Reams had raspberries on sale this week and as soon as I saw them, I thought of this recipe. It's one of my favorites. It looks fancy, but is really SO EASY!
1 box white cake mix (recommended: Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)
1 1/3 cups water
3 large eggs whites
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 small container fresh raspberries
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, water, egg whites, melted butter, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a large bowl for 2 minutes. Using about 1/3 cup of batter for each cupcake, spoon the batter into muffin tins. Bake the cupcakes until they are very pale golden on top, about 15 minutes. Immediately remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.
When the cakes bake, they look like little souffles and are lighter and fluffier than a regular cupcake.
Using a fork, coarsely mash the container of raspberries in a medium bowl (Save a few whole raspberries for garnish if desired). Beat the cream and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Fold the mashed raspberries into the whipped cream.
To Assemble
Remove the muffin papers from the cupcakes and cut the tops off of each cupcake. Spoon the raspberry whipped cream atop the cupcake bottoms. Place the cupcake tops on the cupcakes. Dust with more powdered sugar and serve with the remaining berries.
***to make this recipe lighter, use light Cool Whip instead of whipping cream.
The girls have been taking these in their lunches. I like to use whole wheat flat bread (I like the "Flat Out" brand) but any tortilla can also be used.
