Black Raspberry Cupcakes

After making the blueberry cupcakes, my boyfriend asked if I could make them using raspberries. I though this would be even better than the blueberry ones because raspberries have a stronger flavor. It also gave me an opportunity to use my new mini cupcake pan! The baby ones are super cute! I had planned on making my favorite buttermilk cake but my buttermilk was expired so I just made a plain butter cake which was as delicious as the buttermilk cake but with a more vanilla flavor and a slightly less tender crumb. I used the same cream cheese frosting base and just used a raspberry/blackberry puree instead of the blueberry. The frosting tasted like black raspberry ice cream.

Black Raspberry Cupcakes

Makes 20 standard cupcakes or 12 standard and 24 baby cupcakes

For the cupcakes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake wrappers. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together over a medium sized bowl and set aside. Lighlty whisk the eggs together in small bowl to ensure even distribution in the batter, set aside. Combine the milk and extracts in a measuring cup and set aside.

Place the butter in a large bowl and beat until its lighter in color and satiny, 30-45 seconds. Slowly add the sugar in a steady stream. Cream for 4-5 minutes until its light in color and fluffy in appearance, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Slowly add the eggs 1 at a time scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. If the mixture appears watery or broken, stop adding the eggs and mix until the mixture appears smooth and silky again then resume adding the eggs.

Do the next part by hand. Add the flour in 4 additions alternately with the milk in 3 additions. To be clear, Add a fourth of the flour, to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, stir just until combined. Then add a third of the milk mixture and stir just until combined. Repeat, making sure to start and end with the flour. Fold in the blueberries.

Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups filling about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Black Raspberry Frosting
adapted from casual baker

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup berry puree*
2 1/4 cups icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the blueberry puree and almond extract just until combined. Add the icing sugar gradually and beat until smooth and spreadable.
Frost the cooled cupcakes as you desired. The frosting is somewhat sticky.

For the berry puree, simmer 1 cup of raspberries and 1 cup of blackberries in a small saucepan for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature before making the frosting.