White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

These cupcakes. They take forever to make, and your kitchen will look like sugar and icing and flour exploded everywhere when you are finished (maybe that's just me). But I promise, they are so so worth it. So much sugary goodness in these little pastries they are a surefire crowd-pleaser. These cupcakes also happen to be Trent's most favorite dessert I make. I hope they'll be your favorite too.

Base cupcake slightly adapted from this recipe, and filling and icing were inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
2/3 cup oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons vinegar
white chocolate chips

For the Raspberry Filling
8 ounces fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces cream cheese softened

For the Icing
1 cup butter softened
1 teaspoon raspberry extract
3 cups powdered sugar
6 ounces white chocolate
1-2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1.To make the cupcakes, line and spray a cupcake pan and preheat oven to 350°. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a stand mixer and gently mix. In a medium bowl combine the water, oil, vanilla, and vinegar and whisk together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium for about 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the cupcake pan and add a small handful of white chocolate chips to each cupcake. Use the back of a spoon to sink the chips into the batter. Bake for 18-22 minutes until a knife inserted into the cupcake comes out clean.

2. To make the filling, add raspberries, water, and sugar to a food processor and pulse until pureed. Add raspberry mixture to a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Add raspberry mixture to stand mixer with the softened cream cheese and mix until fully incorporated.

3. For the icing, Add butter and raspberry extract to a stand mixer and beat until combined and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a top until fully incorporated. Melt the bakers chocolate and add to the icing with 1-2 tablespoons of milk and mix together.

4. To assemble, once the cupcakes have cooled, use a butter knife to cut a small hole in the center of each cupcake. Use a piping bag to pipe a small amount of raspberry filling into each of the holes. Use a piping bag to pipe on the icing and top with a fresh raspberry.