Fluffy and moist zesty orange cupcakes with real raspberries baked into the centre, topped with super creamy and fluffy Prosecco buttercream frosting – perfect for any celebration!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers in the UK! Don’t panic my lovely US people, our Mother’s Day falls in a completely different month to yours. But in the UK, today is a day to celebrate the wonderful mothers, grandmothers and mother-figures in our lives – those wonderful women that support us, love us and care for us unconditionally. I consider myself extremely lucky to have an amazing mum who I would be lost without, so this recipe is dedicated to her and was made for her. Because is there a better way to say “Thank you” than delicious cupcakes? Perhaps cupcakes topped with frosting flavoured with her favourite bubbly!
These Orange and Raspberry Cupcakes with Prosecco Frosting really are to die for. The cupcakes are soft, moist and really fluffy with a wonderful orange flavour that isn’t too overpowering. Raspberries are baked right into the cupcake so you get a slightly gooey, tart surprise when you take a bite, balancing the sweetness perfectly. And that Prosecco Buttercream Frosting!! It’s so creamy, fluffy and full of that delightfully subtle prosecco flavour, I don’t know how it’s possible but I swear you can taste the bubbles too! It’s so delicious you could just eat it with a spoon (okay, I might have had a couple of spoonfuls, don’t judge me!). And this recipe makes enough to pile your cupcakes sky high so there’s plenty to go around!
And, of course, these cupcakes are so easy to make with real ingredients. What could be better? You can also use your favourite bubbly – prosecco, champagne, sparkling wine – you can substitute like for like and get the flavour of your favourite bubbly in this scrummy buttercream frosting! And if you want to make them alcohol free, you can use sparkling grape juice (such as Shloer) to get the same kind of effect with none of the booze! But my mum and I are big fans of putting alcohol in whatever we can, so we’ll keep using the prosecco! And even better, since you only need to use a few tablespoons, you can enjoy the rest of the bottle while you eat the cupcake.
- 115g unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 210g caster sugar (superfine granulated sugar)
- 2 large whole eggs
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 180g plain flour (AP)
- 10g cornflour (cornstarch) - see notes
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarb (baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 150ml buttermilk (1/2 cup + 2tbsp)- see notes
- Juice of 1 medium orange (approx 100ml, about 1tbsp shy of 1/2 cup)
- Zest of 1 medium orange
- 28 raspberries (approx 100g), fresh or frozen (thawed first if using frozen)
- 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 cup +1.5 tbsp)
- 500g icing sugar (powdered/confectioners)
- 4-5 tbsp processo, cold
- 14 raspberries (optional)
- edible gold dust (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 170C/350F. Line a 12 count muffin tin with paper cases, plus another tin with two cases (this recipe makes approximately 14 cupcakes).
- Beat the butter and sugar together using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer or with a hand-held electric mixer, until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the eggs, egg white and vanilla to the butter mix and beat to combine.
- Put the flours, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bowl and whisk together. Add this flour mix to the butter/eggs mix and beat on a low speed until just incorporated.
- Add the buttermilk, orange juice and zest and beat on low to combine.
- Spoon 2 tbsp of batter into each cupcake case. Place 2 raspberries in the the middle of the batter of each cupcake. Add another 1/2 - 1 tbsp batter on top.
- Bake for 18-21 minutes until cupcakes are golden brown, springy to touch and a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely (if you leave cupcakes to cool completely in the tin they usually stick and get a bit dry).
- Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer or an electric hand-mixer, beat the butter until it is creamy and almost white - this takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes, to get this creamy frosting beat for a minimum of 5 minutes.
- Add the sugar and beat on lowest speed (or by hand) until all incorporated (this minimises the sugar cloud). Add 3 tbsp of the processo and turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for another minute. Add another 1-2 tbsp of prosecco to get the consistency you desire, I added 5 tbsp total and got thick, creamy frosting, however I recommend adding the last 2 one at a time to be sure it doesn't get too runny. Beat for another 3-5 minutes until fluffy.
- Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (or just the end snipped off for a soft-serve style swirl) and pipe big swirls on top of each cupcake (or just dollop on with a spoon if you like!). Roll your raspberries in gold dust if using and press into the top of the frosting (this is best done straight away, as once the frosting gets a crust it's harder to get decorations to stick) then sprinkle a little extra gold dust on top of the cupcake.
- I use cornflour to make the cupcakes light and fluffy, this is in place of using cake flour. If you have cake flour on hand you can use 190g of it and omit the cornflour.
- You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1tbsp of white cider vinegar or lemon juice to your measuring jug, then top up with milk until you get 150ml, stir together and leave to sit for 5 mins.
- Store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 5 days, leave at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before eating/serving.
- I have added US cup measurements to the butter and liquid ingredients as a guide. Dry ingredients can't be converted so straight forwardly, however I find this website is a good guide: http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/flour_volume_weight.html I bake in weights as it is much more accurate - I cannot guarantee the same results if you use cups. If you need any help with conversion, pop me a comment and I'll do my best to help.
As I already said, I made this amazing cupcakes to celebrate my mum and Mother’s Day, but they really are perfect for any occasion that calls for celebration – wedding showers, anniversaries, birthdays, the list goes on! Or just because you want cupcakes – that’s cause enough if you ask me! Brushing the raspberries with gold dust is totally optional but I really think it adds a little extra elegenace to these celebration cupcakes – sparkles and bubbles definitely make for a good party dessert in my book. Make sure you use edible gold dust, the non-toxic stuff won’t kill you but you probably shouldn’t be eating it!
Are you doing anything special for your mum this mothers’ day? Or are you being spoiled by your kids? I’d love to hear about your plans. We’ll just be taking it easy over here, eating cupcakes of course, and I will cook dinner (or order-in if I’m feeling lazy, it is Sunday after all). If you’re not celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend, I hope you have a wonderful Sunday full of love too!
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Love orange and raspberry flavors together! I rarely make cupcakes but may have to give these a try. Have you ever made this recipe in a cake pan? If so, what size would you use, and how long would you bake it? Thanks!
I haven’t made it as a full cake before but there’s no reason it wouldn’t work! I would double the recipe and bake in two 8-9″ sandwich tins or 1 deep, springform style 8-9″ pan (and then slice in half when baked!). Check for doneness at about 25 minutes if doing it in thin sandwich tins or about the 40-45 minute mark for a deep cake tin. I wouldn’t bake the raspberries into the cake though like in the cupcakes (they’ll all sink to the bottom most likely, not so nice in a cake!), I would put them in the centre filling or purée them and spread like a jam in the centre. As for frosting, this recipe would be enough if you’re just filling and maybe some on the top. If you want to completely cover the cake though I would probably double it.
Please do let me know how you get on if you give it a go!
Thanks!
Is there anyway to make these gluten free?
Hi Katrina,
These cupcakes are high on my list to convert to gluten free, but unfortunately I’ve not yet got around to it.
As I haven’t tested a gluten free recipe for these yet I can’t give an accurate answer, but if you’d like to try a GF attempt I would recommend swapping the 180g of plain/all purpose flour and 10g of cornstarch with 190g (1.5 cups) of a gluten free one-to-one flour blend – my favourite brand is Dove’s farm which is readily available in the UK, but if you’re in the US then I’ve heard good things about Bob’s Red Mill gluten free one-to-one baking flour.
Do let me know how you get on if you give it a try!
Happy baking!
These cupcakes love marvelous – what a lovely tribute to your mom! The prosecco frosting sounds absolutely divine.
Thank you so much!
I think any mom would love these cupcakes. I love the idea if celebrating Mother’s Day with a little bubbly in the frosting. Thanks for sharing and pinned!
Thank you Lily! What’s a celebration without a little bubbly hehe
These look beautiful, you’ve got some seriously gorgeous photos going on here and the flavours are fantastic, yum!
Aww thank you so much Hannah!
I have got to try and make this frosting I know all my friends will love it. Thank you so much for sharing. ?
Sounds like you need a frosting eating party hehe! Thank you!
I have to admit… I panicked when I read about Mother day celebration… I was afraid to have forgotten! Thank God I didn’t! I love your cupcake and the prosecco frosting is an amazing idea… I am sure it matches perfectly with raspberries!
Haha I’m sorry for giving you a moment of panic there!
Thanks so much, prosecco and raspberries is a great combo – even when I’m just drinking it I like to pop a couple of raspberries in the glass!
Now you know how to frost a cupcake girl! I love raspberries and prosecco and would love to have a couple of these on Mother’s Day!
My frosting technique is generally “pile on as much as I can!”
Thank you Julie!
Michelle these cupcakes look amazing!
Thank you Ili!!
These look so good, your photos are fantastic and the flavors sound delicious as well. Even as not the biggest cupcake person I could definitely enjoy one of these!
Thank you Caroline, I definitely take that as a compliment then!
Beautiful Cupcakes Michelle! Like I said, the frosting ratio is FANTASTIC!! 😀 Especially if it has Prosecco in it! Love that there’s Raspberries in it too 🙂
Thank you so much Dini, the more frosting the better when booze is involved! These are definitely my favourite cupcakes I’ve made so far!
These are so adorable! What a nice treat for your mother!
Thank you so much Suchitra!!
I absolutely love your cupcakes! They look amazing and so delicious!
Thank you Sarah! <3
Happy belated UK Mother’s Day! 🙂 These orange and raspberry cupcakes looks so unbelievably delicious. Love that big stack of frosting on top. Happy Monday, Michelle! 🙂
Thank you Demeter – you can never have too much frosting on a cupcake!
These cupcakes are adorable and look delicious Michelle. I just love your baking!
Thank you Julie!!!
You are the dessert queen! SO delicious. Love the cupcakes bday girl!! Xo
Haha aww thank you Swayam, that’s a corwn I’ll wear with pride!
Girl! Prosecco buttercream!?! These look amazing, I love the orange and raspberry together, plus that frosting, I just can’t get over it. Perfect!
Aww thank you so much Meghan!
Oh my. My Mum is not into icing, so I may just make this recipe and then eat her portion of the buttercream to help her out. That’s ok isn’t it? I’ve never thought to include alcohol in buttercream before, but now you’ve opened up a whole new world to me Michelle.
It sounds like you’d be doing everybody a favour haha!
Alcohol in frosting is a great world to be in, welcome!
Thank you Jane!
My mom would totally love these as well!! They look so delicious and delicate ? Definitely making them for her on our Mother’s Day 😉
Thank you so much Aena, let me know how they come out for you!
Another question, Michelle: if I made mini cupcakes instead of regular, how long would I bake them? I want a bite sized treat for a baby shower.
For mini cupcakes, I would start checking at about 9 minutes and then check very often (every 1-2 minutes) after then if they meed more time. If you’re making them mini too, you may want to cut the waspberries in half before putting them in the batter. These would be amazing as little mini cupcakes though, please do send me a pic (you can tag me on twitter or Instagram @giraffescanbake)and let me know how they turned out!
Where did the recipe go? 🙁 I got the ingredients for this a couple days ago and now cant make them.
Hi Ashley, I’m SO sorry! Due to my own stupidity a bunch of my recipes got deleted, but this one is back up now! Really sorry for that, hope you’re still able to make them!
Can you substitute strawberries for the raspberries?
Sure! You just may want to cut the strawberries up a little smaller if they’re large strawberries