These Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes are chocolaty, moist and basically perfect! Top them with vanilla buttercream or chocolate buttercream for dessert heaven. They are also wickedly easy for a from scratch cupcake.
Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes pretty much says it all – don’t you think? Every store and bakery out there sells some sort of chocolate cupcake but most of them are inferior.
These cupcakes are moist and sweet and packed with chocolate. They are a rich decadent treat but only take a few minutes to whip together! I think this is one of those classics that you will make multiple times through the year and serve for all kinds of occasions. And yes, these are also the cupcakes you will make when life just does not go your way and it is major chocolate treat time.
One word of warning – don’t be surprised if these are addictive and you end up expected to bring these to every event you go to! Oh, and also heads up the batter is crazy runny – as in a smoothie is thicker. Just follow the recipe and don’t panic. Dessert will be perfect 🙂
This recipe is adapted from my Classic Moist Chocolate Cake recipe – another winner!
Have a great week guys. Thanks for stopping by to cook with me!
Tools In This Post: The secret to quick and easy cupcakes is a measured scoop. I use this one that puts 4 Tbsp. of batter in each cupcake. It is perfect for this recipe. Scoops make my life simple.
Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For The Cupcakes
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or other high quality cocoa or dark cocoa
- 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup boiling water
For Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 8 cups powdered sugar (a 32oz bag)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 7 Tablespoon whole milk
For Chocolate Buttercream
- 8 oz package cream cheese room temp
- ½ cup salted butter room temp
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder such as Hershey or Hershey Dark
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
To Bake The Cupcakes
- Put oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and almond extract. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, stir in boiling water (the batter will be very thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes.
To Make The Frosting
- Put all the frosting ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low until combined, scraping sides and bottom as needed until the frosting comes together.
- Turn the mixer to high and beat for 3 minutes. Scrape the sides and beat an additional 2 minutes on high.
- Frost the cupcakes with a Wilton 1M tip for a swirl pattern or frost as desired.
Your Rating Matters
When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. - Mirlandra
Nutrition Estimate
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
Leave a Reply