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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This recipe is AMAZING!! I thought it might be too sweet with all the sugar but it was not too sweet and the chocolate flavor was so rich. The texture was deliciously moist and the buttercream frosting paired so well with the cake. It was so worth the cost of the ingredients!
I needed to make a birthday cake so I used a 9″ springform cake pan and baked for about 80 minutes in a convection oven. (It may have been ok at 70 minutes as the edges came out a little dry.). There was more than enough frosting and I could have added frosting in the middle. The next time I make this as a cake, I will probably split the batter into two round cake pans instead of one pan….or maybe just go with cupcakes.
I used gluten-free flour (Namaste brand) and it came out just fine.
Thanks Jenn for yet another recipe that makes me look like I know what I am doing in the kitchen!
What adjustments would you make if baking these at 5,500 ft elevation?
Hi Steve, I don’t have any experience with baking at high altitudes, but these tips may be helpful. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
Hi Jenn,
Love your recipes! I’m going to make the cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday party on Saturday. I would like to add colored sprinkles to the batter, so the sprinkles are visible once bitten into. Any advice on adjusting temperature or cooking time, even sugar?
Thanks,
Bronwyn
Hi Bronwyn, glad to hear you like the recipes! I think it would be fine to add sprinkles to the batter with no other adjustments necessary. Happy birthday to your daughter! 🙂
So I baked it in the 10 cup bundt pan the other day, it needs a bigger bundt pan cus I got a small eruption inside the oven ?
70 mins also is too much, I took it out at 65 mins and the top was burnt and the outer layer is dry. I think 50 to 55 mins might be good. I crumbled up the center and made them into cakepops!
Hi! For the frosting, what will be the alternative if I don’t have a food processor? So excited to try this recipe.
Hi Chris, You really need a food processor for this; it keeps the frosting from separating and getting greasy. (This type of chocolate frosting is quite finicky.) Instead, you could try a basic chocolate buttercream. It won’t be as deeply chocolate but it will still be delicious. Here’s a recipe.
Will a blender work instead of a food processsor? I am so happy I discovered your wesbite! The first recipe I tried was the blueberry muffins and my family loved it! Thanks, Jenn!
Hi Chris, I’m afraid the blender wouldn’t get the job done and achieve the right texture. I’d hate to see you waste the ingredients (which are on the pricier side) on something that’s not perfect. Sorry!
Hi,
I don’t have a microwave. Can I melt the chocolate on the stove? I also don’t have a double boiler…so what should I do to ensure it doesn’t burn? Thanks so much! I LOVE your recipes and you are my go-to site for baking 🙂
Hi Laura, You can jerry-rig your own double boiler. Fill a small saucepan with an inch of water and bring it to a simmer. Then stack a metal or glass bowl on top of the pan, making sure the bowl fits snugly. Just be sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water – the steam from the simmering water should heat the bowl gently. And so happy you’re enjoying the site!
I melt chocolate on the stove ALL the time. Just make sure the temperature is on the lowest setting and watch and stir with a wooden spoon a few times
Sorry for posting questions in pieces. I would like to know if icing sugar is the same as confectioners sugar. Thanks.
Yep!
Can I use unsweetened chocolate chips instead of a chocolate bar? In my city, we get slabs of what is called ‘chocolate compound’. Can that be used in this recipe? Else please suggest a brand of the unsweetened chocolate.
Thanks.
I wouldn’t recommend the chocolate chips as they don’t melt as well (they have stabilizers in them to help them hold their shape). I’m not familiar with chocolate compound, but if it melts well, I think it would be okay to use.
Hi Jenn, the vanilla buttermilk cupcake recipe has 2-3/4 cups all purpose flour while this recipe has only 2 cups of flour. I observed that the other ingredients are more or less the same. So just wanted to cross check if it is 2 cups for this recipe. I plan to make this cake for my daughter’s birthday party.
Hi Deepa, Yes, the 2 cups of flour is correct here. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes (and happy birthday to your daughter :)!
Thanks for the super quick reply , Jenn ! My daughter is turning 1 and I am really excited to make the cake for her 🙂
Your blog is always my go-to place! I have tried many recipes and they are all super delicious ! So I am confident of making this cake for the first time for an important occasion ! Appreciate the effort and love you put into your work !
I made the chocolate frosting here and it was heavenly. Easy and just mouth watering. Everyone that tried it including my husband raved about it. I didn’t make the actual cake recipe here because I had a box mix that I needed to use up since it’s been in my pantry for 3 years! My review is just on the frosting – amazing!!! You could put that on anything and it will taste great.