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 desserts 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 texture, is oil—the same powerhouse ingredient we use for a super moist chocolate cake roll. 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 make a buttermilk substitute.
Another tip? Make sure you’re using natural unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutched cocoa, just like when making chocolate frosted cookies. 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, cream cheese frosting, and even a black chocolate buttercream frosting that we developed with these black velvet cupcakes. 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.
Print
Super 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-count 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 chocolate 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. I recommend a cupcake carrier for storing and transporting decorated cupcakes.
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 (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Piping Bags (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip | Icing Knife | Cupcake Carrier (for storage)
- 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 buttermilk substitute 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!
Reader Comments and Reviews
If these needs to be made ahead of time, would you recommend baking and freezing or baking a day in advance and wrapping tight at room temp?
Hi Sarah, You can bake the cupcakes 1 day in advance and keep cupcakes covered tightly at room temperature and frost the day of serving.
Would these be a good option to put a fruit filling into the center?
Absolutely!
Hi! I’m wondering if I need to make any changes if I’m baking these at high elevation?
Hi Taylor, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Doubled the recipe (since there was no indication anywhere in the recipe that I shouldn’t), followed to a T, including not overfilling the cups, and ended up with overflowing cups, cracked tops. Flavor’s good, maybe a tad too much espresso powder, hoping that buttercream will hide the issues. How about providing a recipe that just generally works without being so titchy? Really disappointed and I’ve now lost faith in SBA.
Hi Chris, thank you for your feedback. Sorry you have lost faith in my recipes. In general, I do not recommend doubling cake and cupcake recipes. It’s best to make 2 separate batches. Thank you for the suggestion to include this advice in the recipe. It is why I do not have an “auto 2x, 3x” button like other recipe websites.
Hi its sooo light and fluffy an moist that i never even used frosting, we enjoyed plain, im just wondering if i could turn this into vinalla? Im looking for nice light vinalla can i turn your choc into vinalla
Hi I need 2 dozen can I double recipe or can I fill less batter per cup in order to get extra or will either work
Hi Mehjabeen, we don’t recommend spreading the batter to make more cupcakes. Instead, we would make two batches of batter for best results.
Why did the tops of my cupcakes crack? They tasted good but were not very attractive.
Hi Diane, cupcakes will crack if the wet to dry ratio of ingredients is off. How did you measure the flour and cocoa powder? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Also be careful not to over-bake the cupcakes.
Thank you! I will try baking them again, as they were good!
Can you sub the eggs for applesauce or yogurt?
Hi Jane, we haven’t tested any egg substitutes here, but let us know if you do.
Can you sub cake flour for regular flour?
Hi Anita, We don’t recommend using cake flour in this recipe- it’s simply too light for this batter. Cocoa powder is extremely light and takes the place of some all-purpose flour in this recipe, so we already have very light cupcakes.
Do I need to make any adjustments to double this recipe or the birthday yellow cupcakes? Sorry if I already sent this and I’m sending a choice. I love your site! We eat the breakfast cookies almost daily.
Hi Laurie, For the best taste and texture, we highly recommend making the batter in separate batches instead of multiplying all at once. Large batches risk over-mixing or under-mixing the batter. Happy baking!
Hello! I’ve made the filled version of these cupcakes several times (hello, Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes and Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes), but I’ve never made these plain ol’ chocolate cupcakes. While looking over the recipe, I was a little curious as to why the hot coffee/water is omitted here, but present in those other versions. Would you mind explaining the reasoning? I know this is a bit odd, but I love learning about the chemistry of baking!
Hi Kate! Great question. This is a slightly older and different recipe from the cream-filled chocolate cupcakes. These can tend to be a bit fragile. So, a few changes to them in the cream-filled chocolate cupcakes helps give them a bit more structure, and the hot water/coffee helps deepen the chocolate flavor a bit. You can certainly use the cream-filled chocolate cupcakes for plain cupcakes, too. Hope this helps!
The cake was so delicious, and not too sweet. It was the perfect base for decoration with Russian piping tips!
I used liquid coconut oil in this recipe to make a 6” cake for my daughter’s first birthday, and it was so good! Would avocado oil work too? Getting ready for her 2nd birthday party 🙂
Hi Olivia, we prefer a more neutral-tasting oil, but avocado oil should work. The taste may be slightly different. So glad this is a favorite for you!
I think this recipe may be missing a liquid. Hot water or coffee? In what quanity?
Hi Jovan, we just use the buttermilk and oil in this recipe.
How long to cook for 6 inch cake and temp?
Hi Janne, here’s everything you need to know about baking 6-inch cakes.
Best cupcakes, used this recipe to make tray bake too.
These cupcakes tasted really good. I’m a big fan of using coffee in chocolate cake recipes plus buttermilk. Normally these ingredients combined to make a really moist cake. But that’s not what happened in this recipe. The cupcakes turned out to be fairly dry. I see other people who made this recipe thought so too. What do you think can be done about this?
Hi Evelyn, were the cupcakes over baked by chance? That’s usually the culprit when the cupcakes are a bit too dry. Be sure to also spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour isn’t over measured. Thank you for giving these cupcakes a try!
Hi Alison, we haven’t tested this recipe (or any of our cupcake recipes) with a 1:1 gluten free flour blend, so we’re unsure of the exact results. Let us know if you do give it a try!
Would you consider using a chocolate ganache instead of a chocolate buttercream for these cupcakes?
Hi Laurie, you can absolutely use chocolate ganache here instead of frosting.
Best chocolate cupcakes there are! And even better that they don’t require a high speed mixer or any chocolate bars. Super easy and quick to make. I wish we could submit photos, as ours always looks exactly like Sally’s!
Mine were dry. Not very tasty. Disappointed as they were for a wedding. I will look for another recipe.
Hi! I’d like to make this recipe dairy-free, but I’ve tried making dairy-free buttermilk before and it didn’t go so well.
Would it work to substitute 60g cashew yogurt and 60ml oat milk (similar to to the vanilla cake recipe)? or a different ratio?
Thanks so much!
Hi Nicole! We haven’t tested any dairy free substitutes, so can’t offer any guidance. Let us know if you try!
I ended up using 60g DF sour cream, and 60ml oat milk. Also poured the batter into three 6 inch cake tins instead of cupcakes.
Came out very well! Thanks for the recipe.
Best chocolate cupcakes recipe soft and fluffy is a winner thank you
These are awesome! I love the flavor and texture. The only thing I would like to tweak is the shape. I prefer my cupcakes to have a tall dome, and these are pretty flat topped. Can I use a higher temp initially and then lower it to get better rise, or would that ruin them?
Hi Grace, since this is a thinner batter, we don’t recommend an initial high burst of heat (we usually reserve that for thicker muffin batters that can withstand the burst). These are intended to be flat, but thicker batters will usually dome a bit on top, so you could try adding an additional Tablespoon of flour or cocoa powder to try and get that domed top. Keep in mind that it could change the final taste/texture of the cupcakes, though. Let us know what you try!
I used your recipe and made cupcakes for my church 23 Anniversary and they were wonderful they came out soft and moist and I got some pretty good compliment
It was really dry. I made them for my family but they were so dry, only the buttercream made it better
If they were noticeably dry, it sounds like your cupcakes simply may have been over baked. Did you spoon and level your flour, too? Both are easy fixes for next time! We also have a handy blog post on how to prevent dry & dense cakes that you might find helpful.
I made these cupcakes yesterday exactly as written but they were oh so dry. Two possible causes: 1.) I noticed the liners were very greasy afterward. I used Reynolds paper liners. Do I need better liners? OR 2. It was late at night when the cupcakes came out of the oven, so they cooled in the pan overnight. Where did I go wrong please?
Thank you and LOVE your recipes!
Hi Barb! Did the cupcakes sit out uncovered all night? That would likely dry them out. Also be very careful not to over-bake these cupcakes, it could take less time to bake in your oven, so always keep an eye on them. They should be very moist.
This recipe never fails me. Always chocolatey and super moist!
So, I made not one but TWO goofs on the first batch of these. First… Sally, I SWEAR I did not deliberately pooh-pooh your warning, I thought I only filled them halfway, apparently I overshot just a tad. And second… I accidentally added a whole teaspoon of baking soda instead of a half. Yep. Well, on the bright side, they taste fine and I now have a dozen mushroom top boys crumbled up in a baggie in the freezer to be turned into cake pops later. On the second batch I actually paid attention to WTF I was doing and lo and behold, they’re perfect! Amazing what a difference actually following the directions makes, lol. I topped them with your chocolate cream cheese frosting and they make a great team.
I would like to make this for a friend, but she can not have buttermilk or milk of any kind. Any suggestions.
Hi Mary, you can make the “homemade” buttermilk in the recipe notes with a dairy free milk substitute.