Chocolate Cupcakes

chocolate cupcake in liner topped with piped chocolate frosting.

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EUREKA! These are the Chocolate Cupcakes of my dreams!! I've never been a cupcake person, but I have found my forever recipe after a lot of trial and error. This cupcake is moist and full of rich chocolate-y flavor, with perfectly soft, fluffy texture. Honestly, it's good all on it's own, but just you wait til you pair it with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream...heaven! I've got step by step photos to show you exactly how to make them!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 189kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

In a saucepan

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
4 ounces 60% bittersweet chocolate I use a 4-oz Ghirardelli bar
1/2 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk

In a large bowl

1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt use 1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the tops of 2 muffin tins with nonstick spray (not so much the wells, focus on the flat top, just in case there is any overflow). Line each cavity with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a 3-quart saucepan, add 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, and 1/2 cup butter. Melt over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Make sure to moisten all of the cocoa powder; don't let it stick to the sides of the pan. Bring to a low boil; once you see it bubbling, remove it from the heat.
Add 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, and 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a couple minutes so the chocolate melts, then whisk until smooth.
Add 1/2 cup whole milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 2 large eggs, and 1 egg yolk. Whisk for at least 2 minutes. When you lift the whisk, there should be no globs of egg sticking to it. Make sure the eggs are well incorporated.
Place a strainer over a large bowl. Add 1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Stir until it's all been sifted into the bowl.
Add 1 cup granulated sugar and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt to the flour. (use 1/2 teaspoon table salt). Whisk it all together.
Carefully pour the dry ingredients into the saucepan with the chocolate mixture. (Then wipe out the bowl and put it in your cupboard.)
Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until most of the lumps are gone, then stop right away (over mixing can make your cupcakes tough.)
Whisk in 1/2 cup sour cream. Stir until it's fully incorporated with no streaks. The batter will be very thin. This is ok!
Use 1/4 cup measuring cup to spoon batter into the cupcake liners. The 1/4 cup doesn't have to be completely full, just use 1/4 cup as your scoop. Divide the batter evenly between 24 cupcake liners.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees F for a total of 14-17 minutes. See notes for baking both pans at once.* You will know the cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with no wet batter on it. The top of the cupcake will no longer be shiny and wet. When you press your finger gently into the side of a cupcake, it will spring back right away, leaving no indentation. DO NOT over bake these cupcakes! Take them out as soon as you can, following these cues.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and within 30 seconds, use your fingers or a rubber spatula to gently press any cupcakes together that aren't perfectly round (in the case that any cupcake was overfilled).
Cool on a wire rack for about 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, use your fingers or a rubber spatula to gently lift the cupcakes out of the muffin tin. If you let them cool in the pan, they will get soggy. Let the cupcakes cool on the wire rack.
Let the cupcakes cool completely until room temperature. If you have some down time in between when they are cool and when they will be frosted, cover the cupcakes loosely with plastic wrap.
Frost** with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, or the lighter, more whipped Chocolate Buttercream. Head to my Chocolate Cake recipe and follow the recipe for the frosting.
Storage. Store the unfrosted cupcakes covered loosely with plastic wrap. Store frosted cupcakes covered in a tupperware. They can be left on the counter for 3-5 days, after that (how??) stick them in the fridge.
Freezer instructions. Line the baked cupcakes on a sheet pan and place the pan in the freezer to flash freeze. After 30 minutes, transfer the cupcakes to a freezer ziplock, remove as much air as possible, seal, and place back in the freezer. Already baked goods tend to dry out faster than unbaked goods, so plan to eat them within 1-2 months. I don't recommend freezing already frosted cupcakes, so only frost what you need or plan to gift the rest (your friends will love you)!

Notes

*Baking both pans at once: You can bake both pans of cupcakes at once. Place one pan on an upper rack, and one on the lower rack, as close to the center of the oven as possible. Set a timer for 11 minutes and CAREFULLY switch the pans, then continue baking for the remaining time. Make sure when you switch the pans that the cupcakes have cooked partially on the top. If they are still completely liquid on top, they will fall with the movement of switching pans. Wait until they have a bit of structure but aren't fully cooked.

Frosting: There are 3 types of frostings shown in the photos of this post! Just in case you thought you were losing your mind 😂 The darker, shinier chocolate frosting is Fudge Frosting, which has a super rich...fudgy texture. lol. The lighter colored, less shiny frosting is the Creamy Chocolate Buttercream that I posted last week. (My fav for these cupcakes. The fudge is almost TOO rich tbh.) I don't have the Fudge Frosting ready for posting yet, but I will get it up soon! The golden frosting is Whipped Peanut Butter Frosting, and I'm SOOO excited about this recipe!! Will share soon!

Nutrition