you could definitely do this process in stages if you needed to. And they’re worth every single second it takes to make them!

Raspberry-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry Buttercream
cupcakes and buttercream adapted from Baked Perfection; filling and ganache from me

For the cupcakes:

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water (which I now realize I forgot to add…whoops! They turned out fine though.)

For the filling:

2 cups fresh raspberries
1/3 cup sugar

For the chocolate ganache:

1 cup heavy cream
1 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened
6 cups powder sugar
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup reserved mashed raspberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and water. Pour batter into lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

2. Meanwhile, combine filling ingredients (raspberries and sugar) in a medium bowl. Gently mash raspberries, leaving some whole. Reserve 2/3 cup for the frosting, and refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Make the chocolate ganache: heat 1 cup heavy cream over medium low heat until simmering. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir in a figure-eight motion until chocolate chips are fully melted. Cool slightly.

4. Make the frosting: Beat the butter and vanilla until creamy. Add a pinch of salt and reserved raspberries. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

5. Using a knife, gently cut a hole out of the center of each cupcake. Add about 1 teaspoon of the raspberry filling to each cupcake and top with a dollop of chocolate ganache. When ganache has completely cooled, frost cupcakes. Refrigerate to preserve freshness.