MelissaEsplin.com

Food: Raspberry Cupcakes

July 14, 2014
I've been mildly obsessed with making cupcakes lately. I got the right size icing tips* that I've been searching high and low for. Getting the right icing consistency and cake density has now been my master goal. melissaesplin-raspberry-vanilla-cupcake-recipe-1 I won a cupcake cook book at a blogging event nearly a year ago. I've been working my way through the cookbook with fabulous success for each recipe I've tried. Chris went wild for the frosting on these cupcakes. He's been a pretty disciplined eater since January (losing 30 pounds in the process), so I get great satisfaction when I make desserts that are too tempting for him to pass up. I'm such a devil. melissaesplin-raspberry-vanilla-cupcake-recipe-2 melissaesplin-raspberry-vanilla-cupcake-recipe-3 Since moving to the mountains two years ago (we're at 6300 ft elevation), I haven't been able to make a decent cookie, but cupcakes I can do! At some point I will figure out how to make all my mom's cookie recipes altitude friendly, but for now I'll just stick to cupcakes. Playing with frosting is too much fun, too. melissaesplin-raspberry-vanilla-cupcake-recipe-4

Raspberry Cupcakes

Adapted from Lizzy Early's Strawberry Vanilla Cupcake recipe (Your Cup of Cake) Makes 24 cupcakes
  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Gently whisk egg whites, oil, milk, mayo and vanilla in a large bowl, until smooth. Add sifted cake mix and stir until combined. Fill cupcake liners, I used just shy of 1/4 cup batter in each cupcake liner. Bake at 350 for 17-22 minutes - I pulled mine out at 15 minutes and they were perfect. Cool.
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-4 tablespoons raspberry jam**, or raspberry puree
Beat butter until smooth, about 2 minutes. Combine lemon juice. Slowly add powdered sugar until it reaches a thick consistency. Add raspberry jam (**I used Bonne Maman jam. That or a freezer jam would be ideal - don't use the cheap super sugar stuff or you won't get much raspberry flavor) slowly until it's the right consistency. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and serve.   melissaesplin-raspberry-vanilla-cupcake-recipe-5 * Icing kit and adorable milk jars courtesy of Bake It Pretty.