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If you’ve been looking for the best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe, you’ve landed in the right place! These chocolate cupcakes are soft, moist, and rich – the only chocolate cupcake recipe you need forever.
Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes
Looking for the best chocolate cupcake recipe that will make you swoon? You’ve come to the right place! These ultra-chocolatey, fudgy cupcakes are a chocoholic’s dream come true. They’re easy enough for beginners but have that bakery-level flavor that will wow even the most discerning dessert lovers.
While I love a box cake mix, it never achieves the same level as making the recipe homemade. These cupcakes are made completely from scratch and they are so fluffy, moist, and delicious with the best chocolate flavor.
These a great for birthday parties, not only because they are delicious, but because they are accidentally egg and dairy free! This batch comes out to about 30 cupcakes so you’ll be set for any number of guests at any party. I frosted these cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, but there are so many other options.
Ingredients Needed
- All-Purpose Flour, Granulated Sugar, Salt: Classic dry ingredients in cupcakes.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Make sure to use regular cocoa powder not dutch-process cocoa powder. Since these cupcakes are leavened with Baking Soda, the recipe may have issues with dark cocoa.
- White Vinegar: This activates the baking soda for a moist and fluffy cupcake. Don’t have it? Use lemon juice instead.
- Vegetable Oil: I find oil in cupcakes keeps them super moist – canola oil may be substituted.
- Hot Water: Helps bloom the cocoa powder release all its flavor. You can also add some espresso powder or Instant Coffee Granules to bring out the flavor even more.
How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and pinch of salt.
- In a large mixing cup, combine the hot water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
- Pour wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk just until the batter comes together. Don’t over mix it – it’s okay if there are a few lumps. That’s right – you don’t even need a stand mixer or hand mixer for this recipe!
- Fill cupcake liners in a muffin pan about 2/3 full with batter and bake the cupcakes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool them completely before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting + More Ideas
Frost cupcakes with your favorite frosting!
Expert Tips
- You don’t need a mixer – if you want to use one, mix at low speed until the dry ingredients are somewhat incorporated, then switch to high speed until the batter comes together. Use a paddle attachment if using a stand mixer. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.
- Cupcakes are done when a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean.
- If you do not have white vinegar, use lemon juice as a replacement. You won’t taste it – the acid is needed to activate the baking soda. You’ll be amazed at the tenderness of these cupcakes.
- Don’t over mix the batter and don’t over fill the muffin tin – just fill it about 2/3 full for perfectly domed tops that don’t overflow.
FAQs
Store in an airtight container for 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month. You can freeze frosted or unfrosted cupcakes.
You can make this into a layer cake – you’ll need 3 8-inch or 9-inch rounds. If you’re making a sheet cake, you can use a 9×13-inch pan but only fill it 2/3 full and make some cupcakes on the side.
The Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups (372g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt not kosher, just regular table salt
- 2 cups (474ml) hot water
- ¾ cup (177ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) distilled or white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (or use your favorite)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners (about 30).
- Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee (if using), and vanilla in a large mixing cup.
- Whisk to combine, then add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until the batter comes together. A few lumps are okay.
- Fill cupcake liners about ⅔ full and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make desired frosting. Frost as desired.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- The original recipe in this post included this cooked frosting.
- Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days to keep them fresh. Once frosted, store at room temperature loosely covered.
- You can also freeze unfrosted or frosted cupcakes.
- The coffee granules are optional but help bring out the chocolate flavor, as does the hot water.
- Do not use dutch process cocoa in this recipe.
Recipe Nutrition
Other Cupcake Recipes
Last Updated on March 24, 2024
These look amazing and I can’t wait to try them. Thank you for sharing. I have a couple of good chocolate recipes bu always looking for more ?. I too add espresso powder to chocolate, especially my brownies and cake pops, if I get to sample a brownie and no espresso in it, they taste bland, it really does make the chocolate taste better. Can’t ain’t to explore the rest of your blog ?
Can I use Dutch processed cocoa?
Yes
these look so good!!!!
Thank you!
When you use this tip to fill, do you just shove it in the cupcake? Do you have to cut any of the cake out first?
If I’m using a long tip to fill, I just gently shove it in the cupcake and fill. If you’re not using a tip, or you’re using a shorter tip (like a regular sized one you’d use for frosting), then you should cut out a small section of the cupcake using a small knife. I go both ways, it just depends on what mood I’m in. You can also cut out a little of the cupcake, add the filling to a ziploc bag, cut off one corner (just a little) and do it without a tip at all! 🙂
I baked this cupcake for a birthday party and everyone loved it. I have a problem about the rising though. I almost filled the liners completely because it won’t rise if I only fill 2/3 of the liner. I followed all instructions but I dunno what I did wrong. I tried this for nth time already and get the same result. 🙁
That’s so strange Patricia! It’s been a little while since I made them but I know that they don’t rise a ton (they don’t get all domed like some cupcakes/muffins do). By chance is your baking soda old? I know that can affect the rising.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!! My daughter is allergic to eggs and you have made her be able to eat cupcakes without applesauce:))) SOOOO GOOOD!! She doesn’t even prefer chocolate a vanilla girl, but she is stuffing her face!!! Thank you again!!!! Anymore recipes with goodies without eggs send my way!!
Forgot to say didn’t put in the coffee grinds, since we did not have it, but put 1/2 tsp on cinnamon:) Also, put 2 1/2 of white sugar, but then put 1/2 cup of brown, bc we ran out of white. Thank Thank you again!
Oh, brown inside would be amazing I bet! I love brown sugar, and cinnamon with chocolate! 🙂
Oh my goodness, this comment just made my day. Seriously! Thank you, and I’m SO glad she loves them! I cannot imagine how hard it is to find good recipes for an egg allergy! Off the top of my head, I have this brownie recipe that’s really good, and it’s egg-free (and it has zucchini, so that makes it healthy, lol) https://www.crazyforcrust.com/2011/09/zucchini-brownies/ 🙂
Oh my. Cinnamon filling?! And that frosting…I NEED!! Gotta make these 🙂
Thanks Stephanie!
Awesome Giveaway! I would get some gifts for Father’s Day.
I would get a CRAZY amount of paper straws. 🙂
Also, these cupcakes look insanely good.
LOL, I’m a paper straw addict.
So hard to choose!!! Either one of the cake plates (you KNOW everyone who sees that mint green plate has to have it!) or baby shower supplies/decoration (throwing a shower for a co-worker this summer, and my daughter is expecting her 2nd in November!)
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