Adapted from my beloved dye-free black velvet cake recipe, this cupcake version is every bit as delicious and even easier to make! These all-black cupcakes get their color from black cocoa powder, which not only gives them a pitch black color without having to use any food coloring, it also makes them taste like the cupcake version of an Oreo cookie. They’re extra moist, won’t turn anyone’s mouth black, and are the ideal cupcakes for a Halloween party or goth birthday party.
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One Reader, Emily, says: “These were a huge hit! I ended up making the icing the day before, storing in the fridge, and re-constituting it the next day. It did indeed get darker! I ended up icing my cupcakes with a palate knife, and putting two candy eyes on each to look like little monsters for my Halloween party. The guests raved about how moist and soft the cupcakes were. I love that they taste like Oreo cookies. Fantastic recipe, especially with the lack of dye!” ★★★★★
Why You’ll Love These Black Velvet Cupcakes
- Completely Dye-Free. Instead of using black food color gel, this recipe uses black cocoa powder to achieve the rich black color in the frosting and cupcakes!
- Won’t Turn Anyone’s Mouth Black. Even though these cupcakes are black, they won’t turn anyone’s mouth black because they don’t contain any dye. It’ll just look like you ate a few Oreo cookies!
- So Easy to Make. This is a one-bowl recipe that is extremely fail-proof, and the black frosting is simple and straightforward as well. There are no fancy techniques involved and the only thing you’ll need to account for is giving the frosting time to darken in color (unless you have an immersion blender, which will darken the frosting in minutes).
- Tastes Like Oreos. Since black cocoa powder is the main ingredient in Oreo cookie shells, these cupcakes basically taste like the cupcake version of an Oreo! So delicious and a total crowd pleaser.
- Perfect Cupcakes for a Halloween Party. What’s better than all-black cupcakes for a Halloween party? They’re a little spooky yet elegant, and will be a showstopper on your dessert table.
What Kind of Black Cocoa Powder Should I Use?
Black cocoa powder is basically an ultra-Dutched cocoa powder, meaning it’s been treated with an alkaline solution to reduce its acidity. Over the years I’ve discovered that not all black cocoa powders are created equal! The amount of alkalization varies between brands, which can affect both the color and the way black cocoa performs in baked goods.
For these Black Velvet Cupcakes, I recommend using a black cocoa powder that is moderately alkalized. More heavily alkalized black cocoas tend to produce a deeper black color, but they can behave differently in baking recipes when used as a 1:1 substitute. That said, here are my recommendations:
- My Favorite Black Cocoa Powder for the CUPCAKES: OliveNation Jet Black Cocoa Powder or another moderately alkalized black cocoa powder.
- My Favorite Black Cocoa Powder for the FROSTING: The Cocoa Trader Black Cocoa Powder. It’s the darkest black cocoa powder on the market and makes a beautifully black frosting without needing any black food coloring.
- If You Only Want to Purchase ONE Black Cocoa Powder (Understandable!), Either:
- Use The Cocoa Trader for the frosting and cupcakes, but for the cupcakes you’ll need to reduce the amount and add a little Dutch-processed or regular cocoa powder to make up the difference — just see the substitution note in the recipe card below, OR
- Use OliveNation (or another moderately Dutched black cocoa powder) for the cupcakes and frosting, but add a little squirt of black food coloring to the frosting to make it dark black.
How to Make Black Velvet Cupcakes
This Black Velvet Cupcakes Recipe is a one-bowl recipe that you can whisk together by hand, or make with a stand mixer or hand mixer. Here’s how:
Make the Black Velvet Cupcake Batter
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients.
- Add hot coffee or hot water.
Bake the Black Velvet Cupcakes
Pour the batter into cupcake liners (2/3 full) and bake at 350ºF (177ºC) for 15-18 minutes. Cool completely before frosting and decorating.
Make the Black Buttercream and Decorate
Make the dye-free black buttercream (note that it will take several hours to darken to this rich black color unless you use an immersion blender), then decorate the cupcakes. To create the look pictured, use Wilton Tip 1M to pipe the black buttercream in a swirl and then sprinkled some metallic gold stars on top.
Other design ideas: topping them with galaxy buttercream for a space-themed party, filling them with vanilla buttercream to go all the way with the Oreo cookie flavor, or keeping it creepy with some edible spiderwebs. However you decorate, these cupcakes will be a true crowd pleaser!
Similar Recipes & Tutorials You’ll Love
- Oreo Cupcakes
- Black Velvet Cake (a layer cake version!)
- Mini Black Velvet Cake (a small batch cake version!)
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
I hope you love these black velvet cupcakes as much as I do! Let me know if you make them in the comments below (be sure to leave a star rating!) and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me if you post a photo. I love to see what you create with my recipes!
Black Velvet Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Black Velvet Cupcakes
- 1 Cup (132g) all purpose flour
- 3/4 Cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 Cup (38g) black cocoa powder* see notes
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 Cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) full-fat buttermilk*, room temperature DIY recipe in notes
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) hot coffee or hot water
Dye-Free Black Buttercream
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 Cups (300g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 Cup (56g) black cocoa powder* Use The Cocoa Trader brand for best results here
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the Black Velvet Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with two more liners—this recipe makes about 14 cupcakes. Set aside.
- Place all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir on low for 30 seconds to fully combine them. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix on low until just combined. With the mixer still on low, add the hot water in a slow stream, then turn the mixer to medium and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners (no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. Cool completely before frosting.
Make the Black Buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add half of the powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until just incorporated, then add the rest of the powdered sugar. With the mixer still in the off position, sift in the black cocoa powder and add the vanilla, milk, and salt. Mix on low until all ingredients are thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- The buttercream will look dark brown at this point, but the color will darken significantly over the next several hours. See the recipe notes for storage instructions if you're not planning on piping the cupcakes the same day.
Assembly
- Once the black velvet cupcakes are completely cooled, frost them with the black buttercream. To create the look pictured, place the black buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 1M and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Top with edible metallic gold stars.
Notes
- The black velvet cupcakes can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, they can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
- The black buttercream recipe can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It will get significantly darker after 24 hours. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix with your stand mixer on low speed to bring it back to frosting consistency.
These black velvet cupcakes are sure to be a hit at your next gathering! I hope you love them as much as I do. Let me know what you think in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you post a pic! I love to see what you create.
Hi! I bought the extra dark Cocoa Trader brand cocoa powder so I didn’t need to buy two of that particular type, but can I use a regular baking cocoa powder to mix with it (or your recipe)? Or does it have to be a Dutch-processed cocoa powder?
Thanks!
Hi Jacquie! Regular unsweetened cocoa powder will work fine!
The Olive Nation brand has two types of black cocoa: One is noted as “bloomer” style and the other is called 10/12.
Which did you use in these cake recipes? Have the cocoa trader for the frosting.
Thank you!
Kathy WW
Hi Kathy! The Olive Nation “Blommer Jet Black” cocoa powder is great for the cupcakes but won’t get the frosting as dark as The Cocoa Trader. I just made these cupcakes yesterday with The Cocoa Trader (using 1/4 Cup + 1.5 Tbsp Dutch-Processed cocoa powder as indicated in the notes) and they turned out perfect. If you don’t want to purchase a separate cocoa powder for the cupcakes you could totally do that! But if you want to try a different black cocoa for the cupcakes this is the one I’ve tried in the past and loved: https://link.amazon/B07xF3TCa
Is the texture conducive to coring for adding strawberry preserves as a filling?
Hi! Yes, absolutely. That would taste lovely!
First time I’ve made velvet anything. The cupcakes were delicious, although they needed substantially longer to cook. It may be the difference in cupcake sizes in other countries; I’m in Australia, and I doubled the mix but it only made 21 cupcakes.
Anyway, they looked a treat decorated as penguins (inspired by CakedByRach).
Hi Katie! I’m so happy you loved this recipe and I bet they were so cute as penguins! I didn’t realize that Australia cupcakes were larger than the ones in the US, that’s for sure the reason why they would take longer to bake and why you didn’t get as much when doubling the recipe.
Hi! These cupcakes are the best!! Made them last year but I wanted to ask if these could be made gluten free? I plan on making two batches, one just as your recipe states and one as gluten free, as my niece has a gluten allergy. This allergy is new to us and didn’t want her to miss out when celebrating her mom.
Hi Valeska! I’m so happy this recipe was a hit! You can absolutely make these GF by swapping the all purpose flour for an equal amount of GF all purpose flour. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much!
Hello,
I want to make cupcakes for my birthday but some of my friends are lactose-intolerant. Can I substitute the whole milk and buttermilk with plant milk?
Hi Michelle! Yes, you can absolutely replace the milk portion of the recipe with plant based milk. Soy is my favorite substitute flavor wise. I recommend making the DIY buttermilk with the plant based milk for best results. Hope that helps!
Question: If I use the DIY buttermilk recipe, do I still use 1/2 cup of the mixture as if I had put in true buttermilk or the entire cup of whole milk with white vinegar?
Hi Mary! I’ll change this in the notes section but you can half the DIY buttermilk recipe! Just use 1/2 Cup whole milk + 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar. Hope that helps!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. The reviews and pictures stopped my search for a Black Velvet Cupcake recipe and with a Black Buttercream frosting recipe too. Love that! Can’t wait to try that recipe as well.
Hi. I have 2 questions…
1. Can I follow this recipe of 14 cupcakes to make 12 jumbo cupcakes?
2. Can I use the given butter creme as a filling for these cupcakes?
Hi Stella! I’ve never tried making jumbo cupcakes so I’m not sure what the baking time will be but if you want 12 jumbo cupcakes I would double the cupcake portion of the recipe to make sure you have enough batter. And yes, you can use the buttercream as filling. Enjoy!
So delicious and amazing that these are dye free! They were a hit at my Halloween party. Thank you!
Yay, Shevaun! I’m so happy to hear that!
Thank you for this awesome cake and frosting. I live in Ontario and Cocoa Traders is not available in Canada. After a long search I finally found a place in the US that will ship to me. I’m excited and can’t wait to receive my order!
These were a huge hit! I ended up making the icing the day before, storing in the fridge, and re-constituting it the next day. It did indeed get darker! I ended up icing my cupcakes with a palate knife, and putting two candy eyes on each to look like little monsters for my Halloween party. The guests raved about how moist and soft the cupcakes were. I love that they taste like Oreo cookies. Fantastic recipe, especially with the lack of dye!
I do have one question. How long will the cupcakes last if left in a sealed container on the counter, fully iced?
I’m so happy to hear that these cupcakes were a hit, Emily! Thanks so much for letting me know! They should last in an airtight container at room temp for up to five days. Enjoy!
Hi
Thanks for this fun recipe! I printed the Black Velvet Cake recipe that you sent earlier and I noticed that in the main recipe where you include both the cake and frosting, you include in the frosting 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder along with the black cocoa powder. However, in the Black Buttercream recipe you left out the unsweetened cocoa powder. I was wondering which way you suggest?? Thanks!
Hi Carolyn! I recently changed the frosting recipe to be 100% dye free, which is why the regular cocoa powder isn’t included in this recipe. If you’d prefer the older black frosting recipe with minimal food coloring, it’s here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/black-buttercream-recipe/