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If you’ve been looking for the best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe, you’ve landed in the right place! These chocolate cupcakes are soft, moist, and rich – the only chocolate cupcake recipe you need forever.
Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes
Looking for the best chocolate cupcake recipe that will make you swoon? You’ve come to the right place! These ultra-chocolatey, fudgy cupcakes are a chocoholic’s dream come true. They’re easy enough for beginners but have that bakery-level flavor that will wow even the most discerning dessert lovers.
While I love a box cake mix, it never achieves the same level as making the recipe homemade. These cupcakes are made completely from scratch and they are so fluffy, moist, and delicious with the best chocolate flavor.
These a great for birthday parties, not only because they are delicious, but because they are accidentally egg and dairy free! This batch comes out to about 30 cupcakes so you’ll be set for any number of guests at any party. I frosted these cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, but there are so many other options.
Ingredients Needed
- All-Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Salt: Classic dry ingredients in cupcakes.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Make sure to use regular cocoa powder not dutch-process cocoa powder. Since these cupcakes are leavened with Baking Soda, the recipe may have issues with dark cocoa.
- White Vinegar: This activates the baking soda for a moist and fluffy cupcake. Don’t have it? Use lemon juice instead.
- Vegetable Oil: I find oil in cupcakes keeps them super moist – canola oil may be substituted.
- Hot Water: Helps bloom the cocoa powder release all its flavor. You can also add some espresso powder or Instant Coffee Granules to bring out the flavor even more.
How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and pinch of salt.
- In a large mixing cup, combine the hot water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
- Pour wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk just until the batter comes together. Don’t over mix it – it’s okay if there are a few lumps. That’s right – you don’t even need a stand mixer or hand mixer for this recipe!
- Fill cupcake liners in a muffin pan about 2/3 full with batter and bake the cupcakes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool them completely before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting + More Ideas
Frost cupcakes with your favorite frosting!
Expert Tips
- You don’t need a mixer – if you want to use one, mix at low speed until the dry ingredients are somewhat incorporated, then switch to high speed until the batter comes together. Use a paddle attachment if using a stand mixer. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.
- Cupcakes are done when a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean.
- If you do not have white vinegar, use lemon juice as a replacement. You won’t taste it – the acid is needed to activate the baking soda. You’ll be amazed at the tenderness of these cupcakes.
- Don’t over mix the batter and don’t over fill the muffin tin – just fill it about 2/3 full for perfectly domed tops that don’t overflow.
FAQs
Store in an airtight container for 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month. You can freeze frosted or unfrosted cupcakes.
You can make this into a layer cake – you’ll need 3 8-inch or 9-inch rounds. If you’re making a sheet cake, you can use a 9×13-inch pan but only fill it 2/3 full and make some cupcakes on the side.
The Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (372g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt not kosher, just regular table salt
- 2 cups (474ml) hot water
- ¾ cup (177ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) distilled or white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (or use your favorite)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners (about 30).
- Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee (if using), and vanilla in a large mixing cup.
- Whisk to combine, then add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until the batter comes together. A few lumps are okay.
- Fill cupcake liners about ⅔ full and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make desired frosting. Frost as desired.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- The original recipe in this post included this cooked frosting.
- Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days to keep them fresh. Once frosted, store at room temperature loosely covered.
- You can also freeze unfrosted or frosted cupcakes.
- The coffee granules are optional but help bring out the chocolate flavor, as does the hot water.
- Do not use dutch process cocoa in this recipe.
Can I make these in a pan instead? We are on vacation and don’t have a muffin pan but I have an 8×8 in pan and a 13×9 in pan
This will make a 9×13 and a few cupcakes – only fill the 9×13 pan about half to 2/3 full and then put the remaining batter in the 8×8 or cupcake pans.
I don’t know what happened, but the cupcakes I made with this recipe are inedible.
I’ve gone over and over the recipe and the only thing I did wrong was inadvertently use baking powder instead of baking soda. I can’t even explain what they taste like, but it seems like I’m tasting the vinegar. Could using the wrong leavening agent have caused this? I don’t like the icing either – it has a bitter, overly strong chocolate taste. I used a brand new can of Great Value cocoa which I know isn’t top of the line cocoa but I’ve never had an issue with it. I’m just flabbergasted. The cupcakes rose beautifully, baked to perfection in 10 minutes but the taste is just off. The sugar in the icing dissolved as described. I’m really sad. I’m not new to baking but somehow something I did went wrong.
The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help them rise. Baking powder and baking soda are very very different so that was definitely why the taste was off. As for the icing, the coffee gives it a richer chocolate flavor- omitting those would make it less rich.
Ok thank you I will as I do use Bob’s I will let you know how they turn out
Hi, I live in UK and receive a lot of recipes via my phone and all seem to be American. Can these websites possibly give people the option to choose imperial or metric measurements for the ingredients. It is a nightmare trying to work out correct conversions for cups to grams or Mls Thank you
I am working on that – slowly!
Can I use gluten free flour for the choc cupcakes
Yes as long as it’s Gluten Free 1:1 all purpose flour (i.e. Bob’s Red Mill teal bag)
Ok thank you I will as I do use Bob’s I will let you know how they turn out
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