Raspberry cupcakes
These easy raspberry cupcakes with pretty two-toned icing are a delicious summer bake. The fresh raspberries balance out the sweet icing beautifully and are perfect for kids and beginner bakers to try.
Raspberry cupcakes are a simple but delicious twist on a simple vanilla cupcake. With a pretty two-toned icing on top, they’re a great bake for kids to enjoy in the summer.
Plain vanilla cupcakes are one of the easiest things you can bake with children, and these raspberry cupcakes add a delicious but simple twist. Filled with fresh (or frozen) raspberries and topped with sweet buttercream icing, and even more raspberries on top they’re fresh, zingy and perfect for the summer.
How can kids help to make raspberry cupcakes?
All cupcakes make great bakes for kids as they’re so easy. These raspberry cupcakes are no exception. There are loads of steps for children to get involved with and as it all gets mixed together in one bowl it means there’s less mess and less washing up to do!
As with most bakes, children can get involved in measuring out all the ingredients and mixing them together. With 3 eggs in the recipe, there’s also a great chance to practice their egg cracking skills – an important skill for any young baker.
If you use an ice-cream scoop or soup spoon to add the cupcake batter to the cases, your kids should be able to do that without making too much mess. If they don’t do it very evenly, you can always help even it up before they go in the oven.
Finally, my kids always enjoy helping to decorate the cupcakes. The two tone icing we’ve used looks great, but isn’t any more difficult to pipe than regular icing so a still a job kids can do. You can always use one colour of icing if you want to skip a step though.
Younger children might need help with the piping bag if you’re using one, but it’s a fun job to try. If a piping bag is too tricky for your kids, or you don’t have one, you can spread the buttercream icing on with a spoon or blunt knife. And all children will be able to help add the decorations at the end.
How long do raspberry cupcakes keep?
These cupcakes will keep for a few days in an airtight container. If you want to keep them for longer or make them ahead of time, you can put the undecorated cupcake in the freezer for up to about 3 months. To freeze them, wrap each cupcake in cling film / glad wrap, and pop it in a freezer bag. Make sure you defrost them fully before you decorate them.
What can I use instead of self raising flour?
If you don’t have self raising flour, swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and put in an extra 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder.
What is baking spread/baking margarine?
Baking spread, (things like Stork), is just a non dairy margarine that’s perfect for baking. It makes cupcakes and cakes lighter and fluffier than butter, which means it’s a great, cheaper alternative.
I still like the taste of butter in buttercream icing so I wouldn’t swap the butter for baking spread in that but it’s great for the sponge.
Should I use fresh or frozen raspberries?
We’ve used fresh raspberries because they are in abundance at this time of year here in Scotland. If you don’t have any fresh raspberries, or are making these in the winter, you could substitute them for frozen raspberries. You might need to add a few minutes on to the baking time to make sure they fully cooked in the centre.
Other ways to use up raspberries
If you love adding raspberries to your bakes, you’ll enjoy some of these raspberry filled recipes:
Raspberry muffins
Raspberry and white chocolate scones
White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake
Easy homemade raspberry jam
Raspberry and chocolate brownies
Raspberry cranachan
Raspberry flapjacks
Raspberry and white chocolate muffins
Raspberry and white chocolate loaf cake
Or why not try some of these other I easy cupcake recipes for kids:
Lemon cupcakes
Strawberry cupcakes
Chocolate chip cupcakes
Nutella cupcakes
Funfetti cupcakes
Vanilla cupcakes
Rainbow cupcakes
Monster cupcakes
Eton mess cupcakes
Ice cream cone cupcakes
Victoria sponge cupcakes
Lemon drizzle cupcakes
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these raspberry cupcakes
Digital scales
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoons
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons
Muffin tin
Cupcake cases
Wire rack
Piping bag
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Ingredients
For the raspberry cupcakes
150g (2/3 cup) butter or baking margarine
150g (¾ cup) caster sugar
150g (1 ¾ cups) self raising flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 eggs
80g raspberries
For the buttercream icing
150g (2/3 cup) butter, softened
300g (2 cups) icing / confectioners sugar
25ml milk
A few drops of vanilla extract
Raspberries or freeze dried raspberries to decorate
* If you don’t have any self raising flour, swap it for an equal amount of plain or all-purpose flour and add an extra teaspoon of baking powder.
How to make raspberry cupcakes
Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan / 350F and get your kids to line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.
Measure all the cupcake ingredients out
Measure all the cupcake ingredients out and add them to a free-standing mixer or a large mixing bowl.
The beauty of this recipe is that everything just gets added to the same bowl at the same time which means you can can add them in any order you like but if you stick to the order on the ingredients list you won’t miss anything out.
Start by getting your kids to add the butter/margarine, sugar and flour. You can either use a baking spread like we did here or butter. If you’re using butter it needs to be soft enough to mix in. You either need to take it out the fridge a wee while before you start baking or cut it into a few pieces and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it. Don’t do it long enough for it to melt. If you’re using baking margarine/Stork, you can add it straight in.
Measure out the baking powder and add it to your bowl. Make sure your kids level the half teaspoon with their finger before it goes in so that they add just the right amount.
Add the vanilla extract. Older children should be able to do this themselves but if your children are younger, you might need to pour in the vanilla while they hold the teaspoon level or vice versa.
Finally, get your kids to crack the eggs into a small bowl before adding them to your mixing bowl. We tend not to crack eggs straight in just in case any shell goes in. If it does, simply fish it out with a larger piece of shell or teaspoon – it should stick to that much better than it will your finger and it saves getting messy hands. We also it a good idea to have a spare bowl or food bin nearby to put the egg shells in – it saves a lot of mess.
Mix the cupcake batter together
Using a hand held mixer, the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, or even wooden spoons, beat everything together until the batter is nice and smooth. Be sure not to over mix it. Just do it for a minute or so until it comes together and no lumps of flour or butter is visible. If you need to, get your kids to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure no unmixed ingredients are left at the bottom of your bowl.
Add the raspberries
Get your kids to measure out the raspberries and crush them gently with a fork. You can leave some a bit more whole while crushing others more completely. Add the raspberries to your bowl and mix them in with a spatula.
Bake the raspberry cupcakes
Get your kids to divide the cupcake batter among the cupcake cases. An ice-cream scoop, if you have one, dishes out a good amount of batter which makes this job a little easier and less messy. If you don’t have one, soup spoons are a good alternative. Try to make sure they add roughly the same amount to each case so they bake evenly (if they don’t you can always even it up before they go in the oven). They should be about ¾ full.
Bake the cupcakes for 20 – 25 minutes. They’re ready when they have risen and turned nice and golden brown. If you press down gently on the top they should spring back up. You can also check they’re fully baked by inserting a skewer, cocktail stick or sharp knife into the middle of the cupcake. If they’re baked it should come out clean. If it’s not, pop the cupcakes back in the oven for a few more minutes.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave them to cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before removing them and putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing
Start by making the buttercream icing. Get your kids to measure the, icing/confectioners sugar, butter and milk out and add them to your free-standing mixer or a large mixing bowl. Again, if your butter isn’t soft chop it up and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier to mix.
Cover your bowl or mixer with the lid, or a clean tea towel to save a bit of mess (icing sugar has a tendency to go everywhere!. Use the k-paddle of your mixer or hand held mixers and start mixing the icing.
Start on a slow setting and once the icing sugar has mixed in, you can turn the speed up and keep beating it for at least 5 minutes. The longer you beat it the softer and more delicious it will become.
We’ve used a two tone icing. If you want to do the same, take out half of the icing before adding a spot of pink food colouring and mixing it in to the remaining icing.
To make the two-tone icing, place both colours of icing onto separate pieces of cling film/glad wrap wrap them up and roll them into thin sausages.
Cut the cling film off at one end of each icing sausage and place them in a piping bag fitted with a large plain or star shaped nozzle.
Decorate the raspberry cupcakes
Help your kids to swirl the icing on top of the cupcakes. Older children might manage this themselves. We find the easiest way to pipe the icing is to hold the piping bag at the top with our right hand to squeeze the icing out and use our left hand to guide the bag round. Start at the outside and go round in circles until you get to the middle. If you have icing leftover once you’ve iced all the cupcakes, add another swirl on top.
Finally, get your kids to add a raspberry and/or freeze dried raspberries to the tops of each of the cupcakes.
Serve and enjoy!
Raspberry cupcakes
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoons
- Measuring cup
- measuring spoons
- Muffin tin
- Cupcake cases
- Wire rack
- Piping bag
Ingredients
For the raspberry cupcakes
- 150 g 2/3 cup butter or baking margarine
- 150 g ¾ cup caster sugar
- 150 g 1 ¾ cups self raising flour
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 80 g raspberries
For the buttercream icing
- 150 g 2/3 cup butter, softened
- 300 g 2 cups icing / confectioners sugar
- 25 ml milk
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- Pink food colouring
- Raspberries or freeze dried raspberries to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C Fan / 350F and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.
Measure all the cupcake ingredients out
- Measure all the cupcake ingredients out (except the raspberries) and add them to a free-standing mixer or a large mixing bowl.
Mix the cupcake batter together
- Using a hand held mixer, the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer, or even wooden spoons, beat everything together until the batter is nice and smooth.
Add the raspberries
- Measure out the raspberries and crush them gently with a fork. Add the raspberries to your bowl and mix them in with a spatula.
Bake the raspberry cupcakes
- Divide the cupcake batter evenly among the cupcake cases. They should be about ¾ full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 20 – 25 minutes. They're ready when they have risen and turned nice and golden brown. If you press down gently on the top they should spring back up. You can also check they're fully baked by inserting a skewer, cocktail stick or sharp knife into the middle of the cupcake. If they're baked it should come out clean. If it's not, pop the cupcakes back in the oven for a few more minutes.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave them to cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before removing them and putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing
- Start by making the buttercream icing. Measure the, icing/confectioners sugar, butter and milk out and add them to your free-standing mixer or a large mixing bowl.
- Cover your bowl or mixer with the lid, or a clean tea-towel and use the k-paddle of your mixer or hand held mixers and start mixing the icing. Start on a slow setting and once the icing sugar has mixed in, you can turn the speed up and keep beating it for at least 5 minutes.
- We've used a two tone icing. If you want to do the same, take out half of the icing before adding a spot of pink food colouring and mixing it in to the remaining icing.To make the two-tone icing, place both colours of icing onto separate pieces of cling film/glad wrap wrap them up and roll them into thin sausages.Cut the cling film off at one end of each icing sausage and place them in a piping bag fitted with a large plain or star shaped nozzle.
Decorate the raspberry cupcakes
- Swirl the icing on top of the cupcakes. Start at the outside and go round in circles until you get to the middle. If you have icing leftover once you've iced all the cupcakes, add another swirl on top.Finally, add a raspberry and/or freeze dried raspberries to the tops of each of the cupcakes.
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Julie says
What a beautiful cupcake! I am attracted by its color. Thanks for sharing the recipe, I would definitely like to try this with my family.
cookingwithmykids says
Thanks so much. I love the look of these as well (and they taste good too!)