Vanilla Raspberry Cupcakes

Vanilla Raspberry Cupcakes are made with a light and fluffy vanilla cupcake base, fresh raspberry butter cream frosting and is perfect for any birthday celebration or a simple summer night!  

A classic vanilla cupcake is a must in your recipe book, but it really has to be a good recipe to make it worth while.  Chocolate always seems to be the easy choice when making a dessert, but there is definitely something to be said about the BEST vanilla cupcake.  I have been making vanilla cupcakes for many years and played around with many recipes.  This Vanilla Raspberry Cupcake recipe is the BEST!  It is light, fluffy, not dry, flavorful and can be combined with any frosting.  The key to making this vanilla cupcake the best is the ingredients.

The key to the best Vanilla Raspberry Cupcake is the ingredients and it is important not to change a thing.  Starting with the combination of butter and vegetable oil will make this cake moist yet have a nice rich butter flavor.  While mixing these ingredients together with the egg, beat until it is light and fluffy.  This is the start of making this recipe great.

Cake Flour
A vanilla cake made with cake flour is sure to be much more fluffy than a cake made with all purpose flour.  Cake flour might not be commonly found in your pantry, but it is totally worth stocking up.  Cake flour is a much lighter flour and is finely milled with a lower protein percent.  The low protein in cake flour is what creates a very light and fluffy cake.  It is worth using and the cake texture will be completely different if you use all purpose flour.

Raspberry Butter Cream Frosting
Homemade Raspberry Butter Cream might be the best frosting you will ever make.  It is sweet, smooth and slightly tart from the fresh raspberries.  Bring the fresh raspberries and lemon juice to a simmer to create a thick juice that will add so much flavor to your butter cream frosting.  Once the fruit has simmered for several minutes, strain the fruit and save the juice.  Adding just three tablespoons of juice to the butter cream frosting will add a delicate and pure flavor and the most beautiful hue of pink.  Other than the raspberry puree, this is a classic buttercream made with butter, vegetable shortening and powdered sugar.  Most buttercream frosting are made with butter and powdered sugar, but I prefer the addition of shortening to add stability.

More Cakes You Will Love 
The Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes 
Birthday Cake in a Jar 
Coconut Lemon Cake 
Ice Cream Cake

Vanilla Raspberry Cupcakes

Vanilla Raspberry Cupcakes are made with a light and fluffy vanilla cupcake base, fresh raspberry butter cream frosting and is perfect for any birthday celebration or a simple summer night!  

• Author: kristen massad
• Yield: 24-26 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Vanilla Cupcakes
½   Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
½   Cup Vegetable Oil
1 ½  Cups Granulated Sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3 Cups Cake Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1  teaspoon Salt
1 ¼ Cup Whole Milk

Raspberry Butter Cream
1 Cup Fresh Raspberries
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
¼ Cup Vegetable Shortening
3 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted

Instructions

Vanilla Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the butter, vegetable oil and sugar until creamy and light in color ( approximately 2 minutes)
4. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined and smooth
5. Alternate adding in the flour mixture and the milk until all ingredients are added in and the vanilla cupcake batter is smooth
6. Beat on medium speed for 3-4 minutes to make sure that all ingredients are incorporated
7. Evenly divide the batter into each cupcake pan filling ¾ full
8. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until the cake springs back at the touch
9. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

Raspberry Butter Cream

1. In a small saucepan combine the raspberries and lemon juice and mash them with a fork to release the juice from the fruit
2. Bring the raspberries and lemon juice to a simmer and continue cooking for 5 minutes 
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the fruit to release the liquid 
4. Allow the raspberry juice to cool completely before using 
5. In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vegetable shortening until creamy
6. Slowly add the powdered sugar to the butter mixture and beat on medium to high until completely smooth 
7. Add in 3 tablespoons of raspberry juice to the buttercream icing and continue mixing until fully combined 
8. Pipe the frosting on each vanilla cupcake and decorate with sugar crystals and fresh raspberries

 

Keywords: Vanilla Cupcakes, Raspberry Butter Cream, Vanilla Raspberry Cupcakes