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♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
On our second Valentine’s Day together, my guy and I actually celebrated the night before. We lived in a college town at the time, which meant that at least 75% of the students planned to head downtown for a date, so making a reservation was next to impossible, let alone finding a table without one.
So on February 13, we got a little dressed up and drove over to one of the nicer sushi places. He ordered teriyaki chicken, I chose a smattering of sushi rolls, and we split everything between us. With me being an indecisive person, that was a really sweet gesture from him!
Although the waitress tried to offer us a dessert menu, mentioning green tea ice cream, cheesecake, and fresh fruit, we politely declined. We already had dessert plans elsewhere…
At the Whole Foods bakery next door! One of my high school friends actually worked in the bakery at a different Whole Foods in another town, and she gave me lots of tips on which desserts were the best. So for my sweet treat for Valentine’s Day, I chose the vegan chocolate cupcake because it had some of the fudgiest chocolate frosting I’ve ever eaten.
Are you surprised? (Probably not…)
To prepare for Valentine’s Day this year, I baked cupcakes too, but I swapped out the fudgy frosting for a fruity one. My guy isn’t the biggest fan of chocolate, but since he loves berries, I hoped that would tempt him to at least try at bite. The final result was these Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes!
They start with my favorite dark chocolate cupcake base. Countless readers have baked them, and many have said that they taste better than a bakery’s! These cupcakes are extremely moist and rich, meant for true chocoholics and not so much for the faint-of-chocolate-heart.
The ingredients list is fairly straightforward, but I want to stress one main thing when it comes to mixing up the batter. Alternating additions are mandatory. This means that you mix in some dry ingredients, followed by some milk, and continue switching until you’ve incorporated all of both. Alternating additions prevent over-mixing the batter, which would overdevelop the gluten strands and make your cupcakes tough and rubbery. So keep them tender and moist with alternating additions!
The frosting is one of my all-time favorite things. Because I dislike the taste of powdered sugar, I actually use Greek yogurt as the base for mine! Instead of sugar, the frosting is packed with protein—sneaky, aren’t we?
For the fruit flavor, we’ll use frozen raspberries that have been thawed, puréed, and reduced. You want to reduce the raspberry purée because otherwise, there would be too much liquid in the frosting, which would make it runny.
Combine the yogurt and purée with some instant pudding mix, and the frosting will be stiff enough to pipe for those elegant swirls! And if you have any left over? I highly recommend eating it straight from a bowl with a spoon. It’s mostly Greek yogurt with fruit, so it’s automatically healthy!
So… Is it time for dessert yet?
| Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes | | Print |
- for the cupcakes
- 1 c (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured correctly)
- ¾ c (90g) all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
- 2 tsp (9g) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (2g) salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- ⅔ c (128g) granulated sugar
- ¼ c (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ c (120mL) nonfat milk
- for the frosting
- ⅔ c (93g) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
- 2 c (520g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 servings (about 14g) sugar-free, fat-free vanilla instant pudding mix
- 2 tbsp (56g) Truvia (or other sweetener, to taste)
- To prepare the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F and place foil cupcake liners in 12 muffin cups. Lightly coat the liners with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the sugar. Mix in the yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour, and stirring in each until just barely incorporated. (Note: For best results, add the flour in 3 equal portions and the milk in 2 equal portions.)
- Divide the batter between the prepared liners. Bake at 350° for 21 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cupcakes bake, prepare the frosting. Pulse the thawed raspberries until they’re puréed. Add the purée to a small pot, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the purée has reduced by half. Cool completely.
- Add the Greek yogurt, pudding mix, and Truvia to a large bowl, and beat for 2 minutes, or until thickened. Mix in the raspberry purée. Chill for at least 2 hours before piping onto the cooled cupcakes. (If chilling longer, cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap.)
You will only need about ¾ of the frosting, which has been taken into account for the Nutrition Information (see link below).
Try to frost the cupcakes just before serving, but if you have any leftovers with frosting, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator (due to the yogurt in the frosting).
This recipe is also easily halved if baking for a smaller crowd!
{low fat, low calorie}
More chocolate raspberry cupcake recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes by Handle the Heat
♥ Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes by Life, Love and Sugar
♥ Raspberry Hot Chocolate Cupcakes by Your Cup of Cake
♥ Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cupcakes by Love From The Oven
Thank you for this recipe! We love chocolate and these cupcakes have the perfect flavour. We also loved the frosting!!
Is there any substitute for the pudding mix? Maybe gelatine leaves or powder?
I’m so glad you loved these cupcakes Iride! That really means a lot to me! 🙂 I haven’t had good luck with any other substitutes for the instant pudding mix in the frosting. Other forms of pudding mix and gelatin typically require heating to activate their thickening properties, whereas the instant pudding mix can thicken at room temperature just by thoroughly mixing it with the Greek yogurt. You can omit it and simply mix together the other ingredients until they’re just combined (not for a full 2 minutes!), but the frosting will be runny and not stiff enough to pipe.
Thank you for answering!
I baked these cupcakes yesterday and tried the frosting without pudding mix; as you said it’s a bit too soft, like a mousse. It was just a trial before my girl’s 3rd birthday, so on her special day I will definitely use the mix because they have to be perfect ????
It’s my pleasure Iride! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 I’m SO honored that you’re making these cupcakes for your girl’s birthday — that’s such a special occasion! Happy 3rd birthday to her!! ♡