I’m going to sound like a broken record, but……is it genuinely, actually, truly Friday already, for reals? This week was yet another blur that passed me without my permission. Why does this keep happening to me? I just realized that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and I haven’t even thought about it until today. Or yesterday actually, but same difference. Summer is almost halfway gone and it’s one of the best things about where I live. I feel like I’m constantly complaining about the seasonal differences of living in the Southern Hemisphere versus the Northern. It’s just hard to get used to bright sun and warm breezes replacing your Christmas snow, but I should probably be more adult about it and stop whining, you know? I’ll try to work on that. However, as much as I miss the snow, there are also some perks to switching hemispheres and one of my personal favorites is the fact that the beautiful bounty of berries (try saying that ten times fast) is at its peak for Valentine’s Day here, so I get to use them in all of my romantically inspired recipes. We also have a gorgeous variety of different flowers in our proximity that are perfect for adding to photos. Speaking of hearts and flowers day, am I the only one who spends the day feeling like it a much more appropriate name for it would be “rub-it-in-your-face-that-you’re-still-single-day”? Just a thought. I usually try to forget the whole thing for the most part except for where recipes are involved. Yeah, kind of depressing. But let’s not focus on that, I can still have fun just celebrating all the lovebirds among us (and, eh hem, secretly hoping to join them in the not too distant future). Sorry for my tangent, what was I getting at? Oh yeah, berries! I think I’ve mentioned a few times how much of a berry addict I am, and well, I’m very fortunate for the fact that I live in an area that is one of the berry growing capitals of the world. Does that make me the happiest person ever? You bet! I make the most of it by scarfing as many berries as I can fit in my mouth all summer long and then I freeze all the extras for the winter like a squirrel with acorns. It’s probably a certifiable condition but I think I can live with that. I’m serious about my berries. Raspberries are my favorite though, and when you combine them with cake and chocolate you’ve got a sweet that would win over any reluctant heart, which makes them perfect for February. I used fresh raspberries to make a simple raspberry cream filling and then you mix some of the extra with your frosting. I also did two-sided frosting, which looks fancy and difficult, but it’s super easy. Okay, and did you guys know that chocolate chunks in a cupcake is a major win? Because it totally is! Like the kind of win that makes you never want to do differently. A life changing thing. Liv and I agreed that I need to do the same thing for Ryder’s birthday cake next month. Yes, he’s almost a year now and we are having fun planning a little bash to celebrate. You know, for (air quotation marks with fingers) Ryder. Obviously he won’t remember much, if any, of the day but first-time aunties and first-time mommies get to go all out for these things if they want to. It’s a law somewhere. She decided on a minion theme and it’s going to be adorbs. So, I’ve got a lot of catch up to do this weekend but I wanted to share these cupcakes first. I hope you all have plenty of time to make them for your Valentine or just for the peoples you love who love all things chocolate and sweet. Happy weekend! Plain vanilla cupcakes are always delicious, but sometimes a little more flavor is fun too. These raspberry chocolate cupcakes are the perfect way to celebrate any occasion.