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
Hi,
Do these end up with any hint of coffee flavour?
Thanks!
Hi Jane, there is no coffee flavor at all—it simply deepens the chocolate flavor. Hope you enjoy them!
Hi Sally. My muffins were sticking to my silicone mold. Usually I do not run into this problem as it is a great mold. I did use canola oil. Do you know what could have been the issue?
Hi Caroline, we haven’t tested this particular recipe in silicone molds before. It is a very light cake, so that could be the culprit here, especially if the molds were not sprayed beforehand. If you can use cupcake liners next time, what will help. Hope you still enjoyed the cupcakes!
Very excited to make these for my daughter’s birthday party this weekend! Can I just triple the recipe to account for the number of cupcakes I need, or do I need to make some adjustments?
Hi KS, you could also use our chocolate cake batter which produces 2-3 dozen cupcakes. See recipe notes there for more details.
So sad these don’t turn out. Sunk in the middle.
Expected them to puff up like your white cupcakes.
Hi Ruth, cocoa powder is not as structurally sound as flour, and these are very moist and soft cupcakes, but if they sank down a lot after baking they could have been under-baked. A couple extra minutes in the oven should help for next time. Hope you give them another try!
I’m sorry but these were horrible. Did everything like the recipe said and just was not pleasant at all.
I have made these cupcakes before and they are everything you say they are. I just had one problem with my last batch. I made them in the silicone mold they had quite a bit of detail to it. Even though they were completely cooled getting them out of the mold was terrible. I did spray the mold with baking spray. Any suggestions going forward? Should I use a different recipe?
Thank you
Hi Zazzi, we haven’t tested these cupcake in a silicone mold, but since they’re quite soft and fragile, we wonder if the method of removing them from the mold is the culprit, particularly if they had fine details. You might try these chocolate cupcakes next time. They’re very similar, but just a touch sturdier. Let us know if you give it a try.
Great recipe as usual, Sally – simple and delicious. People should really take note that they have to use ‘natural’ cocoa which DOES NOT MEAN ORGANIC! It means it’s not Dutch-processed. Natural cocoa tastes better than Dutch-processed because it retains the natural acidity in chocolate. Don’t let the darkness of Dutch-processed fool you into thinking that it tastes better because it doesn’t. I can’t get Hershey’s Natural Cocoa anymore in Canada so I’ve switched to Navitas.
Hi can i know the nutritional fact per cupcake
Hi Susithra, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Hello,
This recipe is delicious. I was wondering if you have a vanilla cupcake recipe that has the fluffiness and moisture? I have tried your vanilla recipe and it’s great but the texture is heavier.
Hi Terry, we’re so glad you enjoyed these! Chocolate cupcakes will inherently be a bit lighter due to the cocoa powder, but our vanilla cupcakes recipe is also wonderfully soft and fluffy. If they seemed heavy, was the batter overmixed by chance? Here are our tips for the best cupcakes, which may be helpful for your next batch.
Great flavour but when they came out it was obvious that the mixture had not sunk to the bottom of the cake paper. They are very light and hold little substance. Fine for young children but I wouldn’t make them again for adults, and this was for a friend and her daughters birthday.
I love these cupcakes. I left out the espresso. Do you have a vanilla cupcake with the same texture as this one has. Light and moist.
Hi Terry, These vanilla cupcakes are a favorite!
Hi, I’ve made this receipe many times. First time I made it, the batter was silky smooth. Next few times I’ve baked it the batter feels abit lumpy. Then after I bake them they look like that have tiny holes on the surface and sometimes even pockets of flour. What am I doing wrong ? Please help
Hi Jess, Small bubbles in cakes are normal, but if you have larger bubbles or holes in your cupcakes it could be from any number of reasons. Some common causes of air bubbles are over-mixing the batter, not having all of your ingredients at room temperature, using too much leaveners, or adding the eggs all at once instead of one at a time. Hope this helps for next time!
This is the best cupcake recipe ever. It’s my first time baking cupcakes, before this I followed different recipe but this one is really the best. So far this is my favorite cupcake recipe. The cupcake is moist and not too sweet which I really like and my family loved it. Thank you for this recipe
Hi Sally! I’ve been baking your cupcake recipes for years and they’re always a hit so thank you so much!!! I’ve seen other chocolate cupcake recipes online but I trust yours the most. That said, I really want to add Lindt milk chocolate truffles to the centers of this recipe – do you have any recommendations for how to go about doing that?
Hi Shay, sounds delicious! We haven’t tested adding a chocolate truffle to the center of a cupcake. You could try adding it before baking, but it may sink to the bottom in the batter, and possibly melt too quickly and melt into the batter. You could also try cutting out the centers of the baked cupcakes to add the truffle – would love to hear what you try!
Sadly, mine were dry. Thankfully, they are for a child’s birthday so I can use lots of frosting.
I am certain it was user error, I just don’t know why
Hi Karyn! Could they have been over-baked? Even just a minute or two too long can make a cupcake dry. And easy fix for next time!
Hi I need to make 18 cupcakes; can I make one and half measurment of this recipe please?
Hi Alisha, yes, you can 1.5x this recipe. Enjoy!
I notice this has a quarter-cup less flour and one more egg than the Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes. What difference does it make?
Hi Rachel, those changes help to yield a slightly sturdier cupcake for the chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes. These super moist chocolate cupcakes are slightly more fragile.
Hi Sally, do you leave the cupcakes to cool in the cupcake pan, or do you place on a wire rack to cool?
Hi Kriti, we let them cool slightly in the pans before removing and letting them cool on the rack.
We made these and loved them so much!
Any issues with doubling the recipe if I need more cupcakes?
Hi Arushi, for the best taste and texture, we highly recommend making the batter in separate batches instead of doubling. Large batches risk over-mixing or under-mixing the batter. Happy baking!
my cupcakes keep coming out sunken at the top
but like otherwise they’re the best things i’ve ever tasted literly
Too light. I like moist, but by the time these bake there’s almost nothing to them. Fine for a light frosting or glaze, not firm enough to hold buttercream.
I have made this recipe as is and it has been perfect every time. Today I am wondering about using it as the starting point for a more mocha flavored cupcake. Would that be a bad idea for any reason? If I go forward, would you recommend just increasing the expresso powder? adding hot coffee to the batter? both? something else? Thanks in advance!
Hi Barbara, if you wish you use liquid coffee you can try swapping some in for some of the the buttermilk. If you want them to really taste like coffee you can try these Mocha Cupcakes or Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes (leave out the peppermint). Let us know what you try!
This recipe is AWESOME!!!! I put all the dry ingredients in the blend tec, put that in a bowl, then put wet ingredients in blend tec using the melted coconut oil. The taste is chocolatey, light, and just wonderful!
My cupcakes turned out amazing. Just have one question. If I prep the cupcakes beforehand which would be the best way to store it? (Without the icing)
Hi Thaissa, we would freeze the baked and cooled cupcakes. Seal in an air tight container for up to three months, then thaw overnight in the fridge before bringing to room temperature and frosting.
Hello! I’m excited to try one of your chocolate cupcake recipes!
I’m only able to find reduced fat buttermilk. Is there such a thing as “full fat” buttermilk, and if so do cupcakes require it? Would I be able to use whole milk instead of buttermilk?
Hi Beverly, you can use either low-fat or full-fat buttermilk. Enjoy!
Love this recipe I also love your chocolate chip cookies recipe
I usually use Hersheys cocoa powder because you can find it everywhere and taste nice and rich. I was wondering if you had recommendations for other brands?
Thank you for your time.
Hi BB, we like to use Hershey’s (not the Special Dark, the regular) or Ghirardell cocoa powders.
My daughter made these and they are amazing. She was able to make 17 total and I calculated 374 calories each including the chocolate buttercream frosting, no sprinkles. Enjoy!
I’ve been asked to make cupcakes for a friend’s three year old’s birthday, and since I often have bad luck with cakes I tried this recipe to see if it would work for me. It turned out great! I didn’t have to change a thing and it was a very straightforward and pretty easy recipe. They took exactly 18 minutes in my oven at 350F and are pleasantly light and fluffy. The flavor is nice as well, not too sweet and pleasantly chocolatey.
Out of curiosity what size scoop do you recommend to get that 1/2 filled cup? The only scoop I had needed about 1 1/2 scoops to get the right amount which led to some being more or less filled since I was eyeballing.
Thanks for the great recipe!