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. 
What a neat exchange! Your jam flavor sound delish!
oh YUMMMM!!! I love the color!! Peach with vanilla… I think I need to go peach picking this weekend 🙂 As for your Q I’ll answer it here and on my blog. The reason there is no pectin is because raspberries naturally have a very high level of it in them, when I make my raspberry jam (posted yesterday) I only use raspberries and sugar, that’s it! And it gels up without any problem 🙂 As for processing, I say jar it up and boil the jars for 10 minutes and then let them cool overnight like normal. Can’t wait to hear how it tastes!
That makes sense about the raspberries having pectin in them. Thanks for the help for a jam newbie!
Ohhh I want to make this!!
What a yummy jam! I bet it taste amazing:)
I really like the sound of a peach jam with vanilla bean and bourbon!
One day soon I really really want to make my own Jam! Yours looks fabulous!
Wow, what an amazing flavor combo, I’m completely impressed you made your own jam – it looks fabulous!
Thank you for the inspiration, it came out yummy!
Hello Jen! I found this blog in Foodista and followed it here. This is a actually cool Vanilla Peach Bourbon Jam recipe. Keep it up and I may see you on Food Network one day. By the way, did you know you can place more Foodista widget? A friend of mine placed proper Foodista widget at the end of her latest blogs and the numbers of her readers increased. Interesting isn’t it?
It’s too late for peaches (I made a batch of this with peaches, and wanted to make a second, but I waited too long), so I tried asian pears. It’s a little boozier tasting, but delicious!
Just made this with some fantastic peaches. Wow, winning recipe.
I made this jam last summer. My family has been begging for more. This is their all time favorite jam that I made. Can’t wait till the peaches are ripe to mix up a few batches. Thank you!!!
beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 8:20 pm
So glad you enjoyed the recipe. I make this jam every year when peaches are in season.
Just made this, and OMG is it good!! I used southern comfort, and scraped the seeds out of my vanilla bean into the jam. One of the best jams I have ever made! Thanks for the recipe! I put the used vanilla bean into 8oz of southern comfort, might be good in a couple of weeks! Just cant bear to throw away the rest of the vanilla bean.
beantownbaker — August 6th, 2013 @ 6:28 pm
So glad you enjoyed this! It’s one of my favorite jam recipes ever.
Hi! Can’t wait to try this jam! Is there a reason you used low-sugar pectin instead of regular?
beantownbaker — August 28th, 2013 @ 1:35 pm
That’s what the recipe called for. In general, when it comes to pectin, I follow the recipe and don’t deviate from what it says…
This recipe sounds great! I have to go out for a liquor run tomorrow(Son getting married) and peaches are still in the stores. I was looking for a good(and different) peach jam recipe. Thanks!
beantownbaker — October 29th, 2013 @ 6:22 pm
This is one of my favorite jam recipes. I make it every year at the end of summer while peaches are really ripe here in the midwest!
This is a fantastic recipe! Made it last year and the first batch disappeared so fast, two more got made right away 🙂 I’m just about to start on this year’s first batch. My only suggestion would be this: if you’re using a stockpot for canning the half-pints/pints and not a water-bath canner, put some butter knives on the bottom of the pot so the jars don’t make direct contact with the floor. The knives act in the same way as a rack does, to reduce the chance that a jar might crack or even break.
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:21 pm
Great tip. Thanks!
I made this last night, the best peach jam I have ever tasted. I brought a small jar to work and everyone has fallen in love!
I don’t drink but would love to try recipe, someone promised to share bourbon for recipe and at the last minute gave me Jim beam whisky instead. I reviewed how the spirits are made…thoughts about the substitution. Thank you love your site
Jim Beam would be fine – it’s a nuance, not a strong “flavor”. This is an amazing jam that won’t disappoint…
Wow! Just made this jam, & it is amazing. Will definitely be making this yearly.