Chocolate Blackberry Cupcakes
The chocolate and blackberries in these chocolate blackberry cupcakes makes for the most incredible flavor combination. The cupcakes are not only moist and perfectly chocolatey, but also super easy to make with no stand mixer necessary.
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin tin
- 12 Paper cupcake liners
- Small mesh strainer
- Stand mixer with wire whisk attachment or hand mixer
- Piping bag and piping tip
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup hot water
Blackberry Buttercream
- 1 cup blackberries
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 12 blackberries for garnishing (optional)
- Fresh thyme sprigs for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners and set aside.
- Add the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
- Add the milk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract to another large mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Add the hot water, and gently mix until well combined.
- Divide the cake batter between the paper cupcake liners. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked though. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Add the blackberries and lemon juice to a small saucepan over a low-medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer, and continue simmering for 5 minutes or until the blackberries have softened. Mash gently with a fork to release their juices. Strain the blackberries, keeping the liquid and discarding the solids.
- Add the softened butter, vanilla extract and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on a high speed using a wire whisk attachment for 2 minutes, or until pale and creamy. Add the powdered sugar in 2 batches, and beat until well incorporated.
- Add ¼ cup of the blackberry liquid to the frosting mixture, and beat on a medium speed, increasing to a high speed, until well combined and the buttercream is fluffy.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with your preferred piping tip, and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.
- Garnish each cupcake by pressing a blackberry and small sprig of thyme leaves into the buttercream before serving.
Notes
- The blackberries in this recipe can be substituted with other varieties of berries.
- Take care to mix the hot water carefully into the cake batter to prevent burns.
- The cupcakes are cooked through if they bounce back when lightly touched in the center. Alternatively, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center of a cupcake. If the skewer or toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are cooked through.
- Straining the solids from the simmered blackberries results in a smoother buttercream.
- The buttercream can be spread onto the cooled cupcakes rather than piped, if preferred.
- The buttercream can be made using a large mixing bowl and set of handheld electric beaters in place of a stand mixer.
- If the buttercream is not thick enough, add a small amount of extra powdered sugar. If the buttercream is too thick, add a small amount of extra blackberry liquid.
Did You Make This Recipe?Let me know how it was!