These super moist chocolate cupcakes pack TONS of chocolate flavor in each cupcake wrapper! Made from simple everyday ingredients, this easy cupcake recipe will be your new favorite. For best results, use natural cocoa powder and buttermilk. These chocolate cupcakes taste completely over-the-top with chocolate buttercream!
Today we’re diving deep into what I like to call a “foundation recipe.” Basic chocolate cupcakes which are, indefinitely, anything but basic.
This is a solid base recipe that serves as a jumping off point for many others. Like my basic vanilla cupcakes recipe, these chocolate cupcakes hold a sacred spot in my baking repertoire. There will never be a reason to find a better version—this is THE chocolate cupcake recipe I use time and time again.
I shared this recipe 3 years ago as chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting, but I want to walk you through the process (1) with step-by-step pictures, (2) with careful explanations, (3) and I want to emphasize one VERY crucial instruction. If you skip this instruction, your entire batch will be ruined. Trust me, the evidence has landed in my trashcan time and time again. It’s not pretty.
Curious about other foundation recipes?
- Vanilla cupcakes and vanilla cake
- Sugar cookies and chocolate sugar cookies
- Chocolate cake (try this!!)
- Chewy fudgy frosted brownies
- Peanut butter cookies (foundation for 6+ other cookies on my site!)
Today’s chocolate cupcakes are for true chocolate fans. I’m talking about those of you who don’t qualify an item as dessert unless there’s chocolate involved. Strawberry shortcake is a dessert impostor and forget about apple pie. That’s some sort of health food, right?
You need 2 bowls, 1 whisk, and 1 spatula. The base of these chocolate cupcakes, and what is responsible for the super-moist texture, is oil. Like double chocolate muffins, we’re not creaming butter here, so there is no need to break out the mixer. Though you can absolutely use a hand or stand mixer if it’s easier for you.
We’re also achieving an incredibly moist texture with buttermilk. Just like in these cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, buttermilk also gives us the best flavor. I don’t typically have buttermilk in the fridge, so I sour whole milk instead. Check out my recipe notes for how to do that one.
Another tip? Make sure you’re using natural unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutched cocoa. Why? Here’s the difference between dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder. And if you really want to learn today, here is the difference between baking soda vs. baking powder and why I use both in these chocolate cupcakes.
So there’s 1 bowl for dry ingredients and 1 bowl for wet ingredients. Gently mix the two together. The batter isn’t as thick as you would think. We don’t really want a super thick chocolate batter because that would yield a cupcake similar to brownies. Dense. We don’t want dense! We want spongey, cakey, and rich.
This Will Make or Break Your Recipe
Fill the cupcake liners only halfway full. Not 2/3, not 3/4, not all the way to the top. Half full. You will question yourself as you pour in the batter. Really? This is ALL that I’m using for each cupcake? The answer is yes, that is all you are using for each cupcake.
- If you fill the liners too full, the cupcakes will overflow.
- Too full = crisp mushroom tops
- Too full = sinking in the center
Got that? Halfway full! Halfway full!
Now that the cupcakes are baked and your self control is fading quickly, it’s time to frost them. The frosting flavor is completely up to you. We have a plethora of options on this site from chocolate buttercream and rainbow chip frosting to strawberry frosting, vanilla buttercream, salted caramel frosting, and cream cheese frosting. Keeping things even (though highly indulgent) with chocolate buttercream and a friendly dose of chocolate sprinkles.
And layer that buttercream on nice and tall. (I used Wilton 1M!)
I don’t normally reach for chocolate desserts if there’s a fruity one on the menu, but I would gladly unwrap one of these over any other choice.
By the way, this recipe transfers beautifully into cake pans to make a 6 inch cake.
PrintSuper Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 35 minutes (includes cooling)
- Yield: 12-14 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made from simple everyday ingredients, this easy chocolate cupcake recipe will be your new favorite. For best results, use natural cocoa powder and buttermilk. These chocolate cupcakes taste completely over-the-top with chocolate buttercream!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder*
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant espresso*
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature*
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable or canola oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
- chocolate buttercream and sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 2 liners – this recipe makes about 14 cupcakes. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Then half of the buttermilk. Gently whisk for a few seconds. Repeat with the remaining wet ingredients and buttermilk. Stir until *just* combined; do not overmix. The batter will be thin.
- Pour or spoon the batter into the liners. Fill only halfway (this is imperative! only halfway!) to avoid spilling over the sides or sinking. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost cooled cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. You can swipe the frosting on with an icing knife or use a piping tip such as Wilton 1M. Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can bake the cupcakes 1 day in advance. Keep cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature and frost the day of serving. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting and serving.
- Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Cupcake Liners | Cupcake Pan | Reusable Piping Bags or Disposable Piping Bags | Wilton 1M Frosting Tip | Reese’s Pieces Candy | Hershey’s Cocoa Powder
- Mini Cupcakes: Fill mini liners only halfway and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350°F (177°C).
- Cake: Here’s my chocolate layer cake recipe.
- Cocoa Powder: Use natural cocoa powder, not Dutch-process. See Dutch-process vs natural cocoa powder for more information.
- Espresso Powder: Espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavor. You can skip it or use 1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder instead.
- Why Room Temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1/2 cup. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cupcakes won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin!
These are wonderful. I don’t think they are the easiest to bake since most of mine did sink and overflow. However, I am not a huge chocolate cake fan and I thought these were delicious. Super tasty and very light and fluffy.
This is my go-to recipe when I make chocolate cupcakes with my three girls. This recipe makes the perfect chocolate cupcakes that are moist, light, and delicious – the perfect cupcake combo. I think the ingredient of buttermilk makes all the difference with taste. A slight tanginess adding to the decadence of the finished product. We also make your chocolate buttercream icing, and I let me girls do the sprinkles. Thank you!
I made this for the first time today and they were very good! The only question I have is this…your recipe says the batter will be thin but mine actually wasn’t. It was more the thickness of cake batter. Why is that? What did I do wrong?
Hi Brian, did you alter the recipe at all? If not, I don’t think you necessarily did anything wrong. If you let the batter sit for awhile, it will begin to thicken as the flour and cocoa powder begin to absorb some liquid.
I didn’t alter anything but is it possible that I overbaked? Your recipe says 18-21 mins and I went straight to 20 mins.
Very chocolatey and tasty, but mine came out pretty dense. I forgot to buy buttermilk so i used some heavy whipping cream that I had on hand so maybe that caused the density? Not sure. I also loaded them with chocolate chips and pecan pieces. But still a tasty recipe.
Wow these were wonderful. Moist yummy goodness. I also made you chocolate buttercream frosting. Thank you for sharing your recipes. I thought the batter was to thin but it baked up to a beautiful cupcake.
I normally don’t write reviews but this one needs to be praised big time. My go to chocolate cupcake recipe. Don’t think I’ll ever use another. so delicious and perfectly moist. And it’s so quick and easy, normally I’m done prepping/baking/cleaning within 30ish minutes. Love it!
Amazing! Definitely a great chocolate cupcake recipe that I’ll be using again soon. Even after using the wrong cocoa powder these still turned out delicious, I topped them with orange flavoured buttercream and they were perfect, great recipe!
This is my go to chocolate cupcake recipe! They always turn out so beautiful, moist and soooo tasty!!
Absolutely delicious. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Hi Sally,
I’d like to make this chocolate cupcake recipe today but only have salted butter. Can I substitute the salted butter by eliminating the 1/2 tsp salt listed in the recipe?
Hi Lisa, this cupcake recipe doesn’t call for butter! Just oil. You can certainly use salted butter in the chocolate frosting, though.
Great recipe! Made this a dozen times when we lived in Singapore and it was always a hit. Now that we live in Helsinki, I’ve made this 3x and the papercups fall off all the time and I wonder why. This doesn’t happen when we were in Singapore. Any idea?
Hi Janine, Any chance you are using a different type of paper cups? If you can, use cupcake liners labeled as “grease proof” which should definitely help. Also, are you at high altitude? If so, some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I have made this repeatedly. always moist flavor packed and perfect. my go to chocolate cupcake recipe!!
SO light and moist. Absolutely delicious! I never need to search for a chocolate cupcake/cake recipe again. Thanks so much!
Hi Sally!! I recently decided to start taking my baking seriously and stumbled across your page.I have not looked back and I will continue to use your recipes to make awesome goodies!! I successfully made perfect chocolate cupcakes last night and even the batter tasted like pure chocolate!Thank you Sally,you are amazing!!
Loved these cupcakes, I had never made chocolate cupcakes before even though chocolate is my favourite, the whole family loved them, making more to day, thanks Sally they were yummy.
Excellent recipe and great cupcakes. Thank you!
These were so light and fluffy. I made 2 batches (separately) and only 1 batch of icing. Turned out perfectly. I will def be using again and will be recommending to everyone!!
Great recipe! Easy and quick and came out moist and chocolatey. And the buttercream was nice and fluffy.
Can you substitute the oil for melted butter
Hi Courtney, When these were tested with butter they tasted pretty dry. I recommend sticking to the recipe.
This recipe was great, and I finally had cupcakes that weren’t dense and a buttercream that had actual form. Thank you so much!
HI Sally,
Can I make these chocolate cupcakes into a cake? If so, should i change the time or the temp?
Thanks!
Hi Haley, Here’s a chocolate cake that is just as moist and chocolate-y.
Hi just wondering if you could freeze the cupcakes?
Sure can! See the make ahead instructions in the recipe notes.
love these recipe! I’ve made this for a while now and it always yields perfect cupcakes!
A bit dry, but good overall.
I’ve made these sooo many times over the last year or so and they are sooo fluffy! I will never trade these for any other basic chocolate cupcake recipe. Like I said above, fluffy, moist, not too rich, and they have the best chocolaty taste ever! soooo good, especially w/ whipped cream. Nice job, Sally!
Hi Sally,
I’m wanting to make a cupcake version of your german chocolate cake, and noticed you suggested using the coconut pecan filling to fill the cupcakes – love this idea. However with your german chocolate cake you use espresso powder which is not in these cupcakes, is this going to make the cupcakes less rich?
Hi Laura, You can add 1 tsp espresso powder to the cupcakes without making any other changes to the recipe. Enjoy!
Help! I noticed that you use different types of decorating tips for your recipes. I’m a novice at baking and want to purchase a set of decorating tips for my cakes and cupcakes. What would you recommend I purchase? Wilton?
Thank you!
Hi Linda, The post Piping Tips 101 + Video lists the five tips we use most often.
they are amaze my fam loves them i need to make another batch
Super moist almost cloud like texture. Thank you Sally, couldn’t stop eating them.
Just perfect, amazing and super easy. Thank you!!