Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

With a name like Grandbaby Cakes, you know I’m giving you the best chocolate cupcake recipe out there. These ain’t no dry, sad cupcakes. These chocolate cupcakes have intense chocolate flavor, and they practically melt in your mouth with each rich and tender bite. These babies are indulgent, moist and beyond easy to whip up (one bowl, my boos!). Seriously, this chocolate cupcake recipe is the one you’ve been scrolling for- trust. Don’t sleep on it. Just get to baking!

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

I’ve been making this chocolate cupcake recipe for over 10 years. I developed it and kept tinkering with it until it was absolutely perfect. I not only wanted these to taste phenom but I wanted them to be insanely easy to make. That way, you wouldn’t have any excuses for not making these when the craving struck. And truth be told, I beyond succeeded. These are truly the best chocolate cupcakes out there.

Ingredients Needed to Make Chocolate Cupcakes from Scratch

• Egg: This is our binder holding the entire mixture together
• Buttermilk and Oil: This duo creates the most moist cupcakes and that buttermilk adds a bit of tangy flavor.
• Flour: This is our base that grounds the batter.
• Sugar: I use a mixture of granulated and brown sugar to add some bomb depth and sweetness.
• Cocoa Powder: This provides our chocolate intensity and flavor base.
• Baking Powder: The powder gives our chocolate cupcake recipe a nice lift.
• Salt: You should never make a dessert without a little salt to balance the sweetness.
• Hot Water: This enhances the cocoa powder and brings out a super deep, intense chocolate flavor. This is the trick that makes chocolate cupcakes from scratch different from the box mix.

How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes

Step 1: Prep and Line

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grab your cupcake or muffin pan and dress it up with some stylish cupcake liners.

Step 2: Whisk Together the Wet and Dry Ingredients

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add together the egg, buttermilk, oil, and a dash of vanilla. Give these a good whisk then set them aside.
2. Move over to a larger bowl, and toss in the flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt. Whisk them until the mix looks even.

Step 3: Mix It All Together

1. Introduce the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches, whisking them together until the batter is smooth.
2. Pour in the hot water, and keep whisking until your batter is combined. It will be thinner but this is just fine.

Step 4: Bake it Up!

• Scoop the batter into your cupcake liners, but only fill them halfway to give them room to rise and shine.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs clinging on.
• Once completely cool, add frosting if you want and serve them up!

How to Serve this Easy Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

• Go Classic: A classic American buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream in vanilla is always a welcome topping.
• Chocolate on Chocolate: Add a traditional chocolate frosting, chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream or chocolate ganache to double down on chocolate flavor.
• Caramel: Go all in with the indulgence by adding a caramel frosting with a caramel sauce drizzle. That’s good eatin!
• Whipped Cream: Lighten the chocolate cupcake with a smooth whipped cream and maybe a few fresh berries on the side too!
• Ice Cream: Ain’t nothing like cake and ice cream, and this easy chocolate cupcake recipe is the perfect pairing for vanilla ice cream or cookies and cream ice cream.
• Cupcake Buffet: Create a bomb spread filled with your fave cupcakes when entertaining. I would serve these with my lemon cupcakes, strawberry cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes, carrot cupcakes and pineapple cupcakes. Delish!

Recipe Substitutions

• Buttermilk: You can make your own by adding a 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1/2 cup of milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it curdles then throw into the wet ingredients.
• Oil: Make sure you use any neutral oil like a vegetable or canola oil.
• Vanilla Extract: If you don’t have vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste is incredible. Also almond extract is great.
• Sugar: This recipe uses both granulated and brown sugars but you can substitute with just one.

Recipe Variations and Additions

• Gluten-Free: Replace the flour with 1:1 ratio baking flour. It might change the texture a bit but it will still be delish.
• Mocha: Replace the hot water with coffee or espresso to really intensify the chocolate and give some subtle mocha vibes.
• Peanut Butter: A swirl of some peanut butter into the batter before baking will give such an unexpected nutty surprise.
• Mint Chocolate: Add a little peppermint extract to the batter for a fun holiday twist.
• Mexican chocolate: Just sprinkling a hint of cinnamon and cayenne in the batter can give those vibes here.
• S’mores: Add some graham cracker to the bottom of each cupcake liner then pour your batter and bake. Top with marshmallows and toast them before serving.

Expert Tips and Tricks

• Intensify: For even more chocolate flavor in these, replace the hot water with coffee!  It gives a much deeper chocolate flavor and almost a mocha essence.
• Room Temp: Make sure that egg and buttermilk are room temperature so you have a smoother better textured batter in the end.
• Go High-Quality: When it comes to ingredients like cocoa powder and vanilla extract, opting for high-quality options can amp that flavor up when making chocolate cupcakes from scratch. Look for a good dutch-process cocoa powder for a more robust chocolate flavor.
• Perfect Your Technique: When mixing your batter, be sure to take it easy. Overmixing can lead to dense cupcakes, and that ain’t it boos. Just mix until your dry ingredients are incorporated.
• Bake Just Right: Try the toothpick trick to make sure your cupcakes are baked perfectly. You should have a few moist crumbs on the toothpick.
• Don’t Overfill: The batter will rise as it bakes so make sure you fill your liners no more than 2/3s of the way up or they could overflow.
• Chill Out: Before you start frosting those cupcakes, let them cool completely so that frosting won’t melt and run right off.

How to Store Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes

• Room Temperature: Keep them in an airtight container. If you’re planning to devour them within a day or two, a cool countertop will work just fine.
• Fridge: Keep them in the fridge, and they’ll stay delish for up to a week. When you want to serve, make sure you bring them back to room temp so they are soft and tender.
• Freezer: You can freeze them individually with plastic wrap then put them in a ziptop bag with the air removed. They should last up to 3 months. Just thaw at room temperature before you serve again.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Chocolate Recipes

• Want the best chocolate cake recipe that ever existed?  This Chocolate Cake with a blackberry buttercream is decadent and insanely delicious.
• Try my Ultimate Chocolate Pound Cake recipe.  It is decadent and insanely delicious.
• This Chocolate Birthday Cake is addictive!
• Love berries and chocolate like this recipe?  Try my Raspberry Chocolate Cake!