Perfect for Valentine’s Day, these decadent chocolate cupcakes are topped with ganache and raspberry buttercream frosting.

Neither of us typically go too crazy for cupcakes. But these? These are a whole different story. These are oh-so-chocolaty and the raspberry buttercream takes them to a whole new level. Add ganache into the mix and they are out of this world!

We started with our favorite fudgy chocolate cupcakes as the base–which is a doctored up Devil’s food cake box mix.

Next we combined semi-sweet chocolate with cream to create a decadent and irresistible ganache layer. Sidenote–if the universe rewards you and you end up with extra ganache, fill your raspberries with it for the most divine treat!

The next layer is a raspberry buttercream frosting made with mashed fresh raspberries.

Top it all off with another dollop of ganache and garnish with a fresh raspberry! These would make the perfect dessert for Valentine’s day, a baby shower, or even just a Thursday afternoon treat!

Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache & Raspberry Buttercream

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
2 tablespoons flour for high altitude only
1 box devil’s food cake mix
oil eggs, milk instead of water, and one extra egg as called for on the back of the box
1 cup sour cream low or high fat
1 teaspoon vanilla
24 cupcake liners
For the Ganache:
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream
For the Raspberry Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter at cool room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
up to 4 tablespoons whipping cream
1/2 cup raspberries mashed (this should yield about 3 tablespoons once mashed)
1-2 drops red food coloring if desired
More Raspberries for garnish

Instructions

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with 24 liners.
Combine the dry cake mix package with the instant pudding (and 2 tablespoons of flour if you’re at a high altitude - over 4,500 ft). Add the amount of oil from the box, sub milk for the water that the box calls for, and add one extra egg from the box directions. Add the sour cream and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Fill each baking cup ½-⅔ full. Bake for 19-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove each cupcake from the tin onto a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before frosting.
For the Ganache:
Place chocolate in a small mixing bowl and pour hot whipping cream on top. Let it sit for two minutes and then stir until smooth. Let the ganache come to room temperature (about 5-10 minutes) before applying to cupcakes.
For the Raspberry Buttercream:
Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat the butter and 3 cups powdered sugar until light and fluffly. Add in salt, vanilla extract, mashed raspberries, and food coloring (if desired). Add more powdered sugar and or milk/cream until desired consistency is reached. (If you want to pipe it on, you will want it on the stiffer side.)
To assemble the cupcakes, spread a thin layer of ganache on each. Pipe on the raspberry buttercream and then top with a bit of ganache and a fresh raspberry for garnish. Refrigerate if storing for more than 6 hours before serving.

Recipe Notes

Inspired by and adapted from this recipe

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Here are some more Valentine’s Day ideas on ‘Or so she says…’:

Chocolate Peanut Clusters ~ Easy Valentine Treat!