A tender moist homemade Dark Chocolate Cupcake stuffed with a Fresh Raspberry and Chocolate Ganache topped off with a luscious whipped Raspberry Buttercream Frosting. It’s the perfect Romantic Valentine Treat!

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that Valentines is a pretty special day at this Nest!

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake on a mini cake stand topped off with a fresh raspberry.

It’s the day that this “Nest” came into being! That’s right, we tied the knot on Valentine’s Day. Yep, we are “that” couple… Eternal Sweethearts! 35 years ago this year! I sure love that guy of mine!

I love Valentine’s Day…obviously…and I love sharing that love on Sweetheart’s day. One way I do that is by baking special treats for friends and family.

This year’s treat is an Epic Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake Recipe. I dreamed this recipe into being! Not only is it a delicious ultra moist chocolate cake with a scrumptious fluffy raspberry buttercream…but it’s stuffed with a fresh raspberry covered with a rich homemade chocolate ganache! I love that flavor combo…so creating this recipe was a dream come true!

Let’s get busy and bake up a few dozen cups of love! This recipe makes 36 cupcakes…so plenty of love to share!

How To Make Chocolate Raspberry Filled Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 325° degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Whisk ingredients together to combine. Whisking helps break up any small clumps and helps create a smoother batter.

Flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium size bowl.

In the bowl of your mixer, combine, 1 cup softened butter and 2 cups granulated sugar. (I never said this was a low calorie Valentines treat! We’re sharing the calories too along with the love!)

On medium speed, beat butter and sugar for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Mixing sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

Beat in 4 room temperature eggs, one at a time, making sure they are well incorporated, after each addition, into the fluffy butter and sugar mixture.

Tip: Crack eggs in a separate bowl. This will prevent any shell from escaping into your cake batter. (eggshells like to run amuck.Who came up with that word?)

Adding eggs into butter and sugar in mixing bowl

In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients. Mix together 1-1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon coffee flavoring, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, and 4 Tablespoons Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup.

TIP: If you can’t find coffee flavoring, you can substitute with 2 Tablespoons coffee. Coffee flavoring helps add depth to the flavor of chocolate.

Wet ingredients combined in mixing bowl.

Gradually add the flour mixture on low speed. Let me emphasize “low speed”, unless you really want to spend a lot of time cleaning your kitchen. (I may be speaking from personal experience…just sayin’)

Alternate between the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients. This will allow the batter to combine evenly. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. Mix until just blended.

TIP: Caution, do not over beat the batter. This can cause too many air bubbles will make your cupcakes Fall when baking! (Just realized I’m full of a lot of air bubbles…that haven’t fallen! Lol)

Adding dry ingredients into the cake batter mixture in the mixer. Alternating between the dry and wet ingredients.

You’ll end up with a beautiful rich thick cake batter. It’s SO good! I don’t encourage, because of the raw egg, but openly admit I did sneak a little taste…or two. Like I said though…there is raw egg in this batter.

Spoon batter into 36 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.

Filling paper lined muffin tin with chocolate cake filling.

Bake the cupcakes, in preheated oven, in a couple of different phases. Don’t overcrowd your oven baking space.

Place the filled cupcake pans on the center rack in preheated oven. Bake for 20–25 minutes, checking at the 15-minute mark. Every oven bakes differently, so I always recommend checking baked good five minutes earlier than the recommended bake time.

Test doneness of the cupcakes by inserting a toothpick into the center of a center cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean it’s done.

TIP: Another method is to lightly press the center of a cupcake, if it springs back when touched it should spring back. This is my favorite method for testing the doneness of a cake.

Leave cupcakes in tin for 5 minutes. Place cupcakes on a cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to finish cooling completely!

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, poke a hole in the center of each cupcake, set the cake holes to the side. I use a large Cake decorating tip to puncture a hole in the center of each cupcake. It works great. There are tools you can purchase to do the same thing.

Placing a hole in the center of each cupcake.

Place a Fresh Raspberry in the center of each hole. Tuck it down in there. You can even squish it a little. Go ahead…squish if you must! Just push it down in the hole. It’s going to be okay.

Fresh Raspberry in the center of each cupcake.

How To Make Chocolate Ganache

In a microwave safe bowl, like a glass measuring cup, place 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream. Microwave for one minute. Whipping cream should be slightly frothy around the edges. Add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and allow to sit on counter for 5 minutes.

Making Chocolate Ganache. Heavy cream in measuring cup and heating, add chocolate chips.

After it sits for 5 minutes, mix well until the melted chocolate chips and whipping cream incorporate together and create a smooth chocolate ganache.

It takes a few minutes for the two to incorporate…keep stirring until you have this smooth creamy chocolate fudge mixture. It’s almost magical. Making ganache is one of my favorite things to do.

Melted Chocolate Ganache in glass measuring cup.

Carefully, using a teaspoon, spoon 1 teaspoon of ganache over the fresh raspberry.

Spooning chocolate ganache over fresh raspberry in the cupcake.

Now, if you haven’t eaten all the cupcake hole cakes…(I know you! Or maybe I know myself…lol)…place the cake holes back into the hole they came out of. Don’t worry if they stick up a little high…it’s okay! Press them down on top of that ganache. It’s okay if it squishes out (there’s a lot of “squishing” in this recipe).

Set the prepared cupcakes aside while you make the amazing Raspberry Buttercream Frosting.

Pressing cupcake holes down into cupcakes.

How To make the BEST Raspberry Buttercream Frosting!

The last step to finish this cupcake is the amazing mind-blowing Raspberry Buttercream Frosting. It’s light and ultra creamy with hints of raspberry!

It took years for me to find and tweak the BEST Buttercream Frosting! Honestly finding a fantastic buttercream is like looking for the Holy Grail! You feel like you’ve hit the jackpot when you find the perfect one. This is that recipe!

TIP: Years ago I learned that if you want to make a really fantastic fruit buttercream, use freeze-dried fruit rather than fresh fruit. The juices from fresh fruit can cause the frosting to separate. However, freeze-dried fruit is the perfect solution for creating fruit flavored frostings. You get all the flavor of the fresh fruit without the fear of the frosting being to set or separating!

In your food processor, add 1 cup freeze-dried raspberries and process till it’s a fine powder. Set aside until it’s time to incorporate it into the buttercream.

Adding the dried raspberries to food processor.

In the bowl of your mixer add 1 cup of soften butter & 1 cup of Crisco shortening. Mix until well combined and smooth.

Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

Add 8 cups sifted powder sugar. Sifting the powder sugar gives you a smooth frosting and eliminates any lumps. I always recommend sifting the powder sugar.

Add 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.

Alternate adding the powder sugar and the 6 ounces of heavy whipping cream.

If the frosting is still too thick, add milk by the Tablespoon until you reach the desired consistency. I found adding 2–3 Tablespoons of milk makes it just right!

Adding whipping cream to buttercream mixture in the mixing bowl.

Do a little taste test too! The frosting should be smooth enough to pipe on top of your cupcake.

Do not panic when you first taste this frosting if it’s a little “crunchy”! That’s okay! As the frosting sits the dried raspberries reconstitute and the flavor deepens. The dried berry powder will become soft and meld into the frosting.

Creamy Raspberry Buttercream in mixing bowl ready to spread on cupcakes.

Using a piping bag, pipe the frosting on top of your cupcakes. I start on the outside of the cupcake, around the cake hole that is popping up, and then work my way up as I go around.

You can also frost the cupcakes with a knife. Whatever works best for you and what you are most comfortable with.

Finished Cupcakes on a pink buffalo table cloth and valentines decorations.

Top off the cupcakes with a fresh raspberry and some pretty chocolate sprinkles!

These cupcakes are so tender and moist. My taste testers went CRAZY for this cupcake. They may be small little princesses…but they know a good cupcake when they have one!

They are a little more involved than your average every day cupcakes…but special holidays call for special treats.

Inside the cupcakes with raspberry and chocolate ganache.

This is the ultimate cupcake if you’re a chocolate raspberry fan! It’s a flavor combo that speaks to my heart, and hopefully the chocolate lovers in your life.

If you like this Valentine Recipe…you may also enjoy these mouth-watering desserts.

Favorite Valentine Dessert Recipes

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and that you’ll be fearless in your desire to make this delicious cupcake for those you love!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great week and that you’ll stop back by soon!

Happy Nesting!

Yield: 36 cupcakes

Chocolate Raspberry Filled Cupcakes

Name: Chocolate Raspberry Filled Cupcakes
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 36
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup unsweetened special dark chocolate cocoa; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup salted butter-softened; 2 cups granulated sugar; 4 eggs, room temperature; 1-1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt; 3/4 cup buttermilk; 4 Tablespoons Hershey's Chocolate Syrup; 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon coffee extract or 2 Tablespoons coffee; 36 Fresh Raspberries; 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream; 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips; 1 cup butter, softened; 1 cup crisco shortening; 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 6 ounces heavy whipping cream; 1 cup freeze dried raspberries (processed in food processor into powder); 8 cups confectioners sugar, sifted; 2 - 3 Tablespoons milk, if needed; *Additional Raspberries for garnish.

A tender moist homemade Dark Chocolate Cupcake stuffed with a Fresh Raspberry and Chocolate Ganache topped off with a luscious whipped Raspberry Buttercream Frosting. It's the perfect Romantic Valentine Treat!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened special dark chocolate cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup salted butter-softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1-1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
3/4 cup buttermilk
4 Tablespoons Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coffee extract or 2 Tablespoons coffee

Cupcake Filling

36 Fresh Raspberries
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Raspberry Buttercream

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup crisco shortening
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces heavy whipping cream
1 cup freeze dried raspberries (processed in food processor into powder)
8 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2 - 3 Tablespoons milk, if needed
*Additional Raspberries for garnish.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium size bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
Beat softened butter and sugar in bowl of stand mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Mixture should be light yellow. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
In a separate bowl combine yogurt, buttermilk, vanilla, coffee extract, and Hershey's syrup. Mix until well combined.
Gradually add flour mixture on low speed, althernating with wet ingredients, until just blended. Making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 36 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
Bake 20-25 minutes, checking at 15 minute mark,until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched in the center. Making sure not to over bake the cupcakes.
Cool in pans on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.
In a microwave safe bowl add 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream and cook for 1 minute. Cream should be frothy around the edges. Remove from microwave. Add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Allow to set for 5 minutes. Mix until smooth and creamy.
Create a small 1 inch circle in the center of each cupcake. Reserve the removed cake holes. Place a fresh raspberry in the center of each cupcake. Place a teaspoon of warm ganache over the top of each raspberry. Replace cake hole on top of ganache covered raspberry.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add sifted powder sugar, althernating with heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Add in processed freeze dried raspberry powder. Mix until light and fluffy. If frosting is not the desired consistency to pipe onto cupcakes, add additional milk, a tablespoon at the time. The freeze dried berries will reconstitute themselves as the frosting sets.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Store in air tight container in refrigerator until ready to serve. Remove 5-10 minutes before serving.