No need to continue searching for the best homemade chocolate cupcake recipe! These are hands down the yummiest, homemade chocolate cupcakes topped with the creamiest chocolate buttercream frosting.
We’re showing step by step instructions on how to make these chocolate cupcakes!
Everyone needs a basic chocolate and vanilla cupcake recipe. These are the recipes that you can switch up, add a filling in the middle, top with different frostings, add sprinkles or even edible flowers!
This recipe is our favorite because it’s incredibly moist and chocolaty! Exactly what you want when making a cupcake.
Always keep cupcake wrappers and sprinkles on hand to make cupcakes anytime! We used these tulip cupcake wrappers and Fancy Sprinkles.
How Do I Bake the Perfect Chocolate Cupcake?
Table of Contents
These are the best chocolate cupcakes. They’re especially good topped with our chocolate buttercream frosting! Here’s what you’ll need!
See the full recipe below.
Supplies
- Cupcake Tin
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric Mixer – Standalone or Handmixer
Ingredients
- Cocoa Powder
- Sugar
- All-purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Buttermilk
- Vegetable Oil
- Eggs
Directions
Boil the water in a sauce pan. Remove from the heat, add in cocoa powder whisking with a hand whisk constantly until the cocoa is melted.
Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, sugar) in a mixing bowl.
Add liquid ingredients (eggs, oil, buttermilk) into a separate bowl. I add them in a liquid measuring cup.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry while mixer is on medium. Mix until combined.
Scrape in the melted chocolate and mix until combined.
Scoop the batter into a lined cupcake tin. Full them 3/4 of the way full.
Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until the cake is not jiggly in the center.
Let the cupcakes cool while you make the chocolate frosting.
We’re answering all your questions, that you can sink your teeth into some delicious cupcakes, so read on to get your bake (and your cake) on!
How to Frost Chocolate Cupcakes
While the cupcakes are cooling, make our delicious buttercream frosting recipe! It’s literally the creamiest, most delicious chocolate frosting ever!
Using a piping bag and a large round tip, cut a hole at the end of the bag and put the tip inside, so it sticks out of the bottom.
If you don’t have a piping tip, you can just cut a medium size hole at the bottom of the piping bag.
Fold the piping bag over a glass, then scoop in the chocolate frosting.
Twist the top of the bag closed and hold your hand tightly around the top of the bag. Then begin piping on the frosting!
How Can I Make My Cupcakes More Moist?
One of the best (and most little-known) ways to make cupcakes moister is to add a little more oil!
You can also add a tablespoon of cornstarch to a recipe.
Another idea is to add a tablespoon or two of mayonnaise to the batter.
Mayo is made up of oil, vinegar, and egg, which are all ingredients that retain moisture. The oil makes the cake super tender, the vinegar’s acid brings out the chocolatiness of your recipe, and the egg? Well, there’s no better way to fluff your cupcake up.
Make sure to mix it in well with all the other ingredients before putting it into individual cupcake pans!
What Makes Cupcakes Light and Fluffy?
Short answer? A combination of moisture and skill.
Long answer?
Cupcakes become light and fluffy because of the eggs that you add for moisture. That’s why mayo works so well as a moisture-inducing force.
It has the eggs necessary to fluff up your cupcake and make it lighter and airier. But, yeah, it’s all in the eggs.
Cupcakes also become fluffier when you make air bubbles in the batter that expand in the oven. To do this, you’ll need to mix your batter for a longer period of time.
You’ll need to mix on a low speed and stop just as all of your ingredients blend together. Higher speeds will make your cupcakes denser, so that’s something to avoid!
What Frosting Goes With Chocolate Cupcakes?
There are a couple of different types of frosting that go amazingly with chocolate cupcakes, so you can take your pick!
The first is, of course, classic chocolate buttercream frosting. There are only six ingredients- butter, powdered sugar, chocolate morsels, espresso powder, vanilla extract, and milk- and the recipe only takes about 10 minutes to complete!
You can also add food coloring if you want your cupcakes to look decorative and funky!
You can also make a pretty great whipped chocolate sour cream frosting, which is one of our personal favorites.
How Do You Tell if Cupcakes Are Done Without a Toothpick?
The age-old trick that lets you know whether or not cupcakes are done is to put a toothpick in it. If it comes out clean, it’s fully baked!
But what happens when you don’t have a toothpick handy? Here are some alternatives!
- Perform the same test with a fork or knife.
- Get a cake tester, which is a specific tool made for testing cakes! They’re basically metal picks that you can wash and reuse, so you’ll never need to worry about not having a toothpick handy again.
- For something totally different, you can touch your cupcake lightly with the top of your finger. If it feels fluffy, light, and doesn’t jiggle/cave in, it’s done!
Can Chocolate Cupcakes Be Frozen?
Chocolate cupcakes can indeed be frozen. Here’s how!
- Wrap each of your cupcakes individually in cellophane.
- Place the individually-wrapped cupcakes in an airtight container. Make sure that this container is both airtight and sturdy. Pyrex generally works well.
- It’s best to freeze unfrosted cupcakes, but if they are frosted, that’s also alright. Just make sure that they all sit side-by-side rather than on top of each other. You don’t want to mush your beautiful frosting!
- Cupcakes can be stored like this for up to 4 months.
It’s important to note that they’ll lose a bit of flavor over time when you store them in the freezer. That’s why it’s best to only make what you can eat fresh. Still, if you’re making cupcakes for an event, this is an option.
How Long Do You Bake Cupcakes at 350 Degrees?
The time that you need to bake your cupcakes varies based on size. Classic 2.5-inch cupcakes bake for 15 to 22 minutes. If your cupcakes are smaller, you probably want to lean more towards 15 minutes. If they’re bigger, maybe go up to 25.
Get the Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
There are lots of recipes for chocolate cupcakes out there, but we guarantee that none are so good as this one.
Now that you know the most amazing chocolate cupcake recipe on the web, it’s time to put a twist on it! Toffee chocolate cupcakes are delicious and easy to make. You’re sure to enjoy the little burst of toffee flavor in the middle of them, so try it out!
More Cupcake Recipes You’ll Love!
Pumpkin Spice Sunflower Cupcakes
Chocolate Dragon Fruit Cupcakes
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Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 6 ounces water
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegatbale oil
Instructions
- Boil the water in a sauce pan. Move from heat, add in cocoa powder whisking with a hand whisk constantly until the cocoa is melted.
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, sugar) in a mixing bowl together.
- Add liquid ingredients (eggs, oil, buttermilk) into a separate bowl. I add them in a liquid measuring cup.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry while mixer is on medium. Mix until combined.
- Scrape in the melted chocolate and mix until combined.
- Scoop the batter into a lined cupcake tin. Full them 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until the cake is not jiggly in the center.
Natasha says
We finally found our favorite homemade chocolate cupcake recipe! It is so moist, not too sweet but very delicious. My kids loved it so much.
Laura Reese says
This is the most delicious chocolate cupcake recipe. So moist and the flavor was so rich and amazing.
Lisalia says
So yummy and such a classic! Thanks for this recipe. What my daughter wants to know, is where to get the cool cupcake liners. She thinks ours would taste better if they were in liners like your pictures! lol!