Chocolate Raspberry Filled Cupcakes

So I finally did it, I baked for a wedding!  Back in May, I was honored when a fellow classmate asked me if I would bake cupcakes for her wedding.  I have always joked around about being up for hire for occasions like this but I never thought that I would actually ever have someone ask me to bake for them for such a special occasion.  For the wedding I made champagne cupcakes, limoncello cupcakes, and chocolate raspberry filled cupcakes.  According to some of my other classmates that attended the wedding, the cupcakes were all a hit!

 

Chocolate Cupcake Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp veggie oil
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz red raspberry spreadable fruit or jam

Preheat oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, combine cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add eggs, water, cream, oil, and vanilla and mix until combined.  Fill cupcake liners half way full.  Bake for 20 minutes.  While the cupcakes are cooling use a mesh strainer to remove the raspberry seeds from the jam.  Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, scoop out center and fill with raspberry filling.

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup and 2 1/2 tbsp whipping cream
1/8 tsp salt
3 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, mix together butter, cocoa powder, cream, and salt.  Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until creamy.

Makes 20 cupcakes