Cupcakes & Cake

Raspberry Mojito Cupcakes

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Raspberry Mojito Cupcakes are the burst of flavor you didn’t know you needed in your life!  Tart lime caked is filled with a rum infused raspberry filling. I topped that with a fresh homemade mint buttercream to bring the flavors together for a perfect mojito cupcake that pleases any crowd.

Raspberry Mojito Cupcakes

I’m not sure how I originally came across the recipe for raspberry mojitos, but they certainly inspired a wonderful dessert.  I knew the combination of lime, raspberry, mint, and rum was delicious, so why not add it to a simple cupcake?

With a little inspiration from a favorite drink, I was able to come up with a cupcake that included infused sugar for ultimate flavor and a perfect homemade raspberry filling featuring rum as that secret ingredient.  The rest was, as they say, history!

If you still want a fruit flavor but something a bit sweeter, you’ll love this recipe for strawberry shortcake cupcakes.  Loaded with sweet strawberry flavor and a light fluffy cake.  Another popular choice are my orange soda flavored cupcakes. So fun and bright!

Raspberry Mojito Cupcakes displayed on a cake stand.

How do I Add Lime Without it Being Overpowering?

As much as I loved the idea of a lime cupcake, I was a bit concerned about getting that perfect flavor.  Lime, by itself, can be very overpowering. Although I knew there would be raspberry filling, this mojito cupcake recipe needed a little extra something special to create the flavor I wanted.

The result was infusing the sugar with the oils of the lime zest and lime juice!  Instead of just mixing lime juice into the batter, I allowed that flavor to infuse into my granulated sugar.  This gave it a sweeter flavor needed to mellow out the acid of the lime without sacrificing the flavor I wanted.

Are These Mojito Cupcakes Safe for Kids to Eat?

Yes!  While there is a very small amount of rum in the raspberry filling, it isn’t enough to be of concern when serving to children.  The total of potentially only 4 tablespoons of alcohol spread over multiple cupcakes cuts the alcohol down considerably to a point it isn’t of concern.

Note: There are some misconceptions regarding alcohol cooking down in recipes.  While it does cook down to a certain extent, it takes at least 30-minutes to reduce the alcohol by just 10%.  So, keep that in mind when using alcohol in future recipes.

If you still want to keep these for adults only, you can whip up a batch of these chocolate chip banana bread cookies instead.  So good and definitely kid friendly.

Collage of the steps to make cupcakes flavored with raspberry and lime.

Do I Have to Use Rum in the Recipe?

Honestly, no, you do not.  It definitely adds an extra depth of flavor that you will enjoy, but if you don’t cook with alcohol, then you may want to make these without the rum or liquor.  That’s perfectly okay and you will still end up with a stunning cupcake packed with flavor.

Can I Use Store Bought Icing?

This question comes up a lot in my cupcake recipes.  Under tight deadlines, I can understand the desire to use an already prepared icing from your local grocery store.  It works fine in a pinch but certainly isn’t ideal.

If you are using a prepared icing, you can simply crush a bit of mint and mix into it, or add a drop of mint extract.  Just go careful on the extract as it packs a powerful punch in a small amount.

Raspberry Mojito Cupcakes

Raspberry Mojito Cupcakes

Yield: 16-18 cupcakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

Lime Cupcakes

  • 1 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • zest of 2 limes
  • 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • Wilton Leaf Green Gel Food Coloring

Rum Raspberry Filling

  • 2 cups fresh raspberries
  • 3 Tbsp white rum (I used Bacardi)
  • 1 Tbsp Chambord raspberry liquor (optional)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • pinch of salt

Whipped Mint Frosting

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup shortening (I used Crisco)
  • 1lb powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp mint extract
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • pinch of salt
  • mint sprigs (enough to top each cupcake)
  • fresh raspberries (enough to top each cupcake)

Instructions

Lime Cupcakes

  1. Get out your eggs and buttermilk to bring to room temperature 30 minutes before you begin.
  2. Preheat your oven to 350F degrees and line your cupcake pan with liners.
  3. Zest the 2 limes into a small prep bowl and pour the sugar over it. Using the back of a rubber spatula, press the sugar into the lime zest until the sugar has become fluffy and fragrant. This process should take 2-3 minutes.
  4. In a medium prep bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  5. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cold, cubed butter on high until smooth.
  6. Add the lime sugar and beat until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. NOTE: The butter and sugar will not become light and fluffy because of the oils in the lime.
  7. One at a time, add the eggs and mix on medium-high for 30 seconds after each addition making sure to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is incorporated.
  8. Add the lime juice and mix in. NOTE: The mixture will look curdled, but don't worry... this is normal.
  9. Using a toothpick, add a small dollop of the gel coloring and mix until the color is uniform. Scape the bowl down to make sure all the batter has been dyed.
  10. In three parts, add the flour with the mixer on low speed. Between each addition of flour, add half the buttermilk. After the last amount of flour has been added, turn the mixer off and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and fold in the remaining flour. Turn the mixer back on to medium-high speed for 10 seconds. DO NOT OVERMIX!
  11. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
  12. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  13. Cool cupcakes in pan for at least 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Rum Raspberry Filling

  1. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the raspberry rum filling.
  2. In a medium frying pan, stir together the raspberries, sugar, rum, Chambord (optional) and salt over medium high heat.
  3. Cook until the berries break down completely and the mixture begins to bubble, stirring constantly.
  4. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until the mixture has reduced by about 1/3-1/2 and has become thicker. Stir constantly during this process.
  5. Pour mixture into a glass bowl and set aside to cool. To speed up the cooling process, place the bowl in the refrigerator.

Whipped Mint Buttercream

  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and shortening.
  2. Add the powdered sugar mix on medium for about 30 seconds. Add half the heavy cream and beat on medium high until smooth.
  3. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and then mix in the mint extract and salt.
  4. Add the remaining heavy cream and beat on high for 3-4 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

Assembly

  1. Core the center of each cupcake using and apple corer.
  2. Fill the hole with raspberry filling, pressing the filling down to the bottom of the cupcake. Fill the hole with enough filling so that it is flush with the top of the cupcake.
  3. Fill a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip with the buttercream.
  4. Pipe a swirl of buttercream onto each cupcake.
  5. Garnish with a mint sprig and fresh raspberry.
  6. Serve immediately.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Betsy Eves

36 comments

  12. omg these look amazing! stumbled on your blog through stumbleupon and now my mouth is watering! cant wait to try some of your awesome recipes. thanks for sharing this! xx. gigi.

    Reply

  14. I am pinning and I want to make but I have a question before I do. Usually for cakes and cupcakes butter should be room temperature, especially before beating as it is often hard to beat and incorporate cold butter. Is there a specific reason why the butter must be cold? Can it not be room temperature?

    Reply

  15. I just finished making these and they are delicious, the cake has a different texture than other cupcakes I have made, what was the texture of yours?

    Reply

  18. Thank you for sharing your recipie , it is beautiful. I used vodka and strawberries for the filling instead and it worked beautifully. Making them again!

    Reply

  19. Hi Betsy,

    I just love these cupcakes, what a fab combination, but how can stop my cupcakes from going brown on top, I have coloured the mixture as you stated, but they have just browned over the top! Where have I gone wrong please?

    Kindest Regards

    Sue

    Reply

  20. Are the cupcakes supposed to have a pronounced lime flavor? The raspberry and mint came out wonderfully in the filling and the frosting but I could hardly taste the lime at all.

    Just like Joanna’s, the texture was “off”. I chalk that up to using a new stand mixer though… it came out quite coarse, greasy and wet. I guess trying out a new recipe with a new stand mixer is not the brightest idea.

    Reply

    1. If you made them alcohol free, then they won’t be mojito cupcakes anymore… they’d just be lime-raspberry cupcakes. However, if you omit the alcohol, I’d suggest replacing it with fresh squeezed lime juice.

      Reply

  22. Hi,

    These look fab – I was just wondering whether you had the recipe with metric measurements and/or ingredients?
    Also, are the cupcake liners you use the normal sized ones or muffin sized ones?

    Thanks,
    Elin

    Reply

  23. Hello,

    I absolutely love your recipe! I have made these a few times now, and they are incredibly delicious every time. I am thinking of trying to make a cake instead of cupcakes. How long would you suggest to bake it for if I use a 9 inch round pan? Would there be any other modifications I should make?

    Thank you!

    Reply

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