Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

I’ve been making my 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. They have intense chocolate flavor, are tender and seriously so moist. Truth be told, I beyond succeeded. These are truly the best chocolate cupcakes out there. I’ve also got a video tutorial if you wanna check it out.

They’re Lovin’ It! Here’s what They’re Sayin’:

“This is my go-to for chocolate cupcakes…SO easy to make, moist & delicious every single time. Thanks, Jocelyn!!”

—linda E.

Video Tutorial

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!

Best Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

Moist, decadent, delicious and rich, this is the best chocolate cupcake recipe you'll ever taste!

4.63 from 32 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Prep Time 12 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 27 minutes mins

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Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Course: Dessert

Servings: 16 cupcakes

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ½ cup buttermilk
• ▢ ½ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup hot water

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and set aside.
• In a separate large bowl, add flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine.
• In batches, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.
• Lastly, mix in hot water and whisk until combined and perfectly smooth. The batter should be somewhat thin.
• Add batter to cupcake liners filling only halfway and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
• Allow cupcakes to cool to room temperature before adding buttercream.

Video

Notes

For even more chocolate flavor, replace the hot water for coffee!  It gives a much deeper chocolate flavor and almost a mocha essence.

To ensure your chocolate cupcakes stay as fresh as possible, put them in an airtight container. If you’re planning to devour them within a day or two, a cool countertop will do just fine. If you need longer, add them to the fridge, and they’ll stay all good for up to a week; just remember, room temperature is best for serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 59mg | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @GrandbabyCakes or tag #grandbabycakes!

Recipe Tips

• 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.

Ingredient Notes

• 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.
• Sugar: This recipe uses both granulated and brown sugars but you can substitute with just one.

Serving Suggestions

• Go Classic: An American buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream topping.
• Chocolate on Chocolate: Add a traditional chocolate frosting, chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream or chocolate ganache.
• Caramel: Go all in with a caramel frosting with a caramel sauce drizzle.
• Whipped Cream: Lighten the chocolate cupcake with a smooth whipped cream topping.

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