Spectacular Cupcakes
I bake a lot of cupcakes. I really enjoy it. When I saw the Cupcake Spectacular blogging event, I knew I had to participate. I had a hard time deciding what my favorite cupcake flavor is… I have a few favorites that I’ve already made, but I wanted to make something special for this event…
I decided to make these vanilla raspberry cupcakes. They turned out perfectly light and fluffy. I am usually a big fan of chocolate, but sometimes a dessert can be spectacular without it. This cupcake is just that.
Hubby has turned into a cupcake connoisseur. As my primary taste tester, he has tried quite a few combinations of cupcakes over the past year. He often helps me make the final decision on how much frosting or what filling to put in a cupcake. He said these were the perfect ratio of cake to filling to frosting. He said they’re definitely one of his favorites!
(And yes, that is pink wood paneling in our dining room that matches the frosting perfectly. Hence the kitchen renovation that will be starting soon).
Vegan White Cupcakes (from Crazy about Cupcakes) – makes 20
1/2 cup vegan margarine, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups unbleached cane sugar
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups soy or rice milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
Preheat over to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
In a large bowl cream together the sugar and margarine with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the soy or rice milk. Add the vanilla and almond extract and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan. 
Raspberry Buttercream – from A whisk and a Spoon – originally from Baking Illustrated – makes 2 cups
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (3.5 oz) sugar
1 t vanilla extract
pinch of salt
8 oz unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into pieces
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam, loosened with a squirt of lemon juice
1/4 t cinnamon
Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a medium saucepot. In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Set the bowl over the simmering water (making a double boiler). Whisk gently but constantly until the mixture reaches 160°F. It should be thin and foamy.
Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whip until light, airy and room temperature. This should take about five minutes. Reduce the speed and whip in the butter, piece by piece. If it looks curdled halfway through, it should come together as you add the remaining butter.
Once all the butter is incorporated, beat on high speed for about a minute until light and fluffy. Add the raspberry jam and cinnamon and beat until just incorporated. You can refrigerate, covered, for up to five days. 
Cupcake Assembly
Once the cupcakes have cooled, fill with about 1 tsp seedless raspberry preserves. I like to use the Cone Method.
Frost with a big dollop of raspberry buttercream.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m like you and totally try out recipes based on photos! I think goat cheese and fruit are always a perfect combo. The goat cheesecake sounds intriguing!
Looks and sounds amazing! I’m totally with you about photos of food – they are typically what tempt me to make a recipe.
This cake looks DELICIOUS!
I’d never heard of using goat cheese in a cheesecake, but I’m intrigued.
I, too, much prefer pictures. Sometimes you just don’t put the ingredients together in your head the right way and it comes out looking totally different than you expected. I also flip through the book faster and I tend to not find recipes unless there are pics!
i think trying something new without any idea what it should look like it rough. i love pictures but most cookbooks dont seem to have enough. i think thats why i love this blog so much, you take TONS! 🙂
i am very intrigued by this recipe. but i dont eat blueberries or peaches. is it good by itself? or is the fruit greatly needed??
Beeb – It’s similar to any other cheesecake. It was good on it’s own, but the fruit really enhanced the flavor. Are there other fruits you like that you could top it with? Strawberries and blueberries would be great!
Oh yum! I totally want to try this. I love goat cheese (and fruit) and bet this would make an amazing cake!
I like photos too, but sometimes I get a little too into them. Like the other night when I forgot to add raisins to my cinnamon raisin bread because they weren’t in the photo 🙂
Sues
I definitely prefer recipes with pictures but if a description is really good (or intriguing) or if an author points it out as a favorite… or lastly if it’s a source I trust, I go for it. With that said, I’m glad you made it and posted pictures. This cake looks (and sounds) absolutely fantastic!!!
This looks really good. I agree that sometimes I eat with my eyes. I love photos, but not the ones that look almost fake since they are so perfect. That’s why I love food blogs – usually it is just the food as it will be served.
I cook from a lot of different sources, and will try recipes that are appealing without any pics either. Sometimes it is more difficult when I am completely unfamiliar with the dish, though.
Photos! I love yours…the “cake” looks so pretty with it’s white lip and fruit piled high.
~ingrid
Sounds wonderful. I can see how it would be more of a “cheesecake” than a “cheese cake” because there’s such a small amount of flour. As we move into fall, I bet it would be delicious with a topping of figs sauteed with honey… mmm… honey figs and goat cheese!
LOVE goat cheese cheesecake 🙂 peaches and blueberries seem like another good topper (i recently made one with figs and raspberries!)
i really have to bake that cake for my boyfriend who has a milk intolerance. thank you for posting this many recipes with goat cheese 🙂
best wishes, jay, my blog: artandloveandme.blogspot.com