Make perfectly fudgy, easy Chocolate Cupcakes! These homemade cupcakes are soft and fluffy and stay moist for days. Frost them with chocolate frosting for the ultimate chocolate dessert, or customize them any way that you’d like.
Looking for an equally irresistible vanilla version? Try my recipe for Easy Vanilla Cupcakes!
Easy Moist Chocolate Cupcakes from Scratch
It might be the baker in me, but I’ll just put it out there: Every household needs a perfect chocolate cupcake recipe. One that you can make for any occasion, without any fancy ingredients or techniques. Just a pure and simple, delicious, cocoa-loaded cupcake.
A perfect chocolate cupcake is soft and moist, yet still light and fluffy, with a chocolate flavor that’s rich but not overly sweet or intense. One bite and you feel as though you could inhale the whole batch. That’s what this recipe is. Insanely moist and balanced out with chocolate cream cheese frosting. No other chocolate cupcake can compare!
You’ll find yourself ditching your go-to boxed cake mix and replacing it with these homemade chocolate cupcakes. I originally published this recipe in 2018 and over the years I’ve made improvements to the recipe and lots of updated recipe tips.
Key Ingredients
This easy cupcake recipe uses your baking basics like flour, sugar, etc. as well as a few key ingredients that give these chocolate cupcakes their ultra-rich, moist texture. Here’s a quick overview, but the full ingredients are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Oil – Using oil in place of butter in cake recipes is key to an ultra-moist, tender, and lighter crumb.
- Vanilla Extract – Use a high-quality real vanilla extract for this recipe, it makes all the difference.
- Sour Cream – Sour cream is the second secret to extra moist cupcakes. Don’t skip it! In a pinch, I recommend substituting it with either plain or non-fat Greek yogurt.
- Cocoa Powder – I use either natural unsweetened cocoa powder or Hershey’s Special Dark
- Espresso Powder and Brewed Coffee – I add espresso powder as well as brewed coffee to my chocolate cakes to intensify the chocolate flavor. This is optional, so you can omit it altogether or you can use fine-ground coffee instead. See below for more details.
Why Add Coffee To Chocolate Cupcakes?
Adding coffee (either espresso powder and/or brewed coffee) helps to enhance the flavor and color of chocolate cakes and cupcakes. And if you aren’t a coffee person, don’t worry – you won’t actually taste the coffee at all!
If you’re avoiding caffeine or you’d prefer to substitute the coffee altogether, I recommend using milk instead.
How to Make the Best Chocolate Cupcakes
While your oven preheats to 350°F, prepare a cupcake pan by lining it with your choice of cupcake liners. Then, get started on your chocolate cupcake batter:
- Combine the wet ingredients. Beat together the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until well incorporated, then mix in the sour cream.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl. Next, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients gradually, alternating with brewed coffee until combined.
- Fill the pan. Divide the batter between the lined wells of your cupcake pan. I like to use a large cookie scoop as it makes it so much easier!
- Bake. Bake the cupcakes at 350°F for 14-16 minutes. When they’re done, let the cupcakes cool completely before decorating.
Frosting the Cupcakes
These cupcakes are topped with my best-ever, melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s rich and velvety, and the cream cheese adds just the right amount of tanginess. You can, of course, frost your cupcakes with any type of frosting you prefer (see below), but I just love this cream cheese version.
My secret to perfect frosting is COLD butter. It takes a bit of extra effort to mix, but trust me, it works! In the recipe linked above, I provide a full tutorial for the frosting including step-by-step photos.
- Beat the butter and cream cheese. Cube the cold butter and then beat for several minutes until it’s light and fluffy, resembling a similar consistency to the cream cheese. Next, beat in the cream cheese for another few minutes until the two are well combined.
- Combine. Beat in cocoa powder and vanilla. Once combined, gradually add the powdered sugar a couple of cups at a time, alternating with spoonfuls of heavy whipping cream until the frosting is smooth. Beat for an additional 2 minutes (at least) until the frosting reaches a silky, pipable consistency.
- Frost the cupcakes. You can transfer the frosting to a piping bag for decorating or spread it over the cooled cupcakes using an offset spatula. See the section further on for easy cupcake decorating ideas.
Tips for Success
Below are my additional tips for making perfect chocolate cupcakes from scratch:
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- Properly measure ingredients. My recipe is developed using a scale for weighted ingredients like sugar and flour. If you don’t have a scale, be sure to use the spoon and level method for measuring flour.
- Sifted ingredients. Taking the extra time to sift the dry ingredients will not only help prevent a lumpy batter, but also help the ingredients to better incorporate together.
- Ingredient temperatures. Over the years, I’ve adjusted the callouts for the ingredients to either be at room temperature or otherwise, which plays an important role in how the cupcakes come together.
- Thoroughly mix the batter. While you don’t want to overmix the cake batter, it’s important that the ingredients are well combined. Once the dry ingredients are added, mix only on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as you go, and give everything a good stir from the bottom to the top. This is a liquid-heavy batter, so it’s much thinner than you’re probably used to.
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- Make gluten-free chocolate cupcakes. Using a measure for measure replacement, these can be made gluten-free (or, see my post for Easy Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes).
Can I Make a Chocolate Cake Instead?
Yes! See my post for Easy Chocolate Cake if you’d like to make this cupcake recipe as a standard 9×13-inch chocolate sheet cake instead. You can also make this as a layer cake, see my Chocolate Drip Cake for details. In both cases, you’ll need to adjust the amount of frosting as needed.
More Cupcake Decorating Ideas
Want to make beautiful bakery-style frosted cupcakes? A simple trick is to use jumbo piping tips for the frosting. Start from the outside edge of the cupcake and work your way up towards the middle, and only fill your piping bag a maximum of 2/3 full. For more helpful tips and tricks, check out my post on How to Decorate Cupcakes.
This cake really pairs well with any frosting recipe. Not a fan of cream cheese? Try my Chocolate Fudge Frosting made with melted chocolate or my Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting made with just cocoa powder. Both are good contenders. Or, you can give my recipes for homemade Vanilla Frosting, Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream, or Oreo Frosting a go.
You can top these cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles or shaved chocolate, or turn them into Turtle Cupcakes or these Easy Frosted Football Cupcakes. You can even hollow out the middles and make fudgy Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes!
How to Store Frosted Cupcakes
If you live in a hot and humid climate, I suggest that you refrigerate the frosted cupcakes and allow them to come to room temperature before serving. Otherwise, I store my cupcakes in a cool, dry place in an airtight container for up to 3 days once they are frosted.
Can I Freeze These?
Generally speaking, I don’t love to freeze cupcakes. They’re never quite as good as freshly baked! However, if you need to make and freeze these cupcakes ahead of time, I recommend freezing them unfrosted. Bake and cool the cupcakes completely. Flash freeze for 15 minutes and then transfer the frozen cupcakes to an airtight container. Thaw to room temperature prior to frosting. I recommend freezing only up to one month and frosting the day of serving for best results.
Print
Easy Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
This mouthwatering homemade Chocolate Cupcakes recipe makes perfectly moist chocolate cupcakes topped with a silky chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups (285g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- ½ cup (40 g) cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tablespoon (5g) espresso powder (optional)
- 2 ½ teaspoons (9 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
- 1 ¼ cup (296 ml) hot brewed coffee
For the Frosting:
- ¾ cups (170g) unsalted butter, cold
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat cream cheese, cold
- ½ cup +2 tablespoons (50g) cocoa powder, sfited
- 6 cups (780 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) milk or heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated and the batter is lighter in color. Next mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, followed by half of the coffee, and mix until the flour is just incorporated at a low speed. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and coffee. Beat until all of the ingredients are well combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
- Using a large cookie scoop, divide the batter evenly, filling each liner 2/3 full. Bake at 350°F for 14-16 minutes. Test the cupcakes for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. Cool Completely.
For the Frosting:
- Cut the butter into 1-inch blocks. Beat the butter for 3-4 minutes until it’s softened, light and fluffy.
- Then add the cream cheese and cream together for 2-3 minutes until they are well combined and free of lumps, scrape down the bowl occasionally.
- Next, add the cocoa powder and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Next, add the powdered sugar 2 cups at a time, followed by one tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, and beat for 60-90 seconds until completely smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream and beat until desired consistency, at least 2 minutes. Transfer the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large open star piping tip, pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
Notes
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cocoa powder: I prefer to use Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder for a nice rich flavor and color. Otherwise, a natural, unsweetened cocoa powder is the next best option.
- Coffee substitute: I recommend using milk. You should still heat the milk in the microwave for approximately 60 seconds.
- Sour Cream. Use plain or Greek yogurt.
Storing and Freezing
- Make Ahead of time: These can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. If you live in a hot or humid climate, then they should be refrigerated. Serve at room temperature for best results.
- Freezing: I recommend freezing them unfrosted. You can freeze the prepared cupcakes airtight. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature before frosting. I recommend freezing for up to one month and frosting the day of serving for best results.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 361
- Sugar: 42.5g
- Sodium: 170mg
- Fat: 15.8g
- Saturated Fat: 10.4g
- Carbohydrates: 54.8g
- Fiber: 1.7g
- Protein: 3.6g
- Cholesterol: 51.2mg
Absolutely delicious and easy to replicate. All the partygoers loved them and couldn’t stop commenting on moist and delicious they were!
Happy to hear that Parker! Thank you so much!
Can you bake in a 9×13 pan instead?
Yes here is the sheet cake version: https://beyondfrosting.com/super-moist-chocolate-cake/
I just made this recipe the other morning. I had visions of cupcakes in my head all night. Woke up at the crack of dawn and decided on this recipe. It makes a delicious moist cupcake!!! Trust me, this one is a keeper!!
Love that Renee! These are a go-to for me!
These were very good and absolute hit at my daughter’s birthday party! Every kid wanted the chocolate cupcakes!
They are really easy to make, I didn’t wanted them to be big (tall actually)so I’ve filled the tin only 1/2 so I’ve got 22 smaller cupcakes!
We didn’t frost them, instead we drizzled melted chocolate on top and added sprinkles!
Thank you so much Mariya! Glad you enjoyed them!
Excellent tasting and easy!
Thank you Jessica!
Very nice cupcakes put chocolate whipped cream icing on not taking long to go on my second batch for Easter if they last that long 😊 Have a Great 🐰🐰
That’s wonderful, thank you so much Pat!
Best chocolate cupcakes I’ve EVER had – thank you! I topped them with an orange buttercream. So yummy!!
LOVE that! Thank you so much!
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’ve weighed the coffee 3 times. 1 1/4 cup shows on my scale 295ml not 355ml. Do I go by the cup or the ml? I like to weigh but it’s not 355 on my scale. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you Lisa for calling attention to this. 1 1/4 cups is 296ml 1 1/2 cup is (355ml). Correcting the recipe card.
Hello,
What kind of coffee should be used?
Any type of brewed coffee
Hi!
How long would you say this batter is ok to sit out at room temp?
My oven only allows 1 batch of 12 at a time and I’m wanting to make a fair few batches.
Thanks!
Hi Caitlin, I would make one batch at a time and remix the batter with a spatula before you put the next batch in the oven.
Looks amazing and simple
Will make this weekend for sure
I hope you enjoy!
I’ve made these several times and they are my go to recipe now for chocolate cupcakes. I even tried them with a 1-for-1 gluten free flour blend and they were fantastic! Love this recipe and the frosting is also to die for!
That’s Amazing Andrea, thank you so much!! You are right, the gluten-free option is just as good! Thanks for so much for leaving a review.