White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Instead of flowers and chocolate this Valentine's Day, go all out for your sweetheart and bake them a batch of these white chocolate raspberry cupcakes! They're impossibly moist and soft in texture, filled with sweet raspberry preserves and topped with a generous helping of silky white chocolate buttercream, which makes them the perfect gift and dessert in one. Nothing says "I love you" better than freshly baked goodies to indulge in with loved ones on this sweet holiday!

For more unique cupcake recipes, try Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes, Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes, and Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting.

Why you'll love these white chocolate raspberry cupcakes

• Impossibly Soft White Cupcakes: By using cake flour, the reverse creaming method, a butter-oil combination, AND whipped egg whites folded into the batter at the end, these white cupcakes bake up impossibly soft with an ultra fine, velvety crumb.
• Rich White Chocolate French Buttercream: This is the dreamiest French buttercream–it's silky smooth and packed with sweet white chocolate flavor!
• Versatile Filling Options: Raspberry preserves makes these cupcakes perfect for Valentine's Day, but you can use your favorite berries like blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries for delicious cupcakes any time of year!

Ingredient Notes

• White Chocolate: True white chocolate contains at least 20% cocoa butter. I highly recommend using a true high-quality white chocolate, such as Valrhona or Ghirardelli.
• Raspberry Preserves: Use your favorite brand of raspberry preserves for these cupcakes!
• Whole Milk: Use a high quality whole milk for the best flavor.
• Oil: I recommend using a neutral oil, such as light tasting extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil. 
• Unsalted Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for best overall flavor.
• Cake Flour: Cake flour will make these cupcakes perfectly soft, but if you're in a pinch you can use a high quality all-purpose flour. 
• Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
• Vanilla: Add a high quality vanilla extract for optimal flavor.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this white chocolate raspberry cupcake recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Mix dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.

STEP 2: Add in wet ingredients. Add the oil, milk, and two teaspoons vanilla and mix until just combined.

STEP 3: Whip egg whites. In a separate bowl using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites to medium peaks. Don't over-mix, as medium peaks will give your cupcakes optimal fluffiness.

STEP 4: Fold. Gently fold the egg whites into the cupcake batter with a rubber spatula until just combined.

STEP 5: Bake. Fill the cupcake liners about ⅔ of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before decorating.

STEP 6: Make the buttercream. Melt the white chocolate, then separately whip the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and foamy. Heat the sugar and water over low heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Slowly add the sugar syrup to the whisking egg mixture and mix until cooled down. Add the butter until fully incorporated, then add the melted white chocolate and vanilla extract and mix until completely smooth.

STEP 7: Fill the cupcakes. With a small (about 1") round cookie cutter, remove the centers of the cupcakes, pressing about ⅔ of the way into them. Cut the very top of the centers off and reserve them. Pour or pipe the raspberry preserves into the cupcakes and place the top of the centers back on.

STEP 8: Frost the cupcakes. Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag with a medium star piping tip and decorate each cupcake as desired.

Expert Baking Tips

• Do not over-whip the egg whites. Whip the egg whites only to medium peaks. As you can see above, the peaks droop slightly - this is what you're looking for. Whipping them to stiff peaks will make the egg whites too dry, causing them to deflate as they're folded into the batter. 
• Fill the cupcake liners ⅔ full. Over-filling the cupcakes can cause them to sink even though they're baked all the way through. 

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x