Chocolate Cupcakes

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

• Classic. These are classic chocolate cupcakes, no funny business. Rich, chocolatey, and topped with swirl of chocolate frosting, they’ll satisfy even the most ravenous chocoholics.
• Easy to make. I’m a firm believer that everyone should be able to make a batch of perfect chocolate cupcakes, no matter their skill level in the kitchen. This recipe delivers! I’m sharing all my best cupcake-baking tips and tricks along the way.
• Quick. With simple ingredients, a little mixing, and 30 minutes, you’ll have a batch of freshly baked chocolate cupcakes on your hands.

What You’ll Need

Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make perfect chocolate cupcakes from scratch. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for a printable ingredient list.

• Cocoa Powder: I use Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa for this recipe, but you can use any natural, unsweetened cocoa powder you prefer.
• Flour – I recommend using all-purpose flour for the most consistent results.
• Buttermilk – Buttermilk adds loads of moisture and flavor to desserts like my Texas sheet cake and buttermilk brownies. It works the same magic in these chocolate cupcakes. If you don’t have buttermilk, make a homemade buttermilk substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a scant cup of milk. Let that sit for 5 minutes, stir, and you’re ready to go.
• Vegetable Oil – Or another neutral cooking oil, like canola oil. Using oil instead of butter yields extra soft, tender cakes and cupcakes.
• Vanilla – Make sure to use real vanilla extract or vanilla paste. You can also play around with different flavoring extracts for different flavor profiles. I think peppermint extract would taste great in these chocolate cupcakes!
• Granulated Sugar – You can also use brown sugar.
• Baking Soda, Baking Powder – I use both, plus salt, to give these cupcakes the best rise. Check the expiration dates on the packages to make sure that your leavening isn’t expired.
• Eggs – For best results, bring the eggs to room temperature.

How to Make the Best Chocolate Cupcakes

The ultimate chocolate cupcake is only a few short steps away, and I’ll walk you through them below. Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable instructions.

• Combine the dry ingredients. First, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder, then mix in the sugar and salt.
• Add wet ingredients. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla, water, vegetable oil and buttermilk, continuing to mix until everything is just combined.
• Bake. Divide the chocolate cupcake batter between the wells of a lined muffin pan, about 2/3 full. Bake the cupcakes in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes, until they’re set. Once the cupcakes are out of the oven, remove them from the pan immediately and leave them on a wire rack to cool.
• Frost the cupcakes. Make sure the cupcakes have cooled completely before you frost them with your favorite buttercream recipe. Check out my easy piping technique in the section below, along with some fun decorating ideas.

Can I Bake This as a Cake Instead?

Absolutely! This recipe easily translates to a chocolate cake as well. To make this a layer cake instead, use two 9″ baking pans or three 8″ pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. You can refer to my perfect chocolate layer cake post for details.

Cupcake Decorating Ideas

I love frosting these cupcakes with my creamy chocolate frosting or tangy chocolate cream cheese frosting. Another classic is this easy homemade Swiss meringue buttercream. Feel free to be as creative as you’d like! These are some more easy cupcake-decorating ideas:

• Halloween. Frost these chocolate cupcakes with my pumpkin butter frosting and top them with brown (or black), orange, and yellow sprinkles. See my witch’s broom cupcakes and cauldron cupcakes for more Halloween inspiration.
• Holidays. Top these cupcakes with crushed peppermint candy or Andes peppermint baking chips for an easy variation of Christmas cupcakes.
• S’mores. Make s’mores cupcakes by adding a thick swirl of marshmallow frosting and sprinkling over crushed Graham crackers.
• Mint chocolate. Try my mint chocolate chip frosting for that irresistible mint-chocolate combination.
• Peanut butter. Borrow the peanut butter frosting from my banana cupcakes. Go all out with a topping of chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups!
• Birthday. Turn these into the perfect birthday cupcakes with a swirl of party frosting.

How to Make a Perfect Frosting Swirl

There’s no wrong way to decorate a cupcake, but one of the BEST ways is to use a piping bag fitted with a piping tip to give your chocolate cupcakes a gorgeous piped frosting swirl. If you’ve never done it before, I have you covered with a quick tutorial below. Here’s how you can achieve perfectly swirled buttercream: 

• Prepare a piping bag. First, snip the tip off a disposable piping bag. Then, fit your choice of piping tip tightly in the opening. For most of my cupcakes, I like to use a Wilton 1M tip.
• Fill the piping bag. Fill the bag about 3/4 full with frosting. Afterward, twist the bag until the frosting pokes out of the tip. 
• Make a traditional swirl. Start by piping from the outside of the cupcake and work in a circle inwards.
• Or, pipe a rose swirl. Start from the inside and working outwards to create a rose swirl. Tada! Picture perfect swirled cupcakes, every time.

How to Store

• On the counter. Cupcakes are always best when enjoyed the day they’re baked. However, these will keep fresh at room temperature for up to 2 days. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container for storage. Resist putting cupcakes in the refrigerator, as this will dry them out!
• Freeze. You can freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to 3 months. Wrap each cupcake in saran wrap, then place them in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Thaw on the counter for a few hours before topping with frosting.

More Cupcake Recipes

• Confetti Cupcakes
• Baked Alaska Cupcakes
• Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
• Gingerbread Cupcakes