These chocolate cupcakes are so moist and decadent, perfectly fudgy, and so divine topped with a swirl of chocolate frosting (or any buttercream flavor)! The recipe is based on my favorite one-bowl chocolate layer cake, and the cupcake version is just as easy to make with simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. If you’re looking for a classic chocolate cupcake recipe that’s sure to be a hit, these are it!
One Reader Says: “I made these for my daughter’s first birthday party and holy wow they are the best chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever had! Thank you for this recipe! The hot coffee is a game changer!” ★★★★★
You’ll notice that the cupcake recipe calls for hot coffee or hot water. You can absolutely use either, but the hot coffee will really help amplify the chocolate flavor in these cupcakes. It won’t add any coffee flavor in the process. I like to use fresh pour-over coffee, but you can use instant coffee or whatever you’re used to drinking at home.
I’ve kept the decoration simple with these babies by piping a swirl of chocolate buttercream with my Wilton 1M tip, but feel free to get creative with the design. They’re made even more beautiful with these pretty sprinkles from Fancy Sprinkles in the Birthday Balloons mix. I just love the pops of color and texture they add!
Here’s a quick video of how to make these chocolate cupcakes before you read through the recipe below:
PS: If you’re into cake decorating videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube Channel! Click the Subscribe button while you’re there so you never miss a new video.
Chocolate Cupcakes With Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 Cup (132g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 Cup (150g) white granulated sugar
- 1/3 Cup (30g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 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) buttermilk, room temperature*
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) hot coffee or hot water**
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 Cup (45g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 Tbsp (45ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Make The Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177ºC and line a cupcake pan with 12-15 liners.
- Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl to fully combine them. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix on low with either a hand mixer, the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, or by hand until combined. Add the hot coffee (or hot water) in a slow stream. Continue mixing on low until fully combined and smooth, 1-2 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 clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Make The Chocolate Buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on high speed until creamy and light in color, about five minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and turn the mixer to low, then add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue mixing on low speed until fully combined and uniform, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
Assembly
- Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly before frosting with chocolate buttercream. In the images above, I've used Wilton tip 1M to pipe a swirl with the buttercream before adding these sprinkles.
Notes
- The chocolate 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 chocolate buttercream recipe can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 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.
Did you make these chocolate cupcakes? I want to know how it went! Leave a comment below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!
Hello! I’d like to try these because your vanilla cupcake recipe is the BEST and I am sure these will be too. Question though – I don’t keep buttermilk on hand but since your vanilla cupcakes call for sour cream, I always have sour cream. Is is possible to use sour cream instead of buttermilk (or a thinned out version)? Will that change the texture at all? I’ve only had moderate success substituting the ‘DIY buttermilk’ (milk and vinegar) in other recipes – it doesn’t give me the same height, which is important to me in a cupcake. Please let me know if you’ve tested this – thanks!
Hi Donna! I almost always use the homemade buttermilk for this recipe and the results are perfect! For this recipe it will be 1.5 tsp of white distilled vinegar topped off with whole milk until you measure out 1/2 cup. I’ve never tried sour cream as a substitute, so the homemade buttermilk is what I recommend. Enjoy!
Thank you for your quick reply! Excited to give this a try tomorrow
Just wanted to report back – these cupcakes turned out amazing. I make a lot of cupcakes – the consensus among my friends and family is these are the best chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever made. Thanks for the perfect recipe!
What high praise, Donna! Thanks so much for circling back to let me know these were such a hit.
Hi.
I am about to make this for easter cupcakes on saturday – 50 pcs., what do you recommemd for the measurements? Should i just multiply it by 3?
Hi Aiza! Making 3x the amount here will make about 45 cupcakes. If you need 50, I would make 3.5x the recipe to have more than enough batter. You can use this recipe scale calculator to triple the measurements or choose “custom” to multiply each ingredient by 3.5: https://www.inchcalculator.com/recipe-scale-conversion-calculator/ it doesn’t convert the gram measurements, so if you’re baking by weight I recommend manually multiplying each metric measurement. Hope that helps!
And here I thought a cupcake was just a tiny cake…no, this recipe defines a whole new genre for me! So light, so airy, with the most divine fluffy texture. And so flavor-forward!
I love these cupcakes so very much that they’ve actually given me the “ick” for all of the other cupcake recipes I’ve used. However, I’m in dire need of a vanilla (and perhaps red velvet) adaptation. Now, when I see the thick, gooey batters in other photos, I just know that the recipe won’t be as good as this one! Do you have any recommendations for me? I want something with this thin batter, that inflates to sheer fluffy joy.
Seriously considering swapping powdered sugar for cocoa and using boiling water instead of coffee…that’s how desperate I am. My compliments to the chef!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Abigail! I’m so happy you loved this recipe. This is my best recommendation for vanilla cupcakes and they are definitely soft/fluffy and moist: https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-cupcake-recipe/
These were delicious and extremely moist. I decorated with her white buttercream tinted green, piped it like grass, then made tiny campaign signs (lawn signs) to bring to an election event. They were adorable and a hit! This is now my go to site for dessert recipes. I’ve had success with other of her recipes before.
Made these cupcakes today, and the cake was moist and delicious. I would love to pump up the chocolate flavor just a bit more. The cupcake recipe was easy to follow and like that you could do everything in one bowl. The frosting was another issue. While easy to mix the ingredients, I needed to add at least another 1/4 cup of milk to get a smooth creamy texture. After that the frosting was terrific. Will make again.
Hi Whitney, thank you so much for the recipe. I just tried the cupcakes.
I had to bake at 180 degrees for 35 -40 minutes. The cupcake texture was soft and moist.
Just wanted to know since I have a small oven, can the batter remain outside till it’s next turn after 35-40 mins.
Overall thankyou for the amazing recipe.
Hi Olivia! That’s a really long time for the cupcakes to be baking. With my conventional oven they only take 15 minutes. I’m glad they turned out soft and moist regardless! And yes, the batter can be left out at room temperature if you’re baking one batch at a time.
Hi, should i make the coffee in milk or dissolve in hot water? Please specify the coffee in grams that should go into 120 ml of what? (Milk or water) Please clarify as we don’t drink coffee and only using it here for a better tasting cupcake . Thanks
Hi Aliya! If you’re using instant coffee, dissolve it into the 120ml of hot water. Follow the instructions for 1/2 cup of coffee (should be about 1 teaspoon).
Hi Whitney, I love your tutorials, I would like to make your chocolate cake but I can only get Dutch processed cocoa, what would happen if I used it? I am in a regional area of Australia and I don’t have time to send for some online.
Hi Susan! This recipe totally works with Dutch processed cocoa. Just use an equal amount! Enjoy!