There is so much to love about these cupcakes, from the rich, moist chocolate cake base to the creamy and tangy blackberry cream cheese frosting. These Blackberry Cream Cheese Chocolate Cupcakes are the perfect treat to share with the whole family! And keep this Oregon blackberry cream cheese frosting recipe handy — you’ll want to smear it on everything from pound cake to graham crackers.
Recipe by Heather Arndt Anderson from the Voodoo and Sauce Blog
voodooandsauce.com
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened premium cocoa powder (100% cocoa, alkalized)
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ tsp fine sea salt)
¾ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup whole milk + ¼ cup sour cream)
¾ cup warm water
¼ cup neutral oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ pound fresh or frozen/thawed blackberries (to yield ½ cup seedless purée)
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 brick (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Step 1
Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325°F and line two cupcake/muffin tins with paper cupcake liners (if you only have one tin you’ll have to work in batches). Position a rack in the middle of the oven.
Step 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and powder, and salt. Add the buttermilk, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix with an electric mixer until fully combined.
Step 3
Fill each cupcake liner ⅔ of the way full (don’t overfill them — they’ll overflow the tin, make a mess, and you won’t get a full 24 cupcakes!) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the cupcakes out onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool fully before frosting.
Step 4
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting: Purée the blackberries and then press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve with a rubber spatula to remove the seeds. Set aside.
Step 5
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla and mix with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Spoon the blackberry purée on top and fold it just once or twice — don’t stir it all the way in if you want pretty swirls!
Step 6
Scoop the frosting into a piping bag and pipe artful little swirls onto the cupcakes. (For extra blackberry goodness or to hide piping mistakes, you can pop a berry on top of each cupcake.)