If you can't get enough of fresh raspberries when they're in season, you're really going to love these raspberry almond cupcakes that you can make all year long! Similar to my strawberry filled cupcakes, these cupcakes have a delicious fruity filling that uses raspberry jam.
This easy dessert recipe also gives you the steps you need for making a beautiful marbled cream cheese raspberry frosting. It packs an extra punch of raspberry flavor.
However, feel free to take this in a different direction if you're going for a more classic look. Top top off these cupcakes with my easy almond frosting.
And if you're ISO more raspberry desserts, try:
- My white chocolate raspberry loaf cake - It's topped with the prettiest marbled ganache that's white and pink.
- This raspberry chocolate Bundt cake has a deep chocolatey flavor, balanced with the slightly tart raspberry ganache on top.
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Ingredients for these Almond Cupcakes
The recipe card below contains all the ingredients you need for almond raspberry cupcakes. Here are a few key ones:
- Raspberry filling - For a quick recipe shortcut, I like to use my favorite raspberry preserves or jam instead of making a homemade version.
- Almond extract - The combination of almond and raspberry is a good one. Raspberries have a sweet-tart flavor that complements the slightly sweet yet nutty flavor of almonds. Together, they enhance each other's flavors without overpowering them. Almond extract also makes an appearance in the delicious frosting
- Freeze-dried raspberries - Since using freeze dried fruit in the frosting for my vanilla cake with strawberry filling as well as a tasty blueberry frosting, I'm a huge convert! Freeze dried raspberries have a concentrated, more intense flavor than fresh or even dried fruits. They work well in frosting because they don't add any excess moisture.
Tip: Cupcake Decorating with Freeze Dried Fruit
To make your cupcake decorating easier, be sure to fully grind your freeze dried berries before adding them to your piping bag. They should have the consistency of a fine powder.
Otherwise, chunks of the fruit will likely get caught in the tip. You won't be able to decorate the cupcake or cake easily if that happens.
If it does happen, remove or squeeze the frosting out the other end of the bag, using the wide opening, and remove the problematic pieces.
Best Results: Baking in Grams
If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking.
While I include cups and grams in my recipe cards, weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency.
I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.
Making Raspberry Almond Cupcakes
About an hour before beginning this recipe, place butter, eggs, and buttermilk on your kitchen counter so they reach room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
To a large bowl, add and whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
Using the paddle attachment in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, sugar, both your almond and vanilla extract, and oil on medium speed for 4 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the two eggs and beat again for 1 minute.
Add half of your bowl of dry ingredients and half of your buttermilk to your mixing bowl. Mix on low speed for about 45 seconds before repeating step with remaining ingredients to fully combine flour and buttermilk. This creates the fluffy almond cake that's the core of this recipe.
Pour and evenly divide cupcake batter into your prepared cupcake liners (about 50 grams in each cavity). Bake for 14-16 minutes or until cupcakes appear buttery and dense but bounce back at the touch of your finger.
Let cupcakes cool in cupcake tin or pan about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before inserting the raspberry filling.
Marbled Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions
My fresh raspberry frosting post breaks down the steps for making a version of this buttercream with cream cheese.
You need unsalted butter, room temperature, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and freeze dried raspberry powder. You can also add lemon juice or distilled white vinegar to offset sweetness if you'd like.
The variation here incorporates almond, while using freeze dried raspberries for a bit of tanginess.
To create marbled frosting, make hybrid cream cheese buttercream in a mixing bowl. Remove half of the white frosting to and set it aside in another container. Then add finely ground freeze dried raspberries to mixing bowl and mix until well-combined. This will leave you with a rich, deep shade of pink.
Spread out the white and pink frostings in two or more lines on a piece of plastic wrap. Roll that up and place in piping bag or pastry bag fitted with a tip of your choice.
Cupcake Assembly
If you have a cupcake corer to add filling to your cupcakes, great! I do not, but no problem.
Instead, I used the wider end of a large piping tip (like the size of 1M, 2D, etc). Make a hole in the center of your cupcakes and go about ¾ of the way down into it.
Scoop about 2 teaspoons of filling into the hole of each cupcake.
Cover each hole in the middle of the cupcake by piping frosting directly onto the top of the cupcakes. Garnish with white sprinkles, fresh raspberries, or leave as is.
Cupcake Storage
If you want to prep these delicious cupcakes in advance for special occasions, you can freeze them (frosted or unfrosted) for up to three months. Place them in an airtight container in your freezer, and bring them out an hour or two before you'd like to serve them.
I have a detailed guide for freezing cupcakes if you're curious about the many ways you can successfully do this!
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More Recipes Like these Raspberry Almond Cupcakes
Raspberry Almond Cupcakes
Can't get enough fresh raspberries when they're in season? Then you'll love these raspberry almond cupcakes, easy to bake any time of year!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Frosting Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature
- ⅔ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tsp almond extract
- 2 T canola oil (or other colorless, odorless oil like vegetable or grapeseed)
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- ⅔ cup (160 grams) buttermilk, room temperature
Marbled Raspberry Frosting Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (400 grams) of powdered sugar
- ¾ block (170 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cup (1 oz/30 grams) freeze dried raspberries, ground into a fine powder
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- Pinch of salt
Optional:
- A few drops of lemon or lime juice (or white vinegar) to cut sweetness; add to your preference
- 1 tsp raspberry extract for more intense raspberry flavor
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
- To a large bowl, add and whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
- Using the paddle attachment in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream your unsalted room temperature butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, and oil together on medium speed for 4 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and beat again for 1 minute.
- Add half of your bowl of dry ingredients and half of your buttermilk to your mixing bowl. Mix on low for about 45 seconds before repeating step to incorporate all buttermilk and flour.
- Pour and evenly spread the batter into your prepared cupcake liners (about 50 grams in each cavity). Bake for 14-16 minutes or until cupcakes appear buttery and dense but bounce back at the touch of your finger.
- Let cupcakes cool in pan about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment — or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer — beat the cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and mix for another 1 minute or until fully combined.
- Turn off mixer and add salt, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract (along with raspberry extract, if using) to bowl. Mix on low setting to slowly incorporate powdered sugar before increasing to high setting for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add finely ground freeze dried raspberries to mixing bowl and mix until well-combined. Taste test and add a few drops of lemon juice at a time if needed to cut sweetness (personal preference).
- Put frosting into a piping bag fitted with a tip of your choice.
Cupcake Assembly
- Use the wider end of a large piping tip (like the size of 1M, 2D, etc), and make a hole in the center of your cupcakes that goes about ¾ of the way down into it.
- Scoop about 2 teaspoons of raspberry jam into the hole in each cupcake. Firmly pack it down for more fruity flavor!
- Cover each opening by using your piping bag filled with frosting to swirl frosting directly onto tops of cupcakes. Garnish with white sprinkles, fresh raspberries, or leave as is.
May Greene
Using freeze dried raspberries in the frosting is brilliant! It makes the recipe that much more flavorful and doesn’t dilute the frosting with water like regular, fresh raspberries would. You are a genius!
Susan
Yay! I really appreciate that - hope you enjoy!