Delicious Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
If you're a chocolate lover, then you know that when a craving hits, it simply can't be denied. Chocolate is one of the sweetest joys in life, served up in a variety of forms, and there are so many ways to enjoy it. Chocolate milkshake? It'll do the trick. A chocolate bar? The ideal treat to enjoy when you're on-the-go. But when you're really craving chocolate, you need to go all in, and these chocolate cupcakes are the perfect solution. They are as classic as can be.
With a rich, moist, indulgent chocolate cupcake as the base, these sweet treats are jam-packed full of flavor. But it's the smooth, dreamy chocolate frosting that's truly, well, the frosting on the (cup)cake.
Now, you can whip up a batch of chocolate cupcakes on your own at home from scratch. With simple ingredients, this step-by-step recipe will have you curing even the worst chocolate craving in just about no time.
Gather the ingredients to make chocolate cupcakes
To get started on making your classic chocolate cupcakes, you'll want to gather all of your ingredients before you begin baking. For this recipe, you'll need ¼ cup of white sugar, ½ cup of brown sugar, ¾ cup of flour, ½ cup of cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon of baking powder, ¾ teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 egg, ¼ cup of oil, ½ cup of milk, and ¼ cup of hot water. This will give you everything you need to make these decadent chocolate cupcakes.
For the chocolate frosting to add on top of your cupcakes, you'll need a softened stick of unsalted butter, 5 cups of powdered sugar, 2 additional tablespoons of milk, and an additional ⅓ cup of cocoa powder.
Mix the dry ingredients to start the chocolate cupcake batter
Before you start the batter for your chocolate cupcakes, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, get started on the chocolate cupcake batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix well to combine. Be sure the dry ingredients mixture is free of any large clumps before moving on to the next step.
Add the wet ingredients to finish the chocolate cupcake batter
Once the dry ingredients are mixed well, it's time to add in the wet ingredients to finish the batter for these chocolate cupcakes.
First, add the egg into the dry ingredients, and mix with a hand mixer. Then, mix in the oil, and then the milk. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until everything is perfectly combined.
Lastly, warm up the ¼ cup of water. You can easily do this in the microwave. Once heated, stir in the hot water. This will make the batter thin, but that's the goal. It will give great moisture to the cupcakes.
Scoop the batter, and bake the chocolate cupcakes
Once the chocolate cupcake batter is ready, prepare a cupcake pan with paper liners. If you don't have paper liners, spray the cupcake pan wells with cooking spray instead. This will help prevent the cupcakes from sticking to the pan while baking.
Scoop the chocolate cupcake batter into the prepared pan. Fill each well halfway full with batter. Once prepared, bake the chocolate cupcakes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 minutes until the tops are fully set. Once baked, remove the cupcakes from the oven to cool completely before topping with chocolate frosting.
Make the chocolate frosting for these chocolate cupcakes
To make the smooth and creamy chocolate frosting to top these chocolate cupcakes, add 1 stick of softened butter into a mixing bowl. Whip the butter until light and fluffy, and then mix in 2 cups of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. While mixing, continue to gradually add powdered sugar and blend until the mixture thickens and the frosting comes together. Lastly, mix in the ⅓ cup of cocoa powder. Turn the speed up on the mixer to whip until fluffy.
Once the chocolate cupcakes are fully cooled, top them with the chocolate frosting. Top with chocolate shavings and sprinkles for decoration, if desired.
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder (plus ⅓ cup for chocolate frosting)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup oil
- ½ cup milk (plus 2 tablespoons for chocolate frosting)
- ¼ cup hot water
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (for the chocolate frosting)
- 5 cups powdered sugar (for the chocolate frosting)
- In a large mixing bowl, add ¼ cup of white sugar, ½ cup of brown sugar, ¾ cup of flour, ½ cup of cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon of baking powder, ¾ teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix to combine.
- Add in the egg, and mix. Then, add in ¼ cup of oil and then ½ cup of milk. Mix until just combined, and then stir in ¼ cup of hot water. The batter will be thin, which is the goal.
- Prepare a cupcake pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. Scoop the chocolate cupcake batter into the pan. Fill each well halfway full.
- Bake cupcakes for 18 minutes until the tops are fully set. Once baked, remove cupcakes from the oven to cool completely.
- To make the chocolate frosting to top the cupcakes, add 1 stick of softened butter into a mixing bowl. Whip the butter until fluffy, and then mix in 2 cups of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Continue gradually adding the powdered sugar and mix until the mixture thickens and the frosting comes together. Mix in the ⅓ cup of cocoa powder and turn the speed up on the mixer to whip until fluffy.
- Top the cooled chocolate cupcakes with the chocolate frosting. Top with chocolate shavings and sprinkles, if desired.
| Calories per Serving | 435 |
| Total Fat | 15.3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6.2 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.3 g |
| Cholesterol | 34.6 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 75.2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.3 g |
| Total Sugars | 67.4 g |
| Sodium | 236.8 mg |
| Protein | 1.8 g |
