My easy Chocolate Cupcakes recipe yields cupcakes that are light, fluffy, and so much better than a box mix! Made quickly and easily in just 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. Plus, they’re incredibly quick and easy to make in just one bowl! To put it simply, these chocolate cupcakes are just wonderful.
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.
The original recipe also produced cupcakes with completely flat tops, and I’ve since remedied that so the cupcakes come out with subtle domed tops. They look lovely with a swirl of frosting, and speaking of frosting, these cupcakes go great with any kind!
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 worst 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 Chocolate Cupcakes
- Whisk all of the dry ingredients and sugar together.
- Add the oil, egg, and vanilla and mix to combine (mixture will seem crumbly, just make sure the dry ingredients have all been moistened).
- 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.
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.
While you can always stick with the easy frosting I’ve linked to in the recipe, my chocolate cupcake recipe tastes lovely with just about any topping. Some of my top recommendations are brown butter frosting, marshmallow frosting, cream cheese frosting, peanut butter frosting, 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. 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 Cupcakes
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.
chelsea ferrie
Could we use a different oil? Coconut or light olive oil?
Sam
I wouldn’t recommend olive oil but coconut oil could work. I generally recommend a neutral oil like canola or vegetable, though.
Ana
Is it possible to make the frosting without a stand mixer and just by hand?
Sam
It would be tough. The butter needs to be beaten until creamy, and that might be difficult without an electric mixer.
Sarah G
This recipe is so easy to make and the cupcakes were delicious. I made them for my boyfriends birthday party and 3 people asked me for my recipe. Win, win and win!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cupcakes, Sarah! 🙂
Emily
I made the cupcakes and they’re perfect! I added 2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp chili powder to the batter. Then for the frosting I whipped the heck out of it so it was fluffy and huge, plus used dark chocolate cocoa and added cinnamon. Perfect!
Emily
It made 24 gorgeous cakes with leftover icing
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes, Emily! 🙂
Sabrina
These cupcakes were so yummy and turned out great on my first try! ☺️ I haven’t tried making the frosting yet but just wondering… is a stand up electric mixer required for the frosting? Or can I use a handheld electric blender? How long does the frosting keep? And do the cupcakes (minus the frosting of course) freeze well? Thank you!!!
Sam
Hi Sabrina! I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! You can use a hand mixer to make the frosting. I would say the frosting could keep about a week. I have not tried freezing the cupcakes, but I don’t think there would be any issue doing so. 🙂
Abby
Way too runny. They cupcakes overflow. And this is after I omitted the hot water/coffee
Sam
You omitted 1 cup of liquid from the recipe and the batter was still runny? I think there must have been another ingredient missed or mis-measured somewhere along the way, unfortunately. I definitely do not recommend anyone omit the hot water/coffee.
Dancing Queen
These were sooooo yummy!!! They were very moist and chocolately !!! I would just recommend adding 3 cups instead of four to the frosting. It was too sweet with 4 cups and perfect with 3! Otherwise, these were the best chocolate cupcakes I have ever had!! So easy too!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cupcakes! 🙂
Lucy
Thanks for this! 3 year old loved mixing everything together and making these although i used a mix of sticky brown and white sugar, less sugar, mix of wholemeal flour with plain and threw in some Ovaltine powder in lieu of cocoa powder (may have been short on nearly every ingredient…) but still tasted amazing – didn’t bother with the frosting – but forgiving foundation recipe so thanks again!
Sam
Thank you so much for the feedback, Lucy! I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cupcakes. 🙂
Oulla
Hello, can we omit the cocoa powder and make them as vanilla cupcakes?
Sam
Unfortunately I’m not sure that would work. I’d recommend trying my vanilla cupcakes instead.
Katie
I made the cupcakes was too lazy to make the frosting although next time I’ll have to. I used cup of coffee and these cupcakes are suuuuuuuper good!!!! Think I found a keeper will def make these cupcakes again!!!!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes, Katie! I think you’ll like them even more with the frosting. 🙂
Andrew
Easy to follow recipe and my cupcakes turned out great! Made this on a whim as I was having a craving. I will definitely make these again. Also, I didn’t have any vanilla and they still tasted yummy. Thanks for sharing!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes, Andrew! 🙂
Colleen
Hmmm. This is almost identical to the Barefoot Contessa Beatty’s Chocolate Cake recipe – I know because I’ve been making it for years. Please give credit where credit is due.
Sam
Hmmm, sorry Colleen, but I spent about 3 months in the kitchen working on this recipe until I was happy with it. I’ve never seen the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe until I just looked it up now after reading your comment. They are similar (minus the type of milk, type and amount of oil, amount of flour, amount of leavener, way in which the baked good is baked, vanilla, frosting, etc.), but realistically there are probably only so many ways to make chocolate cupcakes. If you’ve been following my site you’d know I always cite my sources, when there are any to cite. Barefoot Contessa gets none of the credit here, but it sounds like she has great taste in cake!
Kris
BRAVO!!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Kris! 🙂
Robin
I filled the cups 1/2 way and they still flowed over.
Virgie
Yes its great so easy to follow i made it even for a first try .thanks for sharing .
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes, Virgie! 🙂
Janine
I made them the other day and followed the recipe to exactly . For some reason they were very very bitter , I didn’t think they were supposed to be bitter. I wonder if anyone else had that issue.
Sam
Hi Janine! I am so sorry this happened. They are not supposed to be bitter cupcakes. Is your baking powder still good? It may be clumping and you end up getting clumps of baking powder in your cupcakes. I hope this helps. 🙂