A Chocolate Cupcake Recipe for Any Occasion
If you are looking for a chocolate cupcake recipe that is soft, fluffy and moist, then look no further! Made from scratch with cocoa powder and simple pantry ingredients, these chocolate cupcakes are so easy to make and are packed full of chocolate flavour! Whip up a batch for afternoon tea, a special party treat or “just because”!
Servings: 14
Calories: 290kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarb soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1-2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ½ cup milk or buttermilk
- ½ cup boiling water
For the frosting
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 3 cups icing sugar confectioners sugar, sifted
- ¼-1/2 cup milk start with ¼ cup and add a little more, if needed
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp salt flakes
Instructions
For the cupcakes
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C° (350F). Prepare cupcake trays (deep muffin trays are best so the cupcakes don’t overflow) with oil spray or paper cupcake cases.
- Add the dry cupcake ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, oil and milk and stir together until combined.
- Carefully add the boiling water and whisk slowly until the water is completely incorporated into the mixture. The mixture will be runnier than normal cupcake mixture, but this is ok!
- Divide the mixture evenly between the 14 paper cases, ensuring that each are no more than ¾ full. The cupcakes will rise while baking. If using shallower cupcake trays, you may need to make more to avoid them overflowing.
- Bake for around 15-20 minutes or until cupcakes are fluffy and bounce back slightly when gently pressed in the middle.
- Transfer cakes to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
For the frosting
- Stir the butter and vanilla together with the cocoa and a ¼ cup of the milk. Add the icing sugar and salt and mix until completely combined and smooth.
- The frosting should be soft enough to pipe, while still holding its shape. If too thick, add a little more milk.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe on the frosting and decorate with your favourite toppings! Enjoy!
Notes
After adding the boiling water to the cupcake batter, the mixture will appear quite thin and runny. This is completely normal, don’t panic! They will come together while baking and turn into the most deliciously soft cupcakes.
For cupcakes to impress, try filling them with a little homemade salted caramel sauce before frosting. Or for something a little different, try this divine peppermint buttercream recipe instead.
These cupcakes will rise quite a bit during baking. The paper cases or cupcake tins should not be filled more than around ⅔ full, or they may overflow or mushroom out too high. If you are using smaller cupcake trays, you may need to make more than 14 so that they are not too full. That just means more cupcakes for you!
These cupcakes are best eaten on the day or day after they are made, but they will stay soft and moist for days. Eat them at room temperature if possible, but store in the fridge due to the butter in the frosting. Remove from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before eating, where possible.
They can also be frozen (minus the frosting) until required and can be thawed in the fridge or at room temperature and then decorated.
Nutrition
Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 257mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 179IU | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 2mg