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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
Hmmm…sugar-free pudding must be riddled with chemicals and unhealthy ingredients. I would skip the frosting if you are truly meaning to stay “healthy”.
Can’t wait to try these this weekend! I do wish your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, etc.) were listed by weight since that would be the most accurate, but I will try it. My mom and I were looking for a light cupcake and this will be perfect.
The ingredients are already listed by weight Kira! The weights in grams are in parentheses next to the cup measurements. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you and your mom think of the cupcakes!
Oh my goodness, I am so dumb. That’s what I get for skimming. You are fabulous! I will update you after I make them 🙂
No worries Kira! It’s easy to miss the grams if you aren’t looking for them. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how the cupcakes turn out!
Would the frosting hold up to piping a cake? Would it be strong enough to hold onto the sides? I am making a rosette cake for a baby shower and would like to use this icing.
I haven’t tried piping it in that fashion before. It should hold onto the sides if spread in a thin layer, but I don’t have a good idea about whether the rosettes around the sides would hold their shape. If you wanted to test that before covering the whole cake, you can pipe a swirl of this frosting onto a cupcake, then turn the cupcake on its side for a while and see if it droops. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of the frosting if you try the recipe Gwyn, and have a lovely time at the baby shower!
Hi,
If I don’t want such a dark chocolate flavor (I prefer milk chocolate), what do you suggest reducing the cocoa amount to?
BTW, it’s nice to see a slightly smaller dessert recipe. I would like to see ones even smaller from you, if that may be in the works? 🙂
Thanks.
I appreciate your interest in my recipes Ashley! 🙂 Try reducing the cocoa powder to ½ cup (remember to measure it correctly, as directed in the link, so you don’t end up with too much!), and increase the flour to 1 ¼ cups. You can also increase the sugar by a few tablespoons to ensure the cupcakes taste sweeter as well. I’m excited to hear what you try and how they turn out!
I was so excited to try this recipe. But the cupcakes came out very dense and dry. I measured the flour and dry ingredients the specific way you said, but now I have 12 chocolate bricks. 🙁 The raspberry frosting was delicious though.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Lizz! Let’s get this sorted out so your cupcakes turn out tender, exactly as they should. 🙂 To confirm, you didn’t make any substitutions, correct? And you baked them for the correct amount of time in standard-sized muffin tins?
Can you be a little more specific about how you measured the flour and cocoa powder? Did you use a spoon to transfer the ingredients into the measuring cups, filling them until a mound rose above the top, and then gently scraped the back of a knife across the top to remove the excess (not pressing any flour or cocoa powder down into the measuring cups as you scraped)? I have a few ideas about what could have caused your issues, but your answers will help us narrow it down even further!
Of course. 🙂 No substitutions. Normal size muffins for 21 minutes like it says. I used the spoon and scrape method. I absolutely LOVE your Peanut Butter Cheesecake, it has been my savior for dessert while I’m watching what I eat.
Awww that means so much to me Lizz! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the peanut butter cheesecake so much! 🙂 If you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring flour and cocoa powder (and oats!): use a fork to “scoop” up flour/cocoa powder from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the flour into it. Once there’s a small mound of flour extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess flour. Never “pat” the flour/cocoa powder down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less flour to the batter, so you’ll end up with moist and tender cupcakes. Does that make sense? 🙂 Also, how fresh is your baking powder? That may make a difference in how the cupcakes rise as well!
I did use a scale for the flour and cocoa. My baking powder is a few months old, not sure if that would make a difference. They rose, but are just very dense.
It looks like this recipe and your Cookies and Cream Recipe are pretty similar, but that one calls for oil and this one didn’t. Could that be missing from this recipe?
As long as you used the full 2 tablespoons of melted butter, then it won’t be an issue Lizz! Have you made the cookies ‘n cream cupcakes before?
I don’t know what’s wrong then. 🙁 I haven’t made the Cookies and Cream ones before.
Are the cupcakes overly dry, or are they mostly just dense? Did you measure the sugar and Greek yogurt with your kitchen scale as well? What brand of flour and cocoa powder did you use?
Miss Amy…I want to bury my face in these cupcakes! They are extremely delicious and the frosting is TDF!!! I made two batches and they disappeared in no time! Andddd…they are sooo pretty! Another recipe that is a winner!!! Thank you again!
Aww thank YOU again for another sweet comment Carmelina!! 🙂 I’m so honored that you made two batches and they disappeared that quickly. What a huge compliment — thank you!!
Hello!
I was wondering if this recipe could be transferred to a cake recipe, and if so how much would I have to increase everything by? I just love how yours turned out and was hoping I could turn it into a birthday cake.
Thank you!
I’m so honored that you’d like to use this recipe to celebrate such a special occasion Elizabeth! That means a lot to me! 🙂 I haven’t tried converting this to a cake, but I think it might work. I’d recommend doubling the recipe and using two 9″-round cake pans. (Line the bottoms of them with wax paper or parchment paper to make the layers easier to remove!) I’m not sure about the baking time, but I’d recommend trying 350°F for 18-20 minutes to start. The layers may need more time, but it’s much easier to pop them back in the oven than it is to bake them for less time! They’ll be done when the centers feel firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. I’d love to hear how that turns out if you try it!
Thank you so much!
This will really help! I’ll let you know how everything turns out!
It’s my pleasure Elizabeth! I’m really excited to hear how it goes! 🙂