This Chocolate Cupcake recipe is so easy and the results are amazing every time. Top them with our 6-minute Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and you have the ultimate chocolate lovers cupcake! Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.
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We love homemade cupcake recipes from Vanilla Cupcakes to Pumpkin Cupcakes. They are always the first dessert to disappear at birthday parties. If you are a fan of cupcakes made from scratch, this Chocolate Cupcake Recipe is a must-try!
Chocolate Cupcake Video Tutorial
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Why you will Love these Chocolate Cupcakes
First, this recipe is SO EASY! Simply mix the dry ingredients, then mix the wet ingredients, and whisk them together. They bake up with a beautiful domed top.
These chocolate cupcakes are moist and fluffy at the same time with a tender crumb. The coffee is the secret ingredient here and makes these intensely chocolatey and gives the cupcakes a deeper color. You can’t really taste the coffee in these and you probably wouldn’t know it’s there if you didn’t read the recipe, but it really makes the chocolate flavor shine.
How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes
- Quick prep – Preheat the oven and line a 12-count cupcake pan.
- Mix dry ingredients – In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt), breaking up any big clumps of cocoa.
- Mix wet ingredients – In a second bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (warm coffee, vinegar, oil, egg, vanilla)
- Combine batter – Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. The batter will be a little loose with small lumps.
- Fill and bake – Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full and bake at 350˚F for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer the cupcakes to a rack to cool before frosting.
Pro Tip: Do not overfill cupcake tin. If you add more than 2/3, it will flow over, get stuck to the tin, and won’t form that perfect dome top. It’s better to have a little batter left over than to overflow the pan.
Common Questions
For best results, use unsweetened natural cocoa powder.
Our recipes are written for using a conventional oven. We bake at 350˚F on the center rack of the oven for exactly 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
This cupcake batter converts well to a cake and you will want to double the recipe for a 9-inch, 2-layer cake. See our Chocolate Cake Recipe for guidance on baking the cake.
You can substitute 1 cup coffee with 1 cup room temperature buttermilk. In my tests, the coffee gave the best color and more chocolate flavor (see photo below). If you are concerned about caffeine, decaf coffee will also work.
The Best Frosting for Chocolate Cupcakes
There are so many ways to frost a cupcake. We love them with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. You could also make Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting, or any of these cupcake icings:
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vanilla Cupcake Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Swiss Merignue Buttercream Recipe
- Chocolate Ganache
Make-Ahead
- Storing at Room Temperature: Make the cupcakes a day in advance, cool completely to room temperature then cover and store at room temperature until ready to frost and serve.
- Freezing: Freeze un-frosted cupcakes for up to 2 months in a freezer safe zip bag or storage container.
- To Thaw: Defrost cupcakes in the refrigerator overnight. For the softest texture, allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature before serving.
I hope this Chocolate Cupcake recipe becomes a go-to favorite for you! I cranked out 8 batches of cupcakes when I was developing the recipe and I am confident these are the ultimate chocolate cupcakes.
Easy Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup warm coffee, or 8 fluid oz
- 1 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
- 1/3 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F with the rack in the center of the oven. Fill a 12-count muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together dry ingredients, breaking up most of the cocoa clumps.
- In a second mixing bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
- Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whisk just until the ingredients come together and no dry streaks remain. Batter will be a little loose and lumpy.
- Use an ice cream scoop to portion batter, filling each cup 2/3 full (do not over-fill). Bake 18-22 min (20 minutes was perfect), until a toothpick inserted in the center, comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in the pan then transfer to a rack to cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi,
Can I use dutch processed cocoa instead of natural unsweeetened?
Thank you!
Hi Lisa! Please see the “Common Questions” section where we mention the type of cocoa we recommend. We do not recommend Dutch process cocoa here because it is usually used with baking powder natural cocoa is used in combination with baking soda.
Made these, and used coffee in the chocolate buttercream recipe instead of cream for a mocha frosting. They were delicious, my sister loved them.
That sounds delicious!
OMG this was my first successful chocolate cupcake batch because of this recipe! They came out amazing, moist fluffy and just a hint of coffee flavor. As confirmed decaf also worked, the buttercream frosting was absolutely stunning, so easy to whip up. I made the full batch and I sent some to my friends, got so many compliments. This recipe was so easy to follow and turned out amazing. I would definitely recommend this to anyone with a sweet tooth or likes chocolate in general. Thank you so much for creating such a stunning recipe Natasha! Lots of love from Canada! 💗
All I can say is hats off to this recipe. I just made this today and this is my 2nd time trying this and now IT WAS PERFECT. the 1st time I did this the cupcakes are hard and since I’m still new to baking, it didn’t occur to me that using the same measuring cup for all the ingredients are a big no-no 😅 so I ordered a digital scale and it came today and I immediately tried making this again and YES it really is the best choco cupcake. I swear this is my first time baking 🤣 and just make sure to strictly follow the recipe and you’ll get this moist cupcake. haven’t tried it with the frosting yet, but I’m sure gonna make it with the buttercream frosting next time. right now, my husband is just enjoying the cupcake itself. thank you so much for the recipe Natasha. I’ll definitely try out your other recipes. love lots from the Philippines ♥️
Little to no flavor, and the flavor that’s there is horrible because it tastes like a burnt coffee sponge. And no I did not use burnt coffee. I do not know why this recipe is so high in stars because it’s just not great.
Hi John, I haven’t had anyone report that in the past and this is a popular recipe over the years. What kind of coffee did you use? Also, did you possibly burn your cupcakes?
Are these considered dairy free with no frosting?
Hi Anne! Without the frosting there are no other dairy ingredients in the recipe!
Would you be able to replace the vinegar with buttermilk since it’s acidic as well?
Hi Kelli, that may work, I have tested and substituted 1 cup coffee with 1 cup room temperature buttermilk, so it may work.
Can I make them with apple cider vinegar if I don’t have white distilled vinegar?
Hi Lisa, it may work, Apple Cider Vinegar would be the next best alternative.
Why does the chocolate cupcakes and the vanilla have the same base ingredients? Chocolate uses baking soda and vanilla uses powder
The recipes are not the same. There is a chemical reaction that happens with the baking soda and vinegar in this recipe which is why we don’t use baking powder.
These might be the best cupcakes I’ve made.
I’m so glad you love them. Thank you for trying my recipe.
Super easy, delicious and doesn’t have any odd ingredients!
This is my go to chocolate cupcake recipe. Easy, and doesn’t require buttermilk which I usually never have around. Good chocolate flavor and so moist! Thank you for a great recipe!
I’m glad you’re loving it!
I made these last weekend for my husband and my wedding anniversary, and oh my goodness, DELICIOUS!!! The cake was so simple and quick to put together, baked beautifully and the icing was delicious and so lovely and thick! Can’t wait to bake it again!!!
I’m so glad it was a hit, Jazz! That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
These are the best chocolate cupcakes I have ever made! They leave behind the best taste, which doesn’t taste like coffee, to the delight of my kids. Best with vanilla butter cream and coco powder on top.
Hello! If you are to specify that your subscribers are to measure correctly, it would be great to have the ingredient quantity listed in grams. This would ensure the most consistent method of measuring the ingredients. I live by my kitchen scale and I’m so grateful when recipes list the weight. I love your website and frequently cook recipes that you provide so this would be a bonus with baked goods! Especially if you feel that standard measuring via a dry measuring cup would not yield the best results.
Hi Heidi, you can get them in grams if you click Metric in the recipe card.
I’m always using your recipes at home. So far I’ve done vanilla cake, vanilla cupcakes, cinnamon rolls and banana pancakes. They are all a hit and my children loves them. I’m sure this will be another hit. Thanks a lot.
I’m so glad to hear that it’s always a huge hit!
Heyy Natasha!
Can i double the ingredients to make it 30 cupcakes. It can be done whole all at once or should be made in batches. Thanks!
Hi Pooja! Doubling the recipe would give you 24 cupcakes unless you’re making smaller cupcakes, then you can maybe stretch it out to 30. It would be fine to make a double batch as long as you have a bowl that is big enough so you could stir the ingredients to incorporate them well without over-mixing the batter. Also, it’s best to bake the batter right away and not let it sit. If you cannot bake all of the cupcakes at once then maybe it’s best to make it into batches. I hope that helps.
I really want these to worl. I’ve tried making your vanilla cupcakes several times as well. Every time with these and those ones my cupcakes dry out on top/ get hard on top. I let them sit for 5 minutes in the muffin tin and then take them out and let them cool until room temperature for about 15 minutes. Is there a trick to help my cupcakes keep their tops nice and moist?
Hi Sharyti! I’m sorry to hear that. I’m trying to think of what could be causing that. My first thought is that your oven is too hot. Are you using a convection oven with a fan- one that circulates air? This recipe is written for a conventional oven, with regular bake mode. If you’re using a convection oven, then you would need to adjust the time and temperature because they will bake faster causing them to be dry and crunchy on top. If you’re using a regular conventional oven, I would recommend using an internal oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to ensure that your oven temperature is correct. Lastly, if the cupcakes as a whole are dry and hard then it could be due to using too much flour. Watch my tutorial on how to measure ingredients . I hope that helps for your next attempt.
Every single recipe on your site is special! Hats off to this one… a hit with the whole family. Simply moist😊
Thank you so much, Shiv!
Are the metric measurements ones you’ve used? I find that what the measurement in metric says does not match the us cups. Which do I need to use?
Hi Christina, being in America, personally I used the cups. But we’ve found success with both.