Name: Raspberry Cupcakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 36 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil; 1 1/2 cups Sugar; 2 Large Eggs; 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract; 2 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour; 2 tsp Baking Powder; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1/2 cup Sour Cream; 1/2 cup Milk; 3 oz Box of Raspberry Jell-O, divided (Will also be used in the frosting); Toothpick; 1 cup Butter, softened; 2 lbs Confectioners' Sugar; 1/3 cup Raspberry Jell-O Powder; 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract; 1/2 tsp Salt; 3/4 cup to 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream, until desired consistency; Fresh Raspberries, for topping

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This is a recipe for raspberry cupcakes made with vanilla cupcakes that have Raspberry Jell-O swirled into the batter topped with raspberry buttercream frosting.

Raspberry cupcakes are delicious and typically we see them mixed with cheesecake, lemon, or white chocolate.

I wanted to create a simple cupcake recipe for just raspberry. I tried various methods to use fresh raspberries, like dehydrating them, which took over 24 hours. Then I blended them into raspberry powder in a food processor.

But that took so long just to make cupcakes and they produced more of a gray color. That meant having to add food coloring to the cupcakes to make them look tasty.

Plus, most of us aren’t planning to spend two days making cupcakes. We want them now!

The next thing I thought of that was similar to the fine raspberry powder was gelatin powder. It has the flavor, the pink-red color, and it’s all in one little box that’s really cheap. No dehydrator or food processor needed and they tasted great!

It reminds me a lot of the ruby slipper bundt cake.

In total, you will only need one 3-ounce box of raspberry gelatin for both the cupcakes and the frosting.

Ingredients for Raspberry Cupcakes

Vegetable Oil
Sugar
Large Eggs
Pure Vanilla Extract
All-Purpose Flour
Baking Powder
Salt
Sour Cream
Milk
Raspberry Gelatin Powder (Will also be used in the frosting)
Toothpick

Ingredients for Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

Butter
Confectioners’ Sugar
Raspberry Gelatin Powder
Pure Vanilla Extract
Salt
Heavy Whipping Cream
Fresh Raspberries, for topping

How to Make Raspberry Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl, add oil, sugar, and vanilla. Blend in eggs. Add sour cream and milk. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and add to the bowl.
Mix well and add about 3 tablespoons of batter to each cupcake liner.
Spoon 1/4 teaspoon of raspberry Jell-O powder onto the top of batter in each cupcake liner. Using a toothpick, swirl the powder into the batter.
Bake for 12-16 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a cupcake. Allow cupcakes to fully cool before frosting.

How to Make Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

Add butter, Jell-O powder, vanilla, and salt to mixing bowl.
Begin adding confectioners’ sugar and alternate with heavy whipping cream until reaching desired consistency.

Note: The entire 2 lbs of confectioners’ sugar should be used, and about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until it is creamy. This provides enough frosting to decorate all 24 cupcakes with a tall decorative swirl of frosting.

How to Decorate Raspberry Cupcakes

Decorating cupcakes can be as simple as using a butter knife and spreading the frosting on top with a few sprinkles. For something a little fancier, using icing tips can make frosting cupcakes go pretty quick once you get the hang of it.

I used Wilton’s 6B tip for the cupcakes in the photos and then topped each one with a raspberry. I used to practice using different frosting tips on wax or parchment paper just to try different techniques.

For more ideas and tips on how to decorate cupcakes, YouTube is great! I recommend checking out Cakes by Lynz’s piping tutorials.

Try these other delicious cupcakes!

Enjoy!