Chocolate Cupcakes
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Rich, moist, and deeply chocolatey, these classic chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and perfect for birthdays, bake sales, and everyday treats.
Many years ago, before Once Upon a Chef existed, I started a small baking business specializing in cakes and cupcakes. That experience sparked my love of recipe development and ultimately inspired me to create this website. This chocolate cupcake recipe is a delicious holdover from those early days—the cupcake version of my favorite chocolate cake—and I’ve been making them ever since.
The recipe is wonderfully simple: it’s made in one bowl, and the cupcakes bake up ultra-moist with a rich chocolate flavor and tender crumb. I love to frost them with rich chocolate buttercream, but vanilla buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting are delicious too.
“Delicious!!! So perfect for the chocolate lover in me!”
What You’ll Need For this Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
For the cupcakes, you’ll need all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix on low for 30 seconds.
Pro Tip: Make sure to stick with natural cocoa powder—natural cocoa powder isn’t interchangeable with Dutch-process cocoa powder due to differences in acidity.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients. Add the eggs, oil, and sour cream, and mix on low speed until combined.
Step 2: Beat the batter. Increase the speed to medium and beat the batter for 2 minutes.
Step 3: Add the hot water. Reduce the speed to low and gradually pour in the hot water—go slowly so it doesn’t splash. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix until evenly combined.
Pro tip: The hot water blooms the cocoa powder, which deepens the chocolate flavor significantly. The soupy batter is completely normal, so don’t worry if it looks thinner than you’d expect.
Step 4: Bake and cool. Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake liners and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Step 5: Frost the cupcakes. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula or butter knife to swirl the frosting on top. The cupcakes can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Freeze (without the frosting) for longer storage.
More Cake and Cupcake Recipes You May Like
Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey’s
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup boiling water
- Chocolate frosting
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set two oven racks in the middle positions. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners, using two standard 12-cup muffin pans.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine. Add the eggs, oil, sour cream, and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Then, reduce the speed to low and gradually pour in the hot water (be careful to pour very slowly so it doesn’t splash). The batter will be soupy. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl; mix again until evenly combined.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin (they should be about halfway full). Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired.
Notes
- I like frosting these cupcakes with chocolate buttercream, but vanilla buttercream frosting, or cream cheese frosting are delicious too.
- Nutritional information is for the cupcakes only.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: The cupcakes can be made up to one day ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They can also be frozen without the frosting for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and then in foil. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. (Wait until the cupcakes are defrosted to ice them.)
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I love chocolate! For the frosting I just used nutella and cream cheese. Yummy!
I’m making this as a cake instead of cupcakes and am using a spring form instead of two pans. How long should I bake it?
Thanks for the help! We can’t wait to taste this highly rated recipe.
Hi Karen, For best results, I would definitely suggest using two 8-inch pans (cook for 30-35 min) but if you’re using a springform pan, I’m guessing cook time will be 45 min- 1 hour. Good luck!
Hi ,
i wanted to know if i can use maple syrup instead of corn syrup..thank you.
PS your recipes are Fantastic and makes me look like a real chef ..thank you for sharing
Hi Nathalie, So glad you are enjoying the recipes! I would stick with the corn syrup on this one — chocolate frosting is finicky and can “break.”
Hi jenn, about corn syrup. Can I skip this on the frosting?thanks in advance
Hi Kemala, I would stick with the corn syrup on this one — chocolate frosting is finicky and can “break.” If you’d prefer not to use corn syrup, you could make a different frosting entirely though. This one is good. Hope that helps! 🙂
I want to make a vanilla cake with chocolate icing – What do you think about using this icing with your “Vanilla Birthday Cake?|”? Are there any adjustments that you think might enhance that combination? Thank you!!
Hi Carol, It will work just fine — no adjustments necessary 🙂
I made these chocolate cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting from the Buttermilk Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe for my son’s 21st birthday. Absolutely wonderful! Perhaps my favorite cupcakes ever. These recipes are definitely keepers. I even printed them out which I rarely do anymore so I can be sure to have them. Our family doesn’t like oodles of frosting so I did have about 2 cups left over after frosting 22 cupcakes but the frosting is so good I didn’t scrape it off the cupcakes like I usually do when I eat them.
Hi Jen,
I would like to swap the frostings from your chocolate cupcakes onto your buttermilk cupcakes and the frosting from your buttermilk cupcakes onto your chocolate cupcakes. But before I do this I would like to know if the flavors would suit or should I just do as per your recipe?
Thank you
Mandy
Hi Mandy, Go for it – it’s really just personal preference 🙂 Please come back and lmk how they turn out.
This cupcake recipe is to die for!
I live at an elevation of 6900 feet. What would you suggest as a high elevation adjustment for this recipe?
Hi Karen, Check out this link and use as a guide for high altitude baking. Hope it helps. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html
Hi Jenn,
Can I split the recipe in half to make 12 cupcakes?
Thanks!
Hi Olena, Yes, that’s fine.
If I wanted to make this as a cake…instead of a cupcake…what size pan would I use?
Hi Don, I would use two 8-inch rounds.