These are the easiest chocolate cupcakes I’ve made, and they taste incredible! They are so rich and chocolatey. If you can stir ingredients together in a bowl, you can make these cupcakes!
This chocolate cupcake recipe is almost like magic. The batter is ridiculously quick to make, plus they don’t require any dairy or eggs! Every time I make these cupcakes, I’m blown away by how incredible they are.
I make these chocolate cupcakes for birthdays, family get-togethers, and really anytime I need chocolate cake in my life. They always deliver! For the frosting, I’ve included tips for keeping these vegan (if that’s something you’d prefer) and how to make traditional buttercream. So you can choose what’s best for you! For more, see our sour cream chocolate cupcakes or this epic chocolate cake!
Key Ingredients
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour for these cupcakes. If you’d like to make these gluten-free, you very likely can do so with your favorite 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
- Cocoa Powder: This is what adds that rich chocolate flavor. I use quite a bit. For these cupcakes, use a natural cocoa powder or cacao powder, not Dutch-processed, which will not react as well with the baking soda in the recipe. Cocoa powder is also my secret for the best brownies!
- Baking Soda: This helps our cupcake batter rise in the oven. It reacts with the natural cocoa powder, vinegar, and brown sugar in the cupcake batter.
- Sugar: We use a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar for these cupcakes. They both add sweetness to balance the cocoa, but the granulated sugar does so without weighing down the batter. The brown sugar adds a bit of extra moisture and flavor.
- Oil: Speaking of not weighing down the batter, we love oil in these cupcakes. I use the same trick for muffins. Butter tastes amazing, but oil keeps our cupcakes super light and tender, which I prefer for this recipe. Any neutral oil will work (like vegetable, avocado, or light-flavored olive oil).
- Vinegar: This helps with flavor and keeps our cupcakes light and fluffy in the middle (you can see the photos showing all the airy bubbles inside). I use apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar will do.
- Hot Coffee (or Water): Here’s the secret to the best chocolate cupcakes! When you stir hot coffee or water into cocoa powder, it blooms, enhancing the chocolate flavor tremendously. The hot liquid also warms up the batter, giving it a head start in the oven. Coffee works really well with chocolate and makes it taste more like chocolate. If you aren’t into it, use hot water!
- Frosting: I love a simple vanilla buttercream for these cupcakes. Our recipe below is the same for vegan buttercream as regular buttercream. The only change is to use plant-based butter and non-dairy milk if you need it to be vegan or dairy-free. The vegan version turns out slightly less thick and creamy but still very delicious.
This recipe couldn’t get much easier. The batter comes together quickly and requires simple, everyday ingredients. You are looking at 3 simple steps for these cupcakes (1) whisk the dry ingredients to remove lumps, (2) mix your wet ingredients and combine with the dry, and (3) whisk in hot coffee or water. Pour into your muffin cups and bake!
Remember it’s that hot coffee that makes the cupcakes moist, rich, and so chocolaty! And that’s it! Let them cool and frost with your favorite frosting (I love the vanilla buttercream below).
Easy Chocolate Cupcakes
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These chocolate cupcakes are so easy to make! They are super rich and taste so chocolaty! As written the cupcake batter is naturally vegan (dairy and egg free!), which was not intentional, but I promise these really are amazing cupcakes! My buttercream is not vegan; however, I’ve included tips for making it vegan if you need to.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
Chocolate Cupcakes1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75g) unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder, sifted if needed
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (120ml) neutral oil or light and fruity olive oil
2 tablespoons (30ml) apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (355ml) hot coffee, can substitute hot water
Simple Vanilla Buttercream1 cup (230g) unsalted butter or vegan butter sticks, softened to room temperature
4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
2 to 4 tablespoons (30 to 60ml) heavy cream, milk or non-dairy milk at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
- Chocolate Cupcakes
1Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. (This recipe makes 16 cupcakes, so you can line 4 more cups in a second pan if your oven will fit both or bake the remaining 4 cupcakes after the first batch is done).
2In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt until well blended. If your cocoa powder is lumpy, sift these ingredients instead.
3In another medium bowl, whisk the sugars with the oil, vinegar and vanilla extract.
4Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the dry ingredients in two parts, gently stirring until they disappear. The batter will be very thick — that’s okay.
5Pour in the hot coffee (or water) and stir until blended and the batter is mostly smooth.
6Pour or spoon the batter into the liners, filling about 3/4 of the way to the top. Gently tap the pan on the work surface a few times to remove any large air bubbles from the batter, and then bake until the tops of the cupcakes are springy when touched and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
7Cool cupcakes in the pan then top with frosting.
- Vanilla Buttercream
1This recipe makes enough frosting to generously frost the cupcakes. We typically have frosting leftover since we prefer our cupcakes with a bit less frosting on top. If you are swirling the frosting on using a piping tip, this recipe should be plenty.
2Add butter (or vegan butter sticks) to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy using a handheld mixer (or use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment).
3If the powdered sugar is lumpy, sift it.
4Add the vanilla, salt and sugar until well incorporated and the frosting is fluffy. If it seem too thick, thin it out with a splash of cream, milk or non-dairy milk. If it is too thin, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more powdered sugar.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing unfrosted cupcakes: Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Freeze unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container for up to two months. Bring them to room temperature before frosting (about 2 hours).
- Storing frosted cupcakes: Keep them in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Freeze frosted cupcakes for up to two months. To do this, partially freeze them by placing them on a baking sheet and leaving them uncovered in the freezer until the frosting has hardened (30 minutes to an hour). Then, transfer the cupcakes to an airtight container, being careful to leave some space between each cupcake. Bring them to room temperature before serving (about 2 hours).
- Leftover buttercream: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze for up to two months. Allow it to warm up slightly before frosting cake or cupcakes.
- Vegan chocolate cupcakes: This cupcake batter is naturally vegan. However, make sure that the sugar you use is labeled vegan. To make the buttercream vegan-friendly, substitute the butter for vegan butter sticks and use non-dairy milk for the cream.
- Mini chocolate cupcakes: This recipe will make about 3 dozen mini cupcakes. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes in a 350°F (177°C) oven.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
This was a super easy recipe and the resulting cupcakes were so yummy…very rich but not overly sweet!
Oh my ! These are simply delicious! The best I’ve made to date!
Yummmmy
Will be making these for my vegan daughter. I actually have everything needed. Wonderful.