Homemade from scratch chocolate cupcakes are the perfect treat to bake up anytime of year and so easy to make. Having an everyday chocolate cupcake recipe like this is so helpful and it has come in handy more times than I can count.
This chocolate cupcake recipe is so simple to make and so delicious. It makes the perfect chocolate cupcake and it is even more fun to make on Valentines day when you call it "Will you be my bittersweet Valentines".
About These Chocolate Cupcakes:
This chocolate cupcake recipe was adapted from the Hershey's perfectly chocolate cake recipe and it never fails. These easy chocolate cupcakes are made with hot water to help "bloom" the cocoa powder and they come out light and airy.
I love using a slightly better quality bittersweet chocolate cocoa powder when making these cupcakes but any brand of cocoa powder will do. The combination of the bitter chocolate and sweet buttercream make this a perfectly balanced cupcake (not like those overly sickly sweet cupcakes from the store).
My daughter makes these chocolate cupcakes every year for the family on Valentines day which is a win win for me (because I am off the hook for making the sweet treats for a change) and they are always a hit with everyone.
On Valentine's Day we call these cupcakes, Will you be my bitter sweet valentine cupcakes.
The Buttercream Frosting for these Chocolate Cupcakes:
For the Buttercream Frosting there are a million to choose from but my favorite always involves room temperature butter and powdered sugar. I think it tastes better and it is not difficult to make.
Sometimes, if I have it on hand, I will add a few tablespoons of sour cream to give the buttercream frosting a little tangy flavor which goes so well with the chocolate. Sour cream and chocolate are great together!
Decorating these Chocolate Cupcakes:
For decorating these cupcakes, you don't need to stress out about making them perfect. Imperfect frosting, with a nice decoration actually looks great! One of my tricks to making cupcakes look nice since I'm terrible at decorating and piping work is to make sure the frosting does NOT come to the edge of the cupcake.
Let the cupcake show a bit like in the pictures. It just makes the cupcakes look rustic.
I did use a disposable piping bag with an icing tip which I have because my daughter likes decorating cakes (not me). You can also use a large ziploc bag if you do not have these.
Just cut the bottom corner just a little bit to make a hole for the icing to come out.
Just make sure not to apply too much pressure when piping put the icing. These bags are not as strong as piping bags. For the heart decoration on top, I found these really cute red hearts at the store.
You can use any candy topping or just leave it plain with the frosting.
This recipe does make a lot of cupcakes, 24 to be exact but you can half the recipe to make less as well. These cupcakes store nicely in the freezer without the frosting if you decide to make the whole batch.
I hope you give them a try! These easy chocolate cupcakes are great anytime of year and so easy to make.
If you are looking for more delicious sweet treats to make, you will like:
The Best Salted Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookie
Easy Chocolate Cupcakes
Tried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 cup sugar
- 1 ¾ cup of flour
- ¾ cup bittersweet cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 cup of boiling water
Frosting
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup room temperature unsalted butter
- ⅛ cup sour cream room temperature optional
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Line a muffin tin with liners.
- Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.2 cup sugar, 1 ¾ cup of flour, ¾ cup bittersweet cocoa powder, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a separate large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined.2 eggs, 1 cup milk, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix on low speed for a couple minutes.
- Stir espresso powder (this is optional but tasty) into the boiling water and add to the batter.1 teaspoon espresso powder, 1 cup of boiling water
- Stir until it is incorporated. Your batter will be VERY thin and this is ok!
- Pour (or ladle) the batter ¾ the way up into your muffing tins.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- When done place on a cooling rack until cool and then you can start to add the buttercream frosting (see below).
Frosting
- In a large bowl add your butter½ cup room temperature unsalted butter
- Cream your butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer until fluffy (about 5 minutes)
- Next add your room temperature sour cream if using and mix for 1 minute until it is incorporated into the butter⅛ cup sour cream room temperature
- Now add your powdered sugar and vanilla and milk1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoon milk
- With your hand held mixer or stand mixer, mix until it is well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Start the mixing out slow because the powdered sugar will jump out of the bowl.
Decorating
- Scoop your frosting into your piping bag fitter with a tip, or a large plastic bag with a small piece of the bottom corner cut out.
- Pipe small circles on top of your cupcakes starting from the center and working out from there. Do not add frosting all the way to the corners since you want to leave the cupcake edges to show through.
- Add your candy heart to the center and they are ready
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
Casandra says
Loved! I am not a huge fan of chocolate but my daughter wanted me to make them so I gave them a try. They were great!
Ann says
These were so light and fluffy and a big hit. Thanks for sharing this