Simple Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
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This easy chocolate cupcakes recipe produces cupcakes that are light, fluffy, and incredibly moist. You only need one bowl and can bake and frost them in under 1 hour. Top with chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream (recipe included), chocolate fudge frosting, chocolate buttercream, or any other frosting you can dream up!
THE ONLY CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE RECIPE YOU’LL EVER NEED
If you’ve been searching for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe, you can stop right here. Mark my works, this is the only one you’ll ever need.
This cupcake recipe has been my go-to since my cottage bakery days in the 2010s, and it has never let me down. It’s laughably easy, incredibly reliable, and requires no fancy skills or special equipment. So whether you’re short on time or low on kitchen patience, these cupcakes come together effortlessly without sacrificing a single bit of rich, chocolatey flavor.
This cupcake recipe is rooted in my beloved dark chocolate cake recipe. Over the years, this batter has transformed into my chocolate bundt cake, mocha cake, and even mint chocolate cupcakes, but at its core, it’s the same tried-and-true recipe that delivers soft, deeply chocolatey cupcakes every single time. Once you make these, you’ll be making all the frostings to swirl on top. And we’ll get there in a bit.
KEY Chocolate Cupcake ingredients
The list of ingredients for this recipe is short and sweet, and you likely already have all of them on hand. Here are some key ingredients you will need and why.
GRANULATED & BROWN SUGARS: we’re using both here for sweetness and moisture. Granulated (white) sugar brings sharp sweetness, and brown sugar brings a deeper, richer sweetness. With that, it also brings moisture, as brown sugar has a touch of molasses (a wet ingredient) which helps contribute a touch more moisture to baked goods compared to those without it.
DUTCH PROCESSED COCOA POWDER: this is cocoa powder that has been treated with an alkaline solution to neutralize its acidity. This makes for a rich and smooth chocolate flavor. You can use unsweetened cocoa powder if it’s all you have!
OIL: I have tested this recipe with butter and it’s just not the best way to retain moisture. While some of my cupcake recipes utilize butter and oil (like my red velvet cupcakes) to straddle the line between flavor and moisture, I lean all the way into oil since chocolatey is the focus and we don’t really need buttery when it comes to chocolate. I prefer to use avocado oil but have also made these cupcakes with vegetable and canola oil.
COFFEE: no, your cupcakes will not taste like coffee, but rather the chocolate flavor will be enhanced with the addition of coffee. It also lends a fuller bodied overall flavor when compared to chocolate cupcakes made with other liquid substitutions. You have options! See the notes section of the recipe card for suggestions.
I use brewed coffee in these chocolate cupcakes to enhance the already chocolatey notes of the cupcakes. If you’re concerned about caffeine, go ahead and use decaf. Or, leave it out and just use water.
When it comes to the Swiss meringue buttercream, you will repeat a lot of the same ingredients from the cupcake batter. In addition to granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, you will need 3 additional key ingredients.
EGG WHITES: egg whites and sugar make up the “meringue” portion of this buttercream. I do not recommend using eggs from a carton for this recipe, as fresh eggs whip up much better. Here are all of my recipes that utilize egg yolks.
UNSALTED BUTTER: butter is the ingredient that turns your Swiss meringue into a buttercream. I do not recommend using salted butter in this recipe as the saltiness will overpower the taste. You’ll slice the butter into Tablespoon slices in order to use it.
HIGH-QUALITY SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE: while you can make chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream with cocoa powder, I prefer the flavor and texture when its made with melted chocolate. I prefer Bakers, Ghirardelli, or Lindt. You’ll need the bar chocolate, and you’ll need it melted.
WHAT IF I WANT TO USE A DIFFERENT FROSTING?
Good news, you get to choose! I recommend any of my American buttercream recipes, but my top choices would be chocolate fudge frosting, chocolate buttercream, cookie dough frosting, or strawberry frosting.
OVERVIEW: How to make Chocolate Cupcakes from Scratch
You only need one bowl and one whisk to get this job done. You’ll need a mixer for the frosting, but good news, you won’t have to clean it between your cupcakes and frosting!
The steps below are just the basics and a place for me to show you photos of the process. You will find more detailed instructions in the recipe card.
MAKE THE CUPCAKES
Whisk together the dry ingredients: this means the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the wet ingredients: add the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and coffee directly to the dry ingredients and whisk until everything is completely combined.
Fill the cupcake wells: spoon the batter evenly into the cupcake liners filling ½ to ⅔ of the way full (I like to use an ice cream scoop with a trigger— one scant scoop full). This step can make or break your cupcakes, so be sure you’re not over-filling the wells!
MAKE THE CHOCOLATE SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
Heat the eggs + sugar: over a double boiler, whisk the egg whites and sugar vigorously until sugar melts completely and egg whites become white and frothy. Remove from heat and place bowl back onto a stand mixer.
Whip the egg whites + sugar into meringue: use the whisk attachment to whip the mixture on high speed until medium peaks form (it will resemble the texture of shaving cream).
Add the butter: this will be done 1 Tablespoon at a time. You will need to be patient here!
Finish the frosting: once all of the butter has been incorporated, increase the mixer speed to high and beat until medium to medium-stiff peaks form. Turn off the mixer, add the cooled melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt, and beat again until stiff peaks form.
Tips for making the Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Feel free to frost these cupcakes with any of my favorite American buttercream recipes.
For the best flavor of cupcakes, use coffee (see below for substitutions).
Be sure you’re whisking the batter until all of the large chunks of dry ingredients are gone. Some smaller chunks are fine.
Do not overfill your cupcake liners, as your cupcakes will spill over the sides, creating flat tops. I like to use an ice cream scoop with a trigger— one scant scoop full.
Variations & Substitutions for Simple Chocolate Cupcakes
If you don’t want to use coffee, you can use hot water. Be sure that the liquid is hot so the cocoa can bloom. You can use decaf coffee if you’re worried about the caffeine, but I promise using coffee won’t make your cupcakes taste like coffee. It will only bring out the rich, deep flavor of chocolate.
If you don’t want to use coffee but still want a rich flavor, you can use milk. Again, be sure it has been heated to help bloom the cocoa powder.
How to store this Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Store your cupcakes at room temperature, or in the refrigerator if the frosting you’ve chosen to use needs to be refrigerated. Swiss meringue buttercream is a stable frosting, so it is safe to keep at room temperature for 1-2 days.
Simple Chocolate Cupcake Recipe FAQs
Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 6 Tablespoons (36g) Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (48mL) oil1
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 ounces (150mL) hot coffee2
CHOCOLATE SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
- 3 large egg whites
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 ounces (86g) semi-sweet chocolate melted and cooled
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line the wells of a 12 count cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour, 6 Tablespoons (36g) Dutch processed cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- To the dry ingredients, add the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and coffee and whisk until everything is completely combined.2 large eggs, ¼ cup (48mL) oil1, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 5 ounces (150mL) hot coffee2
- Spoon batter evenly into the cupcake liners filling ½ to ⅔ of the way full (I like to use an ice cream scoop with a trigger— one scant scoop full). Bake for 13-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
CHOCOLATE SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
- Heat a small pot of water over medium heat until it steams. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites and granulated sugar. Place bowl over steaming pot, to create a double boiler.3 large egg whites, ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- Whisk the egg whites and sugar vigorously until sugar melts completely and egg whites become white and frothy, about 1 and ½ to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and place bowl back onto stand mixer.
- Fit stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk egg white/sugar mixture on high speed until medium peaks form (it will resemble the texture of shaving cream).
- Turn the mixer down to low, then add the butter one Tablespoon at a time, waiting for the butter to completely incorporate before adding more, until you have used all of the butter. If at any time your mixture starts to look curdled or chunky, just keep mixing and it will correct itself.¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter
- Once all of the butter has been incorporated, increase the mixer speed to high and beat until medium to medium-stiff peaks form. Turn off the mixer, add the cooled melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt, and beat again until stiff peaks form. If you are having trouble achieving peaks, place the bowl and whisk attachment in the fridge for about 10 minutes and then try again. Meringue (or even a kitchen) that is too warm can prevent the meringue from peaking properly.3 ounces (86g) semi-sweet chocolate, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Fill a piping bag (or a large zip top bag with the corner snipped off) with frosting and decorate your cupcakes. If you want a fancier pipe, use a Wilton 1M tip. Cupcakes stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Undecorated cupcakes may be frozen, up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and allow to come to room temperature before decorating.
Notes
- Oil: I prefer avocado oil, but canola or vegetable oil work well here, too. You can also use melted coconut oil, but may be able to detect the coconut flavor.
- Hot coffee: your cupcakes will not taste like coffee, but if you would prefer not to use it, you can use hot water or very warm milk. It is important that your liquid be hot or very warm in order to bloom the cocoa powder.
- Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream: if you would like an in-depth tutorial for how to make this frosting and/or want to see a short video for visuals, visit my post dedicated entirely to the process of making this frosting.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Gorgeous cupcakes, So not to be off topic but do you happen to have a strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream? If you don’t, I already planned on using your strawberry buttercream, which is awesome, by the way. 🙂
Hey, Courtney! I do not. BUT, if you’ve got the ingredients to make my strawberry buttercream (as in the freeze dried strawberries), I’d suggest using the same amount of powder called for in that one, and just follow these instructions as written, replacing the melted chocolate with the powder. Theoretically and in my mind, it should work nicely, haha. Let me know if you try it!
Can I replace the chocolate in the swiss meringue with white chocolate
You should be able to do that– let me know if you try it!
I made these cupcakes for my daughters birthday and frosted them using the marshmallow frosting recipe and they were incredible! I got so many compliments on them. Such a delicious combo ❤️ will be making them again. My husband even mentioned how much he liked the frosting and he isn’t a huge fan of frosting. 10/10 for the chocolate cupcake recipe and definitely recommend the marshmallow frosting ❤️
Thank you so much for this!
The best cupcake I have ever eaten! OMG!! soft, delicious!!! I don’t have words to describe it!!
Thank you so much, Rosiane! I appreciate you 🙂
When I saw this recipe in a Fesh April Flours email, I knew I had try them. Oh my gosh! These are so perfect! I love the fluffy cupcakes! They are so moist & have a great chocolate flavor. Paired with the light as a feather buttercream, these are so tasty! This is my first time making Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The directions & detailed pictures in the recipe blog helped me keep my confidence when it went from smooth to chunky. I kept mixing & it went smooth again. I think I will be making this buttercream for all of my cake recipes. I can’t wait to try different flavors – like chocolate peanut butter! I really could have just eaten this buttercream on its own. It’s so perfect!
Thank you so much, Amy! I’m so glad you enjoyed these cupcakes and the frosting 🙂
Hi! I want to use this recipe to bake a 9×13 double layer sheet cake. Should I double the recipe?
Hi, Veronica– I’d double it per EACH 9×13 layer. So double of this would be one layer and another double would be another layer. Let me know how it turns out!
You are sooo helpful. Thank you so much!
Hi! I absolutely LOVE this recipe! Just a quick question, would I be able to substitute the flour for Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 All purpose baking flour? I have some friends who are gluten free 😊 Thank you!
Hey, Maria– that should work perfectly fine. Reduce baking time by a couple minutes just to be sure, then test, and let me know how it goes! 🙂
I made these cupcakes for the first time this week and I love them. I believe I found my go to chocolate cupcake recipe. It was also my first time making Swiss meringue, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Lol when I buy store bought cakes with Swiss meringue it’s less sweet than this, but I did eyeball my sugar a little bit so it could be too sweet due to my measuring. Im sure I’ll try it again. It piped beautifully, it’s smooth and pretty, a great recipe overall!
Thank you so much, Rachel! I don’t find this Swiss meringue buttercream too sweet, but of course, that’s my subjective opinion! I’ll be interested to see if you try it again and measure the sugar how your opinion might change. Regardless, so glad you enjoyed these 🙂 thanks for letting me know.
Definitely the best cupcake recipe I have ever made or eaten! Made them for my son’s 1st birthday party. Didn’t get to take any leftovers home! The only change I made was subbed butter for the oil. Two thumbs up! Delicious and had to post them on my IG;)
Thank you so much, Jessica!
We made these for my daughters birthday last night, and they were a total hit! The cupcakes are so delicious and chocolatey, and that Swiss meringue buttercream is probably the most beautiful and delicious frosting I have ever made. We will definitely be making this again, and I shared the recipe with the friends who celebrated with us. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Erin! 🙂