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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How would I make these onto mini cupcakes?
Hi Anita, Mini cupcakes would be fine. I’d start checking them for doneness at about 12 minutes. Enjoy!
is it ok to make this using cake flour？
Hi Pete, I’d recommend sticking to all-purpose flour for the best results. Sorry!
Hi,
We are going to make the chocolate cake recipe from your cookbook. Can we use dutch processed cocoa powder instead of natural?
Thanks!
Hi Bry, I’d recommend sticking with natural cocoa powder for the cake. Sorry!
Hi Jenn, love your recipes. I made these cupcakes for my son’s birthday. His Verdict was they were phenomenal and he has now requested chocolate layer cake for Christmas Day. What is the cooking time if I were to use this recipe for a 9 inch layer cake (2 layers)
Thanks so much,
Linda
Hi Jenn,
Love this recipe. I now have made 28 cupcakes from this, and have lots of frosting leftover. Please let me know the best way to store this extra frosting. Also, what’s the best way to handle leftover cupcakes – fridge? freezer?
Thank you!
Tara
Hi Tara, Glad you liked the cupcakes! I’ve never frozen frosting so I can’t say from experience, but just googled it and it looks like you can. See some tips here. If you have leftover cupcakes that you plan to eat relatively soon, I’d store them in the fridge. Just let them come to room temperature before you eat them.
Do you think a white frosting would go good with these chocolate cupcakes instead of chocolate frosting? Would the frosting from the recipe from the Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting work with these?
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/buttermilk-cupcakes-cream-cheese-frosting.html#tabreviews
Or would the frosting from the recipe Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream work?
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/vanilla-birthday-cake-with-old-fashioned-vanilla-buttercream.html#tabreviews
What is your advice? Thank you!
Hi Heather, Sure, vanilla frosting would be just fine with these cupcakes. Either would work, but if I had to choose, I’d go with the frosting from the vanilla birthday cake (it’s less cream cheesy which I think would go better with chocolate). Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
Hi Jenn!
I just sat down with your cookbook and read through the recipe for chocolate lover’s birthday cake, this will be perfect for my son’s birthday. Thank you so much
Hi Jenn,
Can I ask what does the corn syrup do for the frosting? I have made the chocolate cupcakes but used your cream cheese frosting with it and it turned out incredibley delicious, moist and rich in chocolate flavour – everyone loved them! I would like to try the chocolate icing for the next batch but we don’t use corn syrup (allergies) and I am wondering if there is somethinge else I can use as replacement or can I leave it out completely? Thanks so much!
Hi Trish, Unfortunately, you really need to corn syrup as it stabilizes the frosting. I would just use a basic chocolate buttercream, like this one. Hope that helps!
Can this recipe be successfully cut in half?
Yep 🙂
Hi Jenn — I just made the chocolate lovers cake from your book. DELISH!!
Should I store this in the fridge? I would like to prolong it’s life…
Thank you!
So glad you liked it, Eve! It will keep well for several days at room temperature but you can keep it in the fridge for longer storage; just be sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
Hi Jen, can i use this recipe for a layer cake? Thanks
Hi Hanna, If you want to make a layer cake, I’d suggest this recipe instead. Hope you enjoy!