My easy chocolate cupcake recipe yields two-dozen light, fluffy, and chocolatey cupcakes that are better than a box-mix (and just as easy!). Made quickly and easily in one bowl, they can be baked and frosted in less than an hour. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
You’re going to be so happy you found this recipe. After all, who doesn’t love a perfectly balanced chocolate cupcake (preferably topped with a generous swirl of chocolate buttercream). My recipe is incredibly moist, so soft, and so perfectly fluffy. Taste wise, they’re sweet without being too sweet and have a pronounced chocolate flavor (I’ll share a few tricks to pull this off). Plus, they’re incredibly quick and easy to make in just one bowl!
I first published this recipe six years ago and it’s been a huge hit with my readers and my own faithful go-to chocolate cupcake recipe (I prefer my slightly heavier chocolate cake recipe for cakes). However, the original recipe made a large, awkward number of cupcakes, so I’ve scaled down the recipe to now make a neat 24 cupcakes with subtly domed tops.
What You Need
Making chocolate cupcakes from scratch is just as easy as using a box mix, but they taste so much better. Here are a few of the ingredients you’ll be using today:
- Cocoa powder. I recommend using natural, regular cocoa powder in your chocolate cupcakes. Dutch process will change the flavor and could impact the texture (if the baking soda isn’t fully neutralized), so I’d recommend sticking with the recipe as written.
- Hot water/coffee. It is very important that you use a hot liquid (the hotter the better, but be careful not to splash yourself with it while mixing) as this reacts with the cocoa powder, causing it to “bloom” and fully develop the rich flavor of the cocoa.
- Oil. Don’t be tempted to replace the oil with melted butter, please! Using oil makes these chocolate cupcakes super moist without weighing them down. The cocoa powder (when bloomed by the hot liquid) provides plenty of flavor, so butter is unnecessary (never would have thought I would type those words!) and actually yields a less-desirable cupcake.
- Cornstarch. I’ve updated this recipe to include a tablespoon of cornstarch. One of my favorite secret ingredients (you may recognize it from my best chocolate chip cookies), this simple addition keeps them tender, soft, and fluffy and it also gives these formerly completely flat cupcakes a slight rounded dome.
SAM’S TIP: If you choose to use coffee, your chocolate cupcakes will not taste mocha-esque; rather the coffee helps to enhance the rich chocolate flavors of the cocoa powder. I recommend you use it!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make My Favorite Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Make the Batter
- Whisk all of the dry ingredients and sugar together.
- Add the oil, egg, and vanilla and mix to combine. It’ll seem a bit stiff, dry and crumbly, but just keep mixing and go until all of the dry ingredients are moistened. Feel free to use your electric mixer for this step, but I usually just use a spatula.
- Slowly drizzle in the milk and continue stirring until the batter looks uniform.
- Gradually and carefully add the hot liquid and mix until everything is completely combined.
SAM’S TIP: While you might be able to get away with using buttermilk straight from the fridge, room temp eggs are key here! If your eggs are cold, straight from the fridge, they will not incorporate well into your dry ingredients, leaving you with a batter that’s clumpy, clunky, and not uniform. This can lead to sunken or otherwise wonky cupcakes.
Divide the Batter & Bake
It’s very important to not fill your cupcake liners higher than ⅔ full. If you do, the batter will spread out over the tops and the resulting cupcakes will have flat tops that are likely to sink in on themselves. Opt for under-filling rather than over-filling, and if you do happen to have leftover batter, make extra cupcakes or discard it.
- Evenly divide the batter among a lined cupcake pan and bake for 17-19 minutes.
- Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
SAM’S TIP: I recommend baking one pan of chocolate cupcakes at a time, just in case your oven bakes unevenly or does something funky while baking, or even just in case you accidentally leave the first batch in too long. The batter will be fine to wait on the counter while the first batch bakes!
While you can always stick with chocolate buttercream (shown here), my chocolate cupcake recipe tastes lovely with just about any topping. Some of my top recommendations are brown butter frosting (my husband’s favorite pairing), marshmallow frosting, cream cheese frosting, peanut butter frosting (perfect for peanut butter & chocolate lovers!), Swiss meringue buttercream, or vanilla frosting.
Frequently Asked Questions
This chocolate cupcake batter will be very, very thin–much different from the thick batter of my vanilla cake. It’ll seem almost watery/soupy. This is normal and means you’ve done everything right!
While I do have a great chocolate cake recipe, you can use this recipe to make a two layer 8″ or 9″ cake. I provide instructions on how to do this in the recipe notes.
I don’t recommend it. This batter was carefully developed and the inclusion of the cocoa is critical for the proper texture. Even if you swapped an equal amount of flour, it’s not likely to turn out nearly as well as a recipe that was actually designed to be a vanilla cupcake. I suggest you make my easy vanilla cupcake recipe instead!
With only 15 minutes to prep and only one bowl to dirty, what are you waiting for!?
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Truly the Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cups (333 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (65 g) natural cocoa powder see note 1
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch see note 2
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup (118 ml) avocado, canola or vegetable oil
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (157 ml) whole milk room temperature preferred
- 1 cup (236 ml) hot coffee see note 3, may substitute hot water
- 1 batch chocolate buttercream or preferred frosting
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Arrange rack to center of oven and preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line two 12-count muffin tins with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (I make this recipe with an electric mixer but it can be done by hand using a whisk and spatula instead).1 ⅔ cups (333 g) granulated sugar, 1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup (65 g) natural cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon table salt
- Add canola oil, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until batter is combined (it will be a bit dry and crumbly but all of the flour mixture should be moistened before proceeding).½ cup (118 ml) avocado, canola or vegetable oil, 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Drizzle in milk while stirring and stir until batter is uniform and completely combined.⅔ cup (157 ml) whole milk
- Gradually add hot coffee or hot water (take care not to burn yourself!) and stir until liquid is completely incorporated into the batter and you have a smooth chocolate batter. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is well-combined. The batter will be very thin, this is normal!1 cup (236 ml) hot coffee
- Evenly divide batter into prepared muffin tin, but take care to fill liners between ½ and not more than ⅔ of the way full, this is typically about 3 Tablespoons of batter or less per cupcake liner. Over-filled liners will result in cupcakes with flat tops and they may cave in on themselves. If you have excess batter, discard it (or make extra cupcakes!).
- Transfer one pan of cupcakes to 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (or clean). Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes in baking pan before carefully removing to cooling rack to cool completely before frosting (I like to use a knife to gently pry up the cupcake from the bottom and then carefully lift it out to a cooling rack). Repeat with second pan of cupcakes
- Once cupcakes have cooled, frost with my chocolate frosting or your favorite frosting recipe.1 batch chocolate buttercream
Notes
Cocoa powder
I recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa powder for best results. However, in a pinch Dutch process cocoa powder can be used instead, but note that the flavor will be slightly different and the cupcakes will be darker.Cornstarch
Cornstarch is my secret ingredient, it makes the cupcakes tender and fluffy and gives them the perfect, slight domed tops. However, if you do not have it on hand you may omit it, note that your cupcakes will likely be flatter though.Hot coffee/hot water
A hot liquid is essential to properly blooming the cocoa powder (which gives the cake a pronounced, rich chocolate flavor). I like to use hot coffee because the coffee flavor enhances the chocolate, making the flavor even richer and deeper. However, you can just use hot water instead. The hotter the liquid the better; boiling is fine, just be careful! Please note I don’t recommend using other hot liquids such as hot chocolate which often have other additives and sugar added and could adversely affect the final outcome.Frosting
I used my Ateco 848 tip to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes in the photos above and in the video. If you wish to frost all of your cupcakes this generously you will want to double the frosting called for in the recipe that I linked to, but honestly you don’t need to and a more modest amount (half the amount shown) works great and allows the cupcake flavor to really shine, it just didn’t look quite as nice in the pictures!Baking chocolate cupcake batter in different sized pans
You may bake these cupcakes in two 8” pans for 35-37 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs. In two 9” pans the cakes will take a bit less time, start checking at 30-32 minutes. This recipe should also work just fine in a 13×9” pan, but I would keep an eye on it as I haven’t tested it in this size pan yet.Original recipe
I’ve received a lot of requests for the original recipe. As I mentioned in my post, this current recipe is the one I recommend, it’s simply scaled down from that one to make an even 24 cupcakes, to prevent the overflowing issue many people were having, and a bit of cornstarch has been added to improve structure. It’s a slightly better cupcake recipe for the changes and I recommend using the recipe as seen here. However, since so many of you have asked, here is the original recipe. Please note that I am not accepting comments or questions on the original and recommend you use the recipe I have published here currently.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Related Recipes
My chocolate cupcake recipe was originally published in March of 2016. A few small modifications were made to scale the recipe down to 24 even cupcakes without changing the texture, and the post has been updated to be more informative and a how-to video has been added.
Amy
I just tried this recipe and it didn’t matter if I filled the liners 1/2 full or 2/3 full, they overflowed in the oven and there was like nothing left in the center, just a big gaping hole. What did I do wrong?
Sam
That’s… bizarre! I’m sorry to hear that! Were the baking powder/baking soda and the hot water measured appropriately? If they weren’t over-filled that’s honestly all I can imagine. Usually if they overflow it is the fault of the liners being over-filled but it sounds like you didn’t do that. I’m sorry to hear they weren’t a success for you 🙁
Kim
The flavor is great! Chocolate but not over powering. It’s light and fluffy and easy to make, took a bit longer to cook I also used my own buttercream that I like better.
Only issue is that my cupcakes are all flat and a little dipped in but can’t figure out why?
If you’re not caring for it to look perfect it’s great
Sam
Hi Kim! These cupcakes do bake up nice and pretty flat, but if they were dipping in the center my best guess would be they may have needed another minute or two in the oven.
Laha
I used avocado oil as it was all I had in the house. Also used decaf coffee. Oh and one-for-one gluten free flour.
Bake big time was more like 25-28 minutes.,
Cupcakes turned out amazing. Fluffy light and delicious. And they did cave a tiny bit on top but it was perfect indentation for scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Thank you.
Sam
Thanks for the feedback! I am so glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Deb from NH
I just made these cupcakes and I was very disappointed. They do not taste good at all. I went by the recipe and made sure all my ingredients were measured correctly. I am so bummed to go though the trouble of make them and they taste awful. Thank you for recipe though. 😊 Have a great day!
Sam
Hi Deb! What did they taste like? I’m wondering if maybe one of your ingredients might have been bad? Happy to try and help troubleshoot! 🙂
Hannah
What can I do if I only have Dutch processed cocoa powder? Do I need to buy the pure cocoa or can I do something to be able to use this?
Sam
I recommend using the natural cocoa powder for the best outcome, but I think you will be ok with the Dutch processed. 🙂
Hannah
Hi I really love these cupcakes, they are sooooo chocolatey and moist, I would like to know what I can do if I only have Dutch processed cocoa? Do I add something? Take something away? Or do I just need to buy pure cocoa?
Barbi
As usual, these are amazing!
This is my absolute favorite website right now. I have to force myself to not look through more of your recipes because I have no where to put all these sweets. (Except in my own stomach and it doesn’t need anymore. Lol.)
Thank you so much for all your work and passion that is put into these recipes.
Sam
That means so much to me thank you! ☺️ I am glad you enjoy everything.
Emily
Love the recipe! The recipe is a bit tricky to reduce or double though! (what’s 1 3/4 cups + 2 TBSP doubled??) Otherwise, it produced delicious and moist cupcakes!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed!! 🙂
Teri
These cupcakes were fabulous. I made them for a friends daughters birthday and everyone loved them so much so she wants them again for her own birthday lol I love a lot of your recipes thanks so much for sharing
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them, Teri! 🙂
Toria
Can I halve the recipe and if so how many eggs?
Sam
Hi, Toria. Make sure to halve all of the ingredients, so you would use just one egg. 🙂
Stacy
Most recipes online claim that their’s is the best ever and tastiest recipe, so its hard to choose one while you’re planning to bake…this recipe however turned out fantastic in the first try, both the cupcake and the frosting! *I did add only half the confectioners sugar in the frosting though, and it was still quite sweet.* Regardless, everyone loved it! I’m so happy i FINALLY found the perfect recipe for a moist and mouthwatering little treat <3 its also very easily, and neatly explained. Good job! Trust me, this recipe is a life saver.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear that this recipe was such a success for you, Stacy!! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how they turned out, I really appreciate it <3
Rebecka
This is now my go to cupcake recipe. It is SUPPER easy, I have even been named the cupcake temptress. Why? Because no one could stop at one. I will also be trying to make these in to mini cupcakes. I will try to let you know the timing.
Rebecka
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Rebecka! 🙂
Rebecka
For Mini cupcakes bake for 10 min. Could make 100. I used an 1/8 th cup but did not fill it all the way. About 3/4ths full.
patricia herrera
These are perfection!!!!! just made them with my 9 year old daughter, so delicious, moist and soft and chocolate is everywhere !!!! in love! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe… like we say in Chile, “Mas rico que el pan con pebre”!!!! 🙂
Sam
I am so thrilled to hear you and your daughter enjoyed them, Patricia!! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how they turned out for you! <3
Kourtney
I’m excited to make these for my daughter’s birthday! I plan to make mini cupcakes. How long should I bake them? Thanks!
Sam
I’m sorry, Kourtney. I haven’t made these as mini cupcakes so I don’t really have a good answer for you. 🙁
Barbi
I just made these and had a little extra batter left over – for about 12 mini cupcakes.
I baked them for 9 minutes at 350 and they came out just as perfectly as the larger ones.
And with the same amount – 2/3 full.
Sam
Thanks for the feedback! I am glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Mary
Hi! I’d like to make these for my daughter’s birthday party. Would they still be good the next day if I made them a day ahead of time. Would you recommend I frost them the day of the party?
Sam
Hi Mary! So long as you store these in an airtight container they will be fine made a day ahead. You can frost them either the day before or the day of the party. Enjoy!!
milani
hi sam, im from sri lanka..im intresting about your cake recipes..they are tasty..now im planing start a cup cake buisness.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy them! I wish your business much success! 🙂