Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and no matter who you are celebrating with, this treat will make anyone’s day extra sweet! A hint of tart lemon filling balances out the sugary frosting on top of these indulgent cupcakes. The raspberry flavor in the frosting starts off with steeped raspberry tea which is then enhanced with both freeze dried raspberry powder and fresh raspberries. The deeper pink hue of the frosting is the result of an all natural beet root powder. The moist vanilla cupcake, the bright lemon curd filling, and the sweet raspberry cream cheese frosting make an irresistible and delectable dessert.
For a fun presentation, you can choose brightly colored wrappers in any color. We used striped and polka dotted pink. As an added decorative touch, visit your local candy or speciality store for Valentine’s Day specific sprinkles, chocolate hearts, or raspberry flavored sugar. Have fun decorating – that’s the best part!
While this recipe whips up 12 delicious cupcakes, once frosted, they cannot be frozen. You can halve the frosting recipe and frost 6 now to enjoy and 6 later or share the dozen with family and friends. The unfrosted and filled cupcakes will freeze well for 2-3 months.
Enjoy!
Just baked 
Cored and filled with lemon curd 
Raspberry tea steeping 
Raspberry tea frosting 
Finished cupcakes
Raspberry Tea and Lemon Cupcakes
- Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 dozen 1x
Description
A perfect sweet treat for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion.
Ingredients
Cupcake batter
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 20 ounces cream cheese (2 1/2 packages)
- 10 tablespoons butter (1 1/4 sticks)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 Red Raspberry tea bags
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon beet root powder (for extra coloring)
Filling
- 1 teaspoon lemon curd per cupcake, see Notes below
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-well cupcake tin with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together yogurt and oil. Set aside.
- In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy. About 5 minutes.
- Add eggs 1 at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
- Alternate between adding the wet (the canola oil/yogurt) and the dry (flour) mixture until all has been incorporated and the batter is smooth. Mix on medium low.
- Pour the batter into each cupcake liner, filling equally.
- Bake for 17-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean.
- Let cool completely and then core out the inside using an apple corer. Save the cored pieces to replace later.
- Fill with 1 teaspoon of lemon curd and replace the cored pieces back into each cupcake.
Frosting
- Using room temperature butter and cream cheese, cream together until smooth and fluffy. About 5 minutes.
- Add in the sifted sugar and beat an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of water in a small mug for about 20 seconds in the microwave. Remove and steep 2 Red Raspberry tea bags for 1 minute. Remove teabag, gently squeezing out any remaining liquid.
- Add the beet root powder to the steeped liquid and stir to dissolve.
- Add to the frosting and beat an additional 2-3 minutes until frosting is smooth and free of any lumps.
- Scoop out into a pastry bag and pipe onto each cupcake.
- Decorate with chocolate hearts, sprinkles, raspberry sugar, and fresh raspberries.
Notes
If you can still see specks of beet root powder, just wait a few minutes for it to dissolve into the frosting and then beat again.
You can purchase lemon curd at your local grocery store.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Dessert