Classic chocolate cupcakes topped with fluffy blackberry American buttercream and a swirl of blackberry preserves.
I’ve been really into making cupcakes lately. They satisfy that craving for cake without going through the trouble of baking an entire cake. Cupcakes are just cute, and more of like a Tuesday night situation vs carving out your entire Saturday morning to bake and frost a cake. Right? Plus they’re portable and already individually portioned and ready to rock. Let’s get right to it.
How to Make Chocolate Blackberry Cupcakes
Make the Chocolate Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans with liners. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Combine the buttermilk and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup. Set aside. Brew some strong coffee – I make extra so I can drink some, but the recipe only requires 1 C.
While the coffee brews, add the oil and sugar to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl to make sure everything gets mixed. Add the eggs and egg yolk. Mix to combine.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk vanilla mixture. Start and end with the dry ingredients. (So add 1/3 of the dry, then half of the buttermilk, then repeat) Turn the mixer to low, and slowly pour in the hot coffee. Once all the coffee has been incorporated, turn the mixer off and give the batter a good mix with a rubber spatula just to make sure everything is combined and there’s no clumps of flour at the bottom of the bowl.
Bake the Cupcakes
Divide the batter into the cupcake liners. I do this by pouring the batter into a large liquid measuring cup like this one, and then using that to pour the batter into each liner. I think this is especially helpful for chocolate cupcakes because the batter is super thin.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. The cupcakes should be set in the middle and when you insert a toothpick, it should come out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cupcakes cool completely while you make the blackberry buttercream.
Make the Blackberry Buttercream
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 10 minutes. After 5 minutes, scrape down the bowl making sure that all of the butter is getting attention. 10 minutes may seem like a long time, but it necessary to get the best texture. Don’t skimp on the time! Add the salt and vanilla, mix to combine.
Add the powdered sugar in 2 additions, mixing for 3 minutes each time. Add the Blackberry Preserves, mix to combine. More often than not, I make my own jams from fresh berries. But when I’m not feelin’ that or am just in a hurry, Bonne Maman to the rescue. Truly the best preserves, and they work so well in buttercream. Not an ad, just a fan.
Now you just need to add cream to reach your desired consistency. If you want to pipe the frosting on top, the consistency will need to be slightly thicker. Here, I spread the frosting on with an offset spatula and then just cleaned up the edges and added an extra swirl of preserves on top. For that technique, I like the buttercream to be extra soft and fluffy so its easy to spread.
If you’re interested in seeing how I frost cupcakes, I have a “Cupcake Tutorials” highlight tab on my Instagram page!
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Chocolate Blackberry Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24 Cupcakes 1x
Description
Classic chocolate cupcakes topped with fluffy blackberry American buttercream and a swirl of blackbery preserves.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 2 1/2 C All Purpose Flour
- 1 C Dark Cocoa Powder
- 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 C Vegetable Oil
- 2 C Granulated Sugar
- 2 Lg Eggs, + 1 Egg Yolk, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 C Buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 C Strong Brewed Coffee, hot
For the Blackberry American Buttercream
- 1 1/2 C (3 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 6 C Powdered Sugar
- 1/4 C Blackberry Preserves, + more for topping
- 4–6 TBSP Heavy Cream, at room temperature
Instructions
For Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans with liners
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Stir together the buttermilk and vanilla, set aside.
- Brew some strong coffee.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the oil and sugar on medium for 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, and yolk. Mix to combine.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk mixture. Start and end with dry ingredients.
- Turn mixer to low and slowly pour in the hot coffee.
- Do a final mix with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is combined.
- Pour into cupcake pans.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Let cool completely.
For the Blackberry American Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 10 minutes. Scrape down the bowl halfway through and as necessary.
- Add the salt and vanilla. Mix to combine.
- Add the powdered sugar 1/2 at a time, mixing for three minutes after each addition.
- Mix in the blackberry preserves.
- Add in the heavy cream, 1-2 TBSP at a time until you reach your desired consisitency.
- Frost the cupcakes and serve.
Notes
*You may sub hot water for the coffee or use decaf!
*Cupcakes will keep in the fridge for up to a week or on the counter for 1-2 days.
Check out these other cupcake recipes: Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes, Vanilla Cereal Milk Cupcakes, && Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes
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