These chocolate cupcakes are a chocolate lover’s dream come true. The cake is rich, and fudgey but with a fluffy consistency that melts in your mouth. I love pairing them with a dreamy chocolate Swiss buttercream since it’s so creamy, and light but not too sweet. I have a link below for my decadent and sweeter American chocolate buttercream recipe if you have a sweet tooth that demands satisfaction though.
How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes
- Sift the Flour, cocoa powder, salt, sugar and baking soda into a large bowl then whisk together. Sifting is important for chocolate recipes as the cocoa powder has a tendency to clump up.
- Add the sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, and veggie oil into a large bowl and whisk together. Pour the hot coffee in while you whisk and set aside. The coffee doesn’t have to be hot but because the eggs have been mixed in with all the other wet ingredients you won’t end up with a bowl of scrambled eggs!
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together. Scrape the bowl down and give it a really good stir.
- The batter will be VERY thin but don’t worry, it will bake into the MOST MOIST fudgey chocolate cupcakes ever. Fill the cupcake papers 2/3 the way full and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until the centers are set. Don’t over-fill the papers as the batter will rise a good amount.
- Add egg whites, sugar and salt in a bowl. Give the mixture a brief whisk. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl. Whisk the egg whites occasionally while it warms up. When the mixture has warmed, whisk it constantly. You will heat the mixture until it reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF or until it’s not grainy between your fingers.
- Transfer the egg mixture to a stand mixer, mix with a whisk attachment until you get room temperature glossy peaks. You can add bags of frozen peas around the bowl to cool it down quicker if you’re in a hurry, which I usually am!
- Switch to a paddle attachment and with the mixer running on low add a tablespoon at a time of the room temperature butter. DON’T WORRY when the mixture starts thinning out. It will whip up into the proper consistency once all the butter is added in.
- Drizzle in the melted and cooled chocolate while the mixer is running on low. Scrape the bowl down and mix again. You can now transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and decorate the cooled cupcakes.
Pro Tips For this recipe
- The batter is very liquidy so don’t panic! The cupcakes will end up AMAZINGLY MOIST with a pretty flat top.
- You can use room temperature or even cold coffee in the batter if you’d prefer.
- Not a coffee fan? Sub in water or milk instead.
- If the buttercream becomes soupy when you start adding butter don’t panic!!! It will be soupy until ALL the butter has been added.
- If your Swiss buttercream seems soupy after adding the butter then pop the bowl in the fridge for 5 minutes to chill and beat again. It should set up just fine.
- Always whip your buttercream JUST before piping so it has a nice silky consistency when it goes onto your chocolate cupcakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the Best Frosting for Chocolate Cupcakes?
I love a perfectly sweet Swiss buttercream for my chocolate cupcakes. The consistency is VERY light and creamy with not too much sugar. If you have a sweet tooth then you might want to whip up a sweeter American buttercream. Try my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe, the cocoa powder and salt really balance out the sugar for a delicious treat.
If you haven’t made Swiss meringue buttercream before check out my FULL tutorial with a how to video that walks you through all the steps and shows you what to do when things go wrong!
What kind of cocoa powder should you use?
I love using a high-quality Dutch processed cocoa powder for these chocolate cupcakes. Dutch processed cocoa powder is darker, less acidic and fudgier in baked goods. You’ll usually get less rise out of it though. My go to company is Valrhona but there are lots of great brands out there, including Callebaut, Ghirardelli and lots of organic and fair trade options too!
how long will they last?
These chocolate cupcakes will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for up to 6 months.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this chocolate cupcake recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
These perfectly moist, fudgey, fluffy chocolate cupcakes are bursting with chocolate flavor. When topped with silky chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream they're basically irresistible.
Servings 18 cupcakes
Calories 378kcal
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- ¼ cup sour cream room temperature 60g
- ½ cup buttermilk room temperature, 120mL
- 2 medium eggs
- ⅓ cup veggie oil 80mL
- ¼ cup hot coffee 60mL
- 2 tsp vanilla extract 10mL
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 180g
- 1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar 265g
- ¼ cup cocoa powder 20g
- 1 tsp baking soda 6g
- ½ tsp kosher salt 2.5g
For the Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 5 egg whites room temp
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 lb unsalted butter room temperature 450g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt 2g
- 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate melted and cooled
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat to 350F. Add papers to a cupcake tin.
- Sift the dry ingredients (including the sugar) into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
- Add the sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, and veggie oil into a large bowl and whisk together. Pour the hot coffee in while you whisk and set aside.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Whisk until smooth and combined.
- Distribute batter evenly into the cupcake papers and bake for about 15 -20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool.
For the Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Add egg whites, sugar and salt in a bowl. Give the mixture a brief whisk.
- Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl. Whisk the egg whites occasionally while it warms up. When the mixture has warmed, whisk it constantly. You will heat the mixture until it reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF or until it's not grainy between your fingers.
- Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer, mix with a whisk attachment until you get room temperature glossy peaks.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and while the mixture is running on low, add tablespoon sized dollops of room temperature butter making sure to let the butter incorporate before you add the next piece. Once all the butter is incorporated, go ahead and add the vanilla extract.
- Drizzle in the melted and cooled chocolate while the mixer is running on low. Scrape the bowl down and mix again. You can now transfer it to a piping bag or to a ziplock bag to store in the freezer.
For the Assembly:
- Use a large star tip to pipe a swirl of buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes. Start at the center, squeeze and lift the tip while rotating the cupcake back and forth. Stop squeezing the piping bag while you continue to lift for a nice tip to the dollop.
Video
Notes
- The batter is very liquidy so don't panic! The cupcakes will end up AMAZINGLY MOIST with a pretty flat top.
- You can use room temperature or even cold coffee in the batter if you'd prefer.
- Not a coffee fan? Sub in water or milk instead.
- If the buttercream becomes soupy when you start adding butter don't panic!!! It will be soupy until ALL the butter has been added.
- If your Swiss buttercream seems soupy after adding the butter then pop the bowl in the fridge for 5 minutes to chill and beat again. It should set up just fine.
- Always whip your buttercream JUST before piping so it has a nice silky consistency.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 125mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 685IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1.8mg
*Nutrition Disclaimer
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