Raspberry Jam Filled Cupcakes for a Chez CateyLou Surprise Baby Shower

I’m getting together with 17 other fabulous bloggers to throw a virtual baby shower for our dear friend Cate of Chez CateyLou. I met Cate a few years ago through another blogger party and I’m so glad I did. This lady is super sweet and her blog is all kinds of amazing. Cate is having a little girl and I’m so excited for her!

The theme of today’s party is one of Cate’s favourite foods (hell, it’s one of everybody’s favourite foods): donuts! A huge thanks to our party hosts, Allie of Baking a Moment and Zainab of Blahnik Baker for getting us together. I highly recommend you check out all the amazing donuts and donut-inspired deliciousness happening in this here list:

Baked Dark Chocolate Strawberry Donuts – Club Narwhal
Baked Lemon Donuts – What Jessica Baked Next
Biscoff Donuts – Baking a Moment
Chai Donuts – Fresh April Flours
Chocolate Cake S’mores Donuts – Jessica in the Kitchen
Chocolate Pretzel Donuts – The Emotional Baker
Coconut Matcha Donuts with White Chocolate Glaze – Blahnik Baker
Coffee and Donuts Breakfast Bake – The Cookie Rookie
Doughnut Tiramisu – bethcakes
GF Lemon Donuts with Raspberry Glaze – Thoroughly Nourished Life
Maple Glazed Donut Holes – Hall Nesting
Old Fashioned Sour Cream Cake Donuts – American Heritage Cooking
Paleo Chocolate Frosted Donuts – A Clean Bake
Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Donut Breakfast Sandwich – Shared Appetite
Strawberry Margarita Oreo Donuts – Life Made Sweeter
Baked Mini Samoa Donuts – Culinary Couture
Donut Holes with Sweet Strawberry Dipping Sauce – Twin Stripe

Confession: I’m deathly afraid of deep frying in my house. With my luck, I envision flames shooting out of a pot of boiling oil, destroying my home and leaving me with no deep fried foods to show for my efforts. For Cate, I really really really wanted to attempt it but in the end, my phobia won out. Instead, I drew inspiration from one of my favourite donuts: the jelly-filled.

Like this one I had the pleasure of devouring when I was in London at the Borough Market this past September:

Dear God, it was delicious. I wish I were eating it right now!

I digress.

Instead, I baked a tender little vanilla-infused buttermilk cupcake, filled it with raspberry jam and then covered it with sugar and cinnamon. When the Husband took a bite, he proclaimed “This actually tastes like a donut!” Props to me!

Cate, I wish you all the best with the arrival of your little sweetheart. You’re going to be an amazing mum!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcake (adapted from Baking Bites)

Yield: 16 small cupcakes

1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup buttermilk

For assembly:

1 cup raspberry jam or preserves
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. If you have two muffin tins, butter 16 of the muffin cups. Set aside.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add half the dry mixture and combine. Add all of the buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the remaining flour and mix to combine.

Fill the muffin cups about halfway with the batter. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Place a pastry tip into a pastry bag, and fill with the raspberry jam or preserves (if you don’t have a pastry bag and tips, then simply cut a small hole in the top of your cupcakes). While still warm, fill each cupcake with a bit of the raspberry jam. Then brush each cupcake with butter and dip into the sugar cinnamon mixture to cover.

These cupcakes are best eaten the day they’re made but will keep at room temperature in a sealed container for 2-3 days.