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.
Sissi Panopoulou
So tasty and so easy!
Sam
Thank you so much, Sissi! 🙂
Asma
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I followed your recipe used exactly the same ingredients and instructions and it turned out so good. I’ve been baking from so long always try different recipes but your recipe is the best.
May God Bless You Always ❤️
Thanks once again
Sam
Thank you so much for the kind feedback! I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes. 🙂
Zaineb
Hello! I’m wondering can I add 3 cups of powdered sugar instead of 4? Cause 4 seems a bit too sweet idk.
Sam
The icing will be much looser, but feel free to adjust to your tastes. 🙂
Fiona
I never comment/review but this time I had to! I made these today and they are so incredible! So easy to make and I love that you can use one bowl… 🙂 These cupcakes are the perfect texture and the frosting is delicious!! Thank you!
Sam
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment Fiona! I am so glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Kat
Question! Is the cocoa powder for the frosting also unsweetened?
Sam
Hi Kat! Sorry for the confusion. Yes it is unsweetened cocoa powder. 🙂
Kat
Thank you! I’m excited to make them!
Mary
I’m a little confused in the recipe when putting flour together it says Sufar yer I do not see Sugar as an ingredient?? how much sugar?
Sam
Hi Mary! This recipe needs 2 cups of granulated sugar.
Angela
Hi! I LOVE this recipe and have been using it for a couple of years now. Recently we have had to go lactose free for one of my sons…do you think these would turn out just as good with Lactose free milk or almond milk?
Sam
Hi Angela! They should still turn out, they just won’t be as moist.
Linda
These cupcakes are so good! Usually when I bake nobody wants to be around because it’s always a disaster but for once everyone that tried these couldn’t stop….especially me. Yes, I’m guilty of making these multiple times in just 2 days. I’m literally eating one as I type this. Holy guacamole. definitely a keeper.
Just one question when I make the frosting its a little too runny. What can I add to make it thicker?
Either way, these are Gucci. MUST MAKE MORE.
Thx for sharing.
PS pls answer my question. Can’t make more without the proper frosting…
Sam
😂 I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes, Linda! To make the frosting thicker, you can always add more powdered sugar, a little bit at a time, until it reaches your desired thickness. 🙂
Amena
Hi! I wanted to know can i mix the cake batter and the frosting with a wooden spoon instead of a mixer ?? Would it change the texture or flavour?? I’m planning on using this recipe to demonstrate the topic DOUBLES in class using this recipe… please help…
Sam
Hi Amena! You may be able to do the batter without a mixer, but the frosting will be quite difficult because you really need to cream that butter.
Sable
Hi! The cupcakes turned out yummy but I have not put the frosting on. I did 4 tbsp of milk and it seems runny! I set it in the refrigerator to cool (will that make it thicker)? Or what can I put in to make it a bit thicker? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Sable! Just add a little more powdered sugar to thicken it up. 🙂
Isabel
I made this tonight because one of my three year olds really wanted to make cupcakes. I didn’t have any paper liners so we ended up baking it in two 9” rounds. One came out perfect and the other kind of broke into a bunch of pieces when I tried to turn it out. So that kind of sucked but I just mounded the broken cake pieces on top of the frosted base cake and it was ugly AF but tasted amazing. The frosting was really good, and the cake texture and flavor were on point. My daughter’s birthday is next week so I guess this was my practice run for her school cupcakes. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Isabel! I”m glad that this was an overall successful practice run! Thank you for commenting!
Byrnsey
Made these tonight for Valentines – yes a very easy cupcake – if it wasn’t for my dithering (I halved the recipe – a bit of a task for the old brain) – I would have been finished with the batter in 5 mins flat. And with half the batter I still came away with 16 cupcakes! It is a very moist and light cake indeed – a keeper.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! 🙂
Katie
OMG these are so good! I bake these for every occasion! Super easy, super good looking, and they taste great! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Sam
So glad you enjoyed! Thank you for commenting, Katie 🙂
Charlotte
Such a good recipe! Super simple. The icing turned out great! The cake was very moist, and super light/fluffy. I will definitely make again!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Charlotte! 🙂
Robyn
These cupcakes were so good! I made them for my daughter’s kindergarten class to celebrate her birthday; the kids devoured them. My neighbor said it was the best cake he’s ever had, period. The frosting was quite rich but delicious.
This recipe yields a LOT of batter. I doubled the recipe because I needed 24 cupcakes. I ended up having enough batter for 24 cupcakes plus two full 8 inch cake pans…so I ended up w/ cupcakes plus a two layer birthday cake. I’d say this batter is better suited for cupcakes because it came out quite dense as a layer cake. But, totally delicious anyway! Thank you very much for posting!
Sam
Hi Robyn! I am so glad you enjoyed them! The recipe as it is should make enough for about 24 cupcakes, but you can never have too many right?!
Jessica
Hi! Can I make these ahead of time and freeze to decorate when I need them? They look so good!!
Sam
Hi Jessica! Yes, that would be fine. Enjoy!