The Best EASY Chocolate Cupcakes are moist, have a tender crumb, are deeply chocolatey and made without an electric beater. No waiting for butter to soften, no creaming, the batter is simple and quick to make. Excellent emergency cupcakes!
After Vanilla Cupcakes? Here they are!
Chocolate Cupakes
Using the term “BEST” is not something I do lightly.
I do feel a bit uncomfortable saying that these are the BEST Easy Chocolate Cupcakes. But in the cupcake world, I truly do believe these to be the best that can be for a simple no-standmixer, no creaming butter recipe.
I was back and forth about which cupcake recipe to share. I was tempted to go for a “100% perfect” version which requires a stand mixer / electric beater to cream butter. And I wanted to be able to talk to you about how perfect they are.
But you know what? The Perfect version is not the one I make the most. This Easy version is. It’s my “go to”, the one I can make right now, without waiting for butter to soften, without pulling out my hand beater. And the difference between this Easy version and the Perfect version is so insignificant, I don’t care.
And so it was settled. I went for the Easy version. 🙂
These Chocolate Cupcakes are…
Soft and tender, not crumbly. Like Red Velvet Cake – it should be “velvety”;
Moist;
Actually taste of chocolate (unfortunate many lack this!);
Delicate, but still be sturdy enough to support a generous pile of frosting; and
Have a sweet dome, shaped such that it looks nice enough if you just dust with icing sugar / powdered sugar, but flat enough to pipe on tall swirls of frosting.
Being the quick and easy version these are, you’ll notice that the surface of the dome does have some small cracks on it. But for the easy of this recipe, it is a very small price to pay.
Besides, no cupcake ever leaves my kitchen without frosting!!!
Best frosting for Chocolate Cupcakes
Hard to go past chocolate-on-chocolate, but I will put forward some non chocolate options too!
Chocolate Buttercream – I realise how ironic it is that I’d feature these cupcakes with tall swirls of buttercream frosting which calls for both softened butter and and stand mixer! 😂 But hey, frosting is worth the effort. 😇 Pipe on swirls, or spread on with a knife;
Speedy Chocolate Fudge Frosting (pictured below, in recipe card) – made with cocoa powder mixed with melted butter, then thickened with icing sugar/frosting until it’s a spreadable consistency, this frosting is quite rich so I’d recommend just spreading onto the cupcakes rather than piping tall swirls;
Decadent Chocolate Ganache Frosting – made with melted chocolate and cream, this is a deluxe chocolate frosting that I use for my sinfully decadent Chocolate Fudge Cake. Once melted, it’s cooled until it thicken into a spreadable consistency. I don’t recommend piping this on in tall swirls, it would be overly rich I feel!
Vanilla Buttercream – White frosting on chocolate cupcakes looks striking and makes for a lovely flavour combination! Use the recipe in my Vanilla Cake recipe – it will frost 12 cupcakes generously (tall swirls) though if you just want to smear it on then you can halve the batch; and
My Secret Less-Sweet Fluffy Vanilla Frosting – this frosting is magical! It’s like a cross between whipped cream and buttercream. Far less sweet and fluffier than buttercream, and it’s also 100% silky smooth (buttercream will always have a faint grit to it, the icing sugar/powdered sugar never fully dissolves). Dense than whipped cream, and unlike whipped cream, it holds its form for days.
I’ve shared the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting in a separate post because I think it’s worthy of being a separate recipe. 🙂 Also because I’ve done a video for that too – I didn’t want to cram it into the cupcake recipe video.
The weekend is here!! Do I hear chocolate cupcakes calling your name?? I think I do….. 😉 – Nagi xx
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Best Easy Chocolate Cupcakes recipe video!
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Best Easy Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry:
- 3/4 cup plain/all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup caster sugar (super fine sugar, or sub with normal white sugar)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda / bi carbonate soda (Note 1)
- Pinch of salt
Wet:
- 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , cut into 1" / 2cm pieces (1 US stick / 1/2 cup)
- 60g / 2 oz dark chocolate , preferably 70%+ cocoa, broken into pieces (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder , preferably Dutch processed (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or other neutral flavour oil)
- 2 large eggs (55 – 60g / 2 oz each)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
- 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , cut into 1" / 2cm pieces (1 US stick / 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder , preferably Dutch processed
- 2 1/2 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (NOT pure icing sugar)
- 3 – 4 tbsp milk (any)
- Sprinkles and other decorations, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Put oven rack in the middle of the oven.
- Place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake tin.
- Sift Dry ingredients into a bowl. Whisk briefly.
- Place butter and chocolate in a separate, large heatproof bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds, mix, then microwave for another 30 seconds. Mix until chocolate is melted and smooth (keep microwaving in 20 sec bursts if chocolate not melted).
- Add cocoa powder and mix.
- Add milk and oil, then eggs, vanilla and vinegar. Whisk until smooth.
- Add flour mixture and whisk until lump free.
- Divide mixture between cupcake liners. I use a ice cream scoop for this. They should be just over 3/4 full.
- Bake for 18 – 20 minutes, or until skewer inserted into the cupcake in the middle of the tray comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and immediately transfer to cooling rack (spoon or knife helps).
- Once cool, spread with frosting and decorate with sprinkles if desired. Alternatively, use Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!
Speedy Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
- Melt butter then mix in cocoa powder until smooth.
- Add icing sugar and milk. Mix until smooth. Use milk to adjust consistency if required – it should be a soft spreadable consistency (like peanut butter).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
No chocolate cupcake for Dozer. Bad for you! How about a giant bone instead? (Mind you, it’s a dry aged one from a fancy butcher. Got it for free! 💪🏻)
5 STARS! I absolutely loved this recipe my whole family thought it was the best bake I’ve ever done thank you recipetineats! I also learnt a few stuff on the way ; the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda react together because ginger is a acid and bicarb is a base. Also sorry Nagi but we didn’t use white vinegar even though we have it we used apple cider vinegar we recommend apple cider.
Thanks again best thing I have ever made!
Grace
Sorry don’t thank recipetineats thank Nagi!
Thank you Nagi, these are perfect, as I have become accustomed to with your recipes! My husband had many questions as I was making these. Auch as “Is 3/4 cup of flour going to be enough?” “Only half a teaspoon of baking soda? Is that enough to make them rise?” “What’s with the vinegar? Are you sure that’s right?”.
I have learned never to question. If Nagi says so, it will work. Just do it! Sure enough, best chocolate cupcakes as promised.
I forgot the eggs, but they still turned out gorgeous! Moist, soft and so chocolatey because of the cocoa. Definitely agree with Nagi that using good quality cocoa tastes yummy! I wonder what the vinegar does to the formula.
Oh no! I’m glad you still loved them. The vinegar reacts with the raising agent and produced a better lift = lighter cupcakes 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, I made these cupcakes today and they were dry. I stayed true to the recipe. Any ideas? Usually your recipes work very well for me. Thanks
Hi, I just wanted to know if i should make cupcakes or a chocolate cake, i can’t do both…..so its a pretty hard choice…
I just made these today and I’ve realised I left out the vanilla extract. Will that make a difference?
Hi Kym, they will be fine! Enjoy! N x
I made these today and have mixed review. I find the cupcake to be dry and too much chocolate…maybe I used 100% cacao baking bars. I wonder if I overbeat the flour? My husband loves it but me and my daughter found it to be dry and taste more like a brownie flavor. I did use your less sweet fluffy vanilla frosting and that came out great. I gave it a 5 star because I know it must be my process of folding in the flour or some ingredient that threw the chocolate cupcake flavor off. I always have success using your recipes.
Thanks from Boston, MA. USA
Hi, can I use buttermilk to replace milk? Would it be better? Thanks!
Hi Brin, it would change the texture and be more dense. N x
I made these for morning tea on Father’s Day. They were absolutely delicious. The texture of the cake is beautiful and so chocolatey. I can’t believe how quick and easy they are to make. Thankyou Nagi. I will definitely be making these again.
Hi Nagi, these chocolate cup cakes are delicious. I made them once before and they were lovely. My second batch were even nicer with the buttercream topping. I’ve never had a cup cake so light. You never fail Nagi…..you’re brilliant. The only negative! They don’t last long. 😄 Love to Dozer x x
Hi can I add banana to the recipe?
Hi Sara, it will change the texture – would love to know if it works though! N x
Ooh these are soooooo delicious. Just made them for the first time (first of many i think) and they have turned out lovely. I used the chocolate buttercream frosting recipe for the tops. Very decadent. Thank you for the recipe.
Hey Nagi
I was wondering if it was possible to adapt this to use white chocolate instead and remove the cocoa powder?
Hi Kelly, I haven’t tried to be honest – I’d need to test this! N x
I tried and it did not turn out great, the texture is different and taste wasn’t that nice. But another lovely add to this recipe is a hint of espresso or espresso chocolate drizzle icing. So good.
I have made these ten times or more. Perfect every time, usually makes 11 cupcakes for me.
Can I replace milk with other thing? I would love a fluffy chocolate cake but dairy free please. Which recipe to use?
Hi Rebecca, soy/oat/nut milk or lactose free milk will work here 🙂 N x
These were light, fluffy, moist and chocolaty. By far the easiest recipe and best tasting I’ve made. Can I double or triple this recipe to make a layer cake?
Hi Cheng, Nagi has a Chocolate Cake recipe on her site, which is two 9 inch (22-3cm) layers with buttercream frosting, and I just made it on the weekend- fabulous and chocolatey! (It’s not the fudge cake- I haven’t tried that yet).
Hi Cheng, i made a layered cake with this recipe still delicious!!
Beautiful chocolate flavour. Lovely rise. Kids enjoyed helping me make them.
In step 1 of the instructions for the fudge icing it says melt the butter and chocolate. There is no chocolate in the frosting ingredients other then cocoa powder. I also dont recommend adding chocolate to the butter for this fudge icing recipe *insert face palm* The icing still tastes good just looks curdled..
Hi,
Can I omit vinegar ? Will it make a significant difference in the cake ? Would like to bake for Father’s Day this weekend .
Thank you for this recipe Nagi. I have made it several time and they are delicious. I am curious though; you mentioned that you have a “perfect” version of chocolate cupcakes. Are you able to share the recipe please?
Thank you.
Antoinet
Hi if I wanted to make these into mini cupcakes would i half the time in the oven?
Hi Steph, I’d just check at 10 minutes to ensure they are cooked and keep an eye on them. N x
It was amazing.. Thank you so much.