Chocolate Cupcakes
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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.
See more recipes:
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Can you freeze the cupcakes with the icing on them? I want to make chocolate mini cupcakes for my Break the Fast and need to do all of my baking ahead of time. Thanks!
Hi Becca, You can definitely freeze these. I do think they are best if frosted after removing them from the freezer, but another reader commented that she has frozen them with the icing and had good results.
The cupcake was amazing. So moist. I have found my go to cupcake recipe. I didn’t make the frosting just because I like peanut butter cream cheese frosting
Would a single batch of frosting be enough to generously fill and frost a 9″ round layer cake or would it be best to make 1.5 times the recipe?
Hi Sadie, I think a single batch of frosting should work just fine here. Enjoy!
I didn’t make the cupcakes so can only review the frosting, which was EXCELLENT! It has a firm, fudgy texture and lovely sheen similar to a ganache, but I thought it was easier to work with and piped better than a ganache. I used bittersweet and dark chocolates so my frosting was darker in color than the one pictured. If you’re using the frosting for a layer cake, it took 1.5X the recipe for the filling, crumb and finish coats, and top and bottom borders on an 8″ cake, with just a bit left over. I made the frosting the day before but found that it was too firm to spread after being in the fridge overnight, even though I let it sit at room temp for 3 hours to soften. Had to soften it in the MW. The cake kept well at room temp for a few days so I don’t think the frosting would need refrigeration unless it’s hot in the house. This is a great recipe if you like to have frosted cupcakes ready to go in the freezer. I did a test sample and they were perfect!
I have searched high and low for the perfect chocolate cake/cupcake recipe and finally found it here at “Once Upon a Chef”. I paired it with an old Peanut Butter Buttercream recipe (because that’s what the birthday girl requested) and it was absolutely fabulous!!
I love your site Jenn and can not wait to try more of your perfected recipes!! ~Kimberly
Hi! I came across your blog through a random search. As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. I halved the recipe to make 12 cupcakes and seriously everybody just loved them even without the frosting. I couldn’t make the frosting alongside cupcakes because I did not have light corn syrup on hand. My hubby devoured the cupcakes so I’m planning to make frosting with the next batch. In short, this recipe is definitely a keeper.
Hi Jenn – What changes would I make to this recipe if I wanted to use it to bake a two-layer cake? And how long should I bake it in two 8.5″ round pans? Thank you!
Karen, If you want to make a layer cake, I’d suggest this recipe instead. Hope you enjoy!
Hi, would really like to give this recipe a go. Could I bother you for the ingredients in grams? Thanks!
Hi Jessica, I’ve updated the recipe with metric measurements. (There is a button in the top right corner of the recipe that allows you to select metric or cup measures.) Hope that helps!
I am looking forward to making these cupcakes for my son’s birthday this weekend but need to make them the day before. Is it better to frost them the day before and refrigerate or make each component separately the day before, bring to room temperature the morning of the party and frost then. Apologies if this is a silly question…cupcake novice here!
Hi Maggie, I would definitely make the cupcakes with the frosting the day before, then bring to room temperature before serving. They will still be delicious 🙂
These were amazing! So light and fluffy and the frosting was a very rich chocolate! I did not have corn syrup for the frosting so made my own with 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup hot water – worked just fine!
I love this cupcake recipe – it is my go-to for chocolate cupcakes! The frosting isn’t super sweet which I like.