These Raspberry Cupcakes have a soft moist vanilla crumb studded with fresh raspberries and are topped with a creamy lightly sweetened mascarpone frosting.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-well cupcake pan and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together 1 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric whisk on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined and smooth.
Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until they come together.
Toss the raspberries with 2 tablespoons of flour. Using a spatula, gently mix the raspberries into the batter until they are evenly distributed.
Scoop the batter into the lined cupcake pan filling each well until 2/3 full.
Bake the cupcakes for 20 to 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling. This should take about 1 hour.
Mascarpone Frosting
Add the mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt to a bowl.
Starting on low speed, use an electric whisk to combine the ingredients. Once they have come together, increase the speed to medium and whisk for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides then whisk for another 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the frosting is thick and creamy.
Spread or pipe frosting onto each cupcake. If using, sprinkle each cupcake with sparkling sugar and top with a fresh raspberry.
Notes
Be sure that the eggs and milk have come to room temperature before starting the recipe. This should take about 30 minutes.
I like to cut the raspberries in half from top to bottom before tossing them in the flour. This results in smaller bits of raspberry throughout the cupcakes rather than a few large pieces. It's a personal preference, so if you like bigger pieces of fruit, leave them whole.
You can use frozen raspberries in place of fresh ones. Just leave them frozen.
Store the cupcakes covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. For the best texture, allow them to back to room temperature before serving.