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Freeze Dried Raspberry Buttercream Recipe

January 19, 2023 · In: Featured, Frosting, Recipes, Seasonal, Valentines

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The other day I had an epiphany while I was perusing the aisles at Trader Joe’s. I stumbled upon their selection of freeze dried fruits and when I saw the raspberries I knew I had to try them in a buttercream recipe. The results? Absolutely flawless flavor, not too sweet (like when you use raspberry jam or preserves), not watery (like when you use fresh raspberries), and so easy to work with!

raspberry buttercream recipe by sugar and sparrow

What are Freeze Dried Raspberries?

The process of freeze drying simply removes the moisture from the raspberries while keeping them packed with flavor. They’re perfect for baking in your favorite scone recipe, throwing into pancake batter, or in this case, grinding into a fine powder with a food processor and tossing into a buttercream recipe. And just look at the color! 

freeze dried raspberry buttercream recipe
raspberry frosting recipe

I’ve used this raspberry buttercream recipe to fill and frost cakes, decorate cupcakes, and have even gotten a bit crazy and mixed it with vanilla buttercream to make a flavor ombre as a cake finish. It pipes like a dream and is so easy to work with. A great pairing for pretty much any cake flavor you could think of!  

raspberry buttercream frosting recipe by sugar and sparrow

Freeze-Dried Raspberry Buttercream

5 from 5 votes
A light, balanced raspberry buttercream that’s packed with flavor. The perfect addition to any cake! 
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time:15 mins
Total Time:15 mins
Servings: 3 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 Cup (18g) freeze-dried raspberries
  • 3 Tbsp (45ml) whole milk, room temperature
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  • With a food processor, grind the raspberries into a fine powder. Sift out the seeds (if a few seeds end up in the powder that is totally ok) and set the powder aside.
  • Whip the butter using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until it’s creamy and light in color (5 minutes). Add vanilla, milk, and raspberry powder and continue to mix on medium until fully combined.
  • Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on low speed, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition. Add a pinch of salt and mix on low speed until fully combined and smooth, 1-2 minutes. 

Notes

This buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Just bring back to room temperature and re-mix with your mixer! 

Here’s how I’ve used this raspberry buttercream in the past:

As a filling and frosting in my raspberry chocolate cake recipe. So delicious!

chocolate ganache drip cake recipe

As a filling for my matcha cake recipe. It would also pair perfectly with a chocolate, vanilla, or lemon cake.

Matcha cake with raspberry buttercream by Sugar and Sparrow

What will you do with your raspberry buttercream? Let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram if you make this recipe!

By: Whitney · In: Featured, Frosting, Recipes, Seasonal, Valentines · Tagged: baking, buttercream, buttercream recipe, cake, cakes, cupcakes, freeze dried fruit, freeze dried raspberry buttercream, raspberry, raspberry buttercream, recipe, trader joes

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Comments

  1. Sarah says

    February 16, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    5 stars
    Really nice frosting, thanks for the recipe! I added 1/2 tsp lemon juice to help bring out the tartness. It tasted wonderful on lemon cupcakes! I also love the idea of pairing it with matcha like you did in your beautiful cake photo!

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      February 16, 2019 at 4:01 pm

      Thanks so much, Sarah! I bet it tasted amazing with a little lemon juice added. I’ll definitely have to try that sometime!!

      Reply
  2. Nakita says

    April 6, 2019 at 5:54 pm

    How big was the cake you put it on? I want to make this (with the ombre style) for my nieces smash cake but I’d like to adjust the height a little. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      April 6, 2019 at 8:56 pm

      Hi Nakita! This recipe makes enough to fill and frost a four inch cake (my four inch cakes are about 5 inches tall). Hope that helps!

      Reply
      • Nakita says

        April 7, 2019 at 4:38 pm

        Thanks so much! Can’t wait to make this!

        Reply
  3. Jennifer Taylor says

    October 16, 2019 at 6:49 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely loved it! I only ended up using 2 cups of powdered sugar, and used half salted and half unsalted butter (while omitting the pinch of salt), then I added a little lemon juice. The nice tartness paired perfectly with my dark chocolate cake!

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      October 17, 2019 at 8:27 am

      Yay, Jennifer! Adding lemon juice is genius! I’m going to have to try that. So happy you love the recipe!

      Reply
  4. Gina says

    May 11, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    Hi just wondering can you use this raspberry buttercream for the Cascading Floral cake?

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      May 11, 2020 at 8:08 pm

      You totally can, Gina! It pipes beautifully.

      Reply
  5. Ella says

    July 6, 2020 at 11:51 am

    Hi what can I use if I can’t find freezed dried raspberries? Thanks

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      July 6, 2020 at 3:47 pm

      Hi Ella! The reason why I love freeze dried raspberries is because all of the water has been removed from the berries, making them easier to incorporate into buttercream. If they are not available at your local grocery store or through Amazon, I would recommend finding a recipe that uses fresh raspberries and going with that, as altering this recipe to accommodate the liquid in fresh berries would change it dramatically. Hope that helps!

      Reply
      • Ella says

        July 12, 2020 at 9:36 am

        Thanks!

        Reply
  6. Miah says

    July 29, 2020 at 6:15 am

    Hi Whitney!

    Do you think that this recipe could be altered for any freeze dried fruit? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      July 29, 2020 at 9:03 am

      It sure can, Miah! I’ve made it with freeze dried strawberries, blueberries, and mango – all super tasty. Let me know what you end up trying it with!

      Reply
      • Miah says

        July 29, 2020 at 12:41 pm

        Great!! Thank you so much I can not wait. I made your Mint Chocolate Cake the other day, it was a huge hit for my Andies mint loving grandma!

        Reply
        • Whitney says

          July 29, 2020 at 1:41 pm

          Yay!! That makes me so happy!!

          Reply
  7. Alexandra Z says

    August 2, 2020 at 10:53 am

    5 stars
    Loved this frosting recipe! I made it to go on a white chocolate cake for my moms birthday and it was a huge hit. Almost tasted like a raspberry sorbet. I did change the amount of powdered sugar because I don’t like overly sweet things, and only added 2 cups and it was perfect. I found freeze-dried raspberries at trader joes, for anyone looking.

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      August 2, 2020 at 7:52 pm

      Yay, Alexandra! So happy you love this recipe and YES I love Trader Joe’s freeze dried raspberries for this recipe too. They have all sorts of freeze dried fruits you could sub in as well!

      Reply
  8. Maja says

    November 25, 2020 at 2:47 am

    Hi Whitney,

    I’m baking a 10 x 9 inch heart shaped cake (your vanilla cake recipe) in 2 layers. How much of the recipe would I be needing? In the middle I’m using your chocolate buttercream.
    Thanks!

    Regards,
    Maja

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      November 30, 2020 at 7:49 am

      Hi Maja! I saw your beautiful cake on Instagram already but I wanted to respond here in case anyone else has the same inquiry. To only frost a cake of that size I would just use this recipe as-is. So happy this recipe worked out and the color was amazing on that heart-shaped cake!

      Reply
      • Maja says

        June 23, 2021 at 12:29 am

        Only saw this just now 🙂 Thanks!

        Reply
  9. Jenny says

    February 4, 2021 at 12:47 pm

    5 stars
    Are freeze dried raspberries straight out of freezer do I put them straight into food processor as I was wondering how they turn to powder don’t they go soggy

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      February 4, 2021 at 9:13 pm

      Hi Jenny. Freeze-dried is different than frozen – the berries are processed in such a way that all of the liquid is removed and the result is a dried raspberry that can be ground into powder. You can find freeze-dried raspberries at your local grocery store, or on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3cs1pwa

      Reply
  10. Lauren says

    February 17, 2021 at 4:10 am

    Would I be able to do this recipe without a stand mixer? I have an electric hand mixer

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      February 17, 2021 at 4:53 pm

      Hi Lauren! You certainly can use an electric hand mixer for this recipe. Just follow the same speeds/times as detailed in the instructions. Enjoy!

      Reply
  11. Ashley Smith says

    February 17, 2021 at 6:01 pm

    Do you think this would work well as a bonbon filling? Does it need to be altered at all to be firm enough for that?
    I also plan on using vegan butter and lactose free milk if that matters.

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      February 18, 2021 at 10:05 am

      Hi Ashley! I’ve never made bon bons before so I’m not entirely sure. My hunch is that it should work – it will get very firm in the freezer or refrigerator – but I would compare it to some other bon bon filling recipes and see if its similar enough.

      Reply
  12. Lindsey says

    April 8, 2021 at 6:02 am

    Hey Whitney!

    I’m making a vanilla cake and wanted to fill with raspberry jam. Would you recommend a vanilla buttercream to pair or this raspberry buttercream? I wasn’t sure if this buttercream would be best as the star or amplified with jam.

    I would love to pipe some decor on top.

    Thank you! Your work is beautiful 🙂

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      April 8, 2021 at 8:15 pm

      Hi Lindsey! I think you could go either way depending on how much raspberry flavor you want the cake to have! If it were me, I’d go with the vanilla buttercream only because I know that’s a classic and amazing combo, but if you want to take the raspberry flavor up a few notches you could totally pair it with this raspberry buttercream!

      Reply
  13. Michelle Chamberlain says

    September 12, 2021 at 2:19 pm

    Hi
    I want to add freeze dried raspberry to a chocolate butter cream, it then needs to be covered in fondant icing for a wedding cake
    Will the raspberries bleed through on the white icing

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      September 13, 2021 at 2:25 pm

      Hi Michelle! I don’t think they’ll bleed through, but I’ve never tried covering a raspberry buttercream frosted cake with fondant before so it will be an experiment. I would test it on a small piece of fondant and see if the buttercream has any affect.

      Reply
  14. Lucy says

    September 30, 2021 at 3:44 am

    Love this frosting!! Does it double up easily?

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      October 3, 2021 at 2:58 pm

      Hi Lucy! It absolutely does!

      Reply
  15. Lucia says

    January 3, 2022 at 9:18 pm

    Hi Whitney! I’d like to make this frosting with powdered freeze dried raspberries. Do you know how much of the powder to add? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      January 3, 2022 at 9:55 pm

      Hi Lucia! That’s awesome you’ve found freeze dried raspberries already in powder form! The berries typically reduce to about half when ground into powder, so I would add 1/4 Cup of the powder. Enjoy!

      Reply
  16. Cynthia says

    February 21, 2022 at 9:19 am

    Hi. I’m doing a lot of baking for my soon to be daughter in law’s bridal shower. I’m trying to do some things in advance. Does this frosting freeze well or should I wait? Thank you

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      February 21, 2022 at 10:06 pm

      Hi Cynthia! I’ve never frozen this frosting before but I know you can freeze American buttercream ahead. If you want to give it a go, you can make the frosting and wrap it in plastic wrap, then place it in a ziploc bag before putting it in the freezer. The day before you’re ready to use it, thaw it in the refrigerator. Then, bring it to room temp before re-whipping it with your stand mixer to bring it back to frosting consistency. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  17. Shannon says

    February 23, 2022 at 7:18 am

    So blessed to have found your website! It’s my absolute go to now. Question – I’m making a three tier 9inch chocolate cake and want to use this frosting recipe. How should I adjust the quantities?

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      February 25, 2022 at 8:26 am

      Thanks for the kind words 🙂 for the frosting, make 2.5x this recipe and for the chocolate cake (I’m assuming you mean the chocolate cake from this recipe https://sugarandsparrow.com/raspberry-chocolate-cake-recipe/) make 1.5x the cake part of the recipe. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  18. Desiree says

    June 12, 2022 at 5:06 pm

    5 stars
    We loved this buttercream! Yum!

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      June 14, 2022 at 7:13 pm

      Yay, Desiree! Thanks so much for letting me know!

      Reply
  19. Laura says

    July 1, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    Could I add the freeze dried raspberries to your cream cheese icing and if so would need to change the amount ? I’m trying to make it for the inside of your lemon cake.

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      July 1, 2022 at 6:25 pm

      Hi Laura! You absolutely could – that sounds delicious! No need to change the amount of freeze dried powder you add to the cream cheese buttercream recipe unless you’re doubling it or scaling it in any other way. Enjoy!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Favorite Matcha Cake Recipe - Sugar & Sparrow says:
    May 14, 2018 at 8:07 am

    […] chose to pair the Matcha cake with this raspberry buttercream as filling, then topped it with an eye catching vanilla-matcha buttercream ombre and white […]

    Reply

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