The Most Amazing Chocolate Cupcake Recipe is here! Moist, chocolatey perfection. These are the chocolate cupcakes you’ve been dreaming of!
I know how much you guys love my recipe for The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake. I can’t blame you! It truly is the perfect chocolate cake and there are thousands of reviews agreeing with me. One of the most common questions I get with that cake is: can I make cupcakes with it? You sure can! And now I’ve scaled back the recipe so that it is perfect for cupcakes, making an even 24 cupcakes.
This is the best chocolate cupcake recipe in the world and it’s pretty easy to make too. They are unbelievable moist, about as perfect as they come. No more boxed cake mixes! I’ve kept this recipe as simple as possible so that even an inexperienced baker can be successful with it.
TIPS AND TRICKS AND FAQ
Q: Can I make this recipe into a two layer cake?
A: Yes you can! This recipe will fill two, 9 inch cake rounds. It should bake for approximately 30-35 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Q: Do I have to use buttermilk? What is buttermilk? Is there a buttermilk substitute?
A: Yes, buttermilk is necessary for this recipe. It has to do with the way it interacts with other ingredients. Buttermilk is the liquid leftover after churning butter. Check out my more in depth post about how to make buttermilk substitute.
Q: Do you have a substitute for eggs?
A: There are numerous options for substituting eggs in baking recipes. You can always try using one of those.
Q: Can I use a different frosting?
A: You certainly can! You are also welcome to use any other frosting recipe that you like. This recipe includes a plain chocolate buttercream, or you can use a whipped chocolate ganache or a cream cheese buttercream.
Q: Won’t the hot water cook the eggs?
A: No. It won’t. You aren’t using boiling water and you shouldn’t.
Q: Can I substitute coffee for the hot water?
A: Yes you can. I simply don’t prefer the addition of coffee to my chocolate cake.
Q: What kind of cocoa powder did you use?
A: I used Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder in order to use a brand that is most widely available to my readers. I’m also fond of using higher quality cocoa powders like Ghiradelli’s or cocoa powders from specialty chocolatier shops, but those are pretty pricey. I don’t recommend using cheap store brands.
Q: Can I make this recipe gluten free?
A: Use gluten free flours at your own risk. Not all gluten free flours are equal and most don’t work as a straight forward substitute for all-purpose flour. I have not tested any gluten free flours in this recipe as I do not have Celiac’s disease.
You should also check out my recipes for The Most Amazing White Cake and my Funfetti Birthday Cake. They can also be easily made into cupcakes.
Watch the video below where I walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and I’ve always got you covered with my very own cooking show. You can see the entire collection over on YouTube.
Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
The Most Amazing Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup cups warm water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1½ cups butter softened
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Recipe makes 24 cupcakes so you may have to cook it in batches unless you have two muffin tins.
- Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a stand mixer using a low speed until combined.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil, and vanilla. Beat on a medium speed until smooth. This should take just a couple of minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure everything got mixed in.
- Fill each cupcake 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until the cupcakes meet the toothpick test (stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean). Remove from tins and cool completely.
- Make the frosting by In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy using a hand mixer. Add in cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Beat until combined. Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating in between.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes.
Nutrition
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Linda says
I just made these cupcakes today for Easter. OMG! They are moist and delicious! I was a little worried with the thinness of the batter and would I have enough for 24 cupcakes, but I did. Now off top try the buttercream frosting. Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Jacquelyn says
I’ve made your chocolate cake recipe before and I love it!! I’m wanting to turn it into cupcakes, I need more than 24 but I don’t want to double your cupcake recipe. Can I just use the cake recipe and make cook them in the cupcake tin?
Rachel Farnsworth says
The cake recipe makes 36 cupcakes.
Lina says
This recipe is absolutely amazing! I use it every time I make cupcakes!! 🙂
Lisa says
This is my first time posting a comment from a Pinterest recipe but I had to because these cupcakes were fabulous !
I had to sample one, without any frosting just to be sure and they were everything all your reviewers claimed and more! Great texture and flavor and surprisingly simple to make. Making these cupcakes and your chocolate cake and frosting recipe for his solar system inspired 4th birthday party next week.
Thanks for a great recipe and for your robust comments which is how I found the cupcake version of the recipe in the first place.
Kajsa says
These are the best cupcakes ever!!! This is a really easy recipe. I am 10 years old.
Deidre says
I was searching for a good plain chocolate cupcake recipe that would withstand being frozen after being iced. This recipe delivered! I did use the icing recipe from your The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake recipe as cream cheese frosting is one of my husband’s favorites. So I made them, iced them, froze them, then took them out the morning before a potluck lunch at my church and everyone raved over them. I even sent some home with people and one person wrote back that even a day later her husband said it was the best cupcake he’d ever had! Needless to say my search for the best chocolate cupcake is over! Thank you so much!
Nina says
Can I use a bundt pan to cook cake
Rachel Farnsworth says
Yes, it will require approximately 1 hour to bake depending on the size of the bundt cake pan.
Regena says
Can this recipe be cut in half if I only want/need 12 cupcakes? It is just my husband and I so 24 cupcakes would go to waste.
Rachel Farnsworth says
Yes, it can be halved.
Ashley says
I have a question…in the cake icing you use cream cheese but that’s not listed in the cupcake recipe. Was that a mistake or is this different icing?
Rachel Farnsworth says
For these cupcakes I used a buttercream frosting without cream cheese to show something different.
Beverley says
For the chocolate buttercream do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Mike says
In the video, she used salted butter for the buttercream icing.
Nancy says
You can find the cream cheese version by clicking on her link for her The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake recipe (near top of page).