This Chocolate Cupcake recipe is my go-to for birthday parties and bake sales, since they are perfectly moist and oh-so chocolatey. Top them with our chocolate frosting, and you have the ultimate chocolate lover’s cupcake!
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Helpful Reader Review
“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!!!” – Jazz ★★★★★
Chocolate Cupcake Video Tutorial
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 and taste way better than a store-bought box mix.
Best Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ever since my daughter was little, we’ve celebrated her birthday with these decadent chocolate cupcakes, so they’ve become a staple on her day. Fast forward to now, and she has begun to make the cupcakes and Chocolate Buttercream herself (and I’m not allowed to help). She loves them so much that we even made Mini Chocolate Cupcakes out of them.
This chocolate cupcake recipe is moist and fluffy at the same time with a tender crumb. Adding coffee is the secret ingredient here, making these intensely chocolatey and giving the cupcakes a deeper color (and yes, you can sub with decaf coffee). You can’t really taste the coffee, and you probably wouldn’t know it’s there if you didn’t read the recipe, but it really makes the chocolate flavor shine.
Ingredients for Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes
After coffee, you’ll notice this recipe for chocolate cupcakes requires all the usual suspects for the perfect chocolately texture and taste.
- All-purpose Flour – Be sure to measure correctly for the best crumb.
- Cocoa powder – Use naturally unsweetened cocoa powder for the best chocolate flavor and light, fluffy texture.
- Sugar, baking soda, and salt – remaining dry ingredients, giving sweetness and rise
- Brewed coffee – warm regular or decaf coffee works perfectly. The acidity of the coffee deepens the chocolate flavor. Swap with room-temperature buttermilk if necessary.
- White distilled vinegar – reacts with the baking soda for a better rise.
- Vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract – remaining wet ingredients for moisture, strength, and flavor. P.S. If you are egg-free, try our Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes.
Pro Tip:
I’ve tested chocolate cupcakes with coffee and with buttermilk, and the coffee makes for a better tasting, darker colored, more moist cupcake, but buttermilk works in a pinch. See the difference below.
Pro Tip:
To make a cake instead of cupcakes, double the recipe and cook in two 9″ cake pans. See our Chocolate Cake Recipe for guidance on baking the cake
How to Make Chocolate Cupcakes
This recipe for chocolate cupcakes couldn’t get any easier, but the result tastes like it’s straight from the bakery.
- Quick prep – Preheat the oven with a rack in the center, and line a 12-count cupcake pan with liners (I love parchment paper liners – excellent for being non-stick).
- Mix dry ingredients – In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, breaking up any big clumps.
- Mix wet ingredients – In a second bowl, whisk together the warm coffee, vinegar, oil, egg, and vanilla.
- Combine cupcake batter – Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. The batter will be a little loose with small lumps. Overmixing can make the cupcake too dense.
- Fill and bake – Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full and bake at 350˚F for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (do not overbake or your cupcakes will be dry). Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer the cupcakes to a rack to cool before frosting.
Pro Tip: Do not overfill the cupcake tin
Use a trigger-release ice cream scoop for even portioning and fill each cup 2/3. If you overfill, 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.
The Best Frosting for Chocolate Cupcakes
This moist chocolate cupcake recipe only gets better when topped with my 6-minute Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. If you want something different, try any of these popular frosting recipes:
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vanilla Cupcake Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Swiss Merignue Buttercream Recipe
- Chocolate Ganache
- White Chocolate Frosting
- Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Homemade Whipped Cream
Helpful Reader Review
“Made these, and used coffee in the chocolate buttercream recipe instead of cream for a mocha frosting. They were delicious, my sister loved them.” – K Booth ★★★★★
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
This chocolate cupcake recipe is perfect for party prep because you can make them ahead of time and they refrigerate really well, maintaining their soft and moist texture.
- Make-Ahead: Make the cupcakes a day ahead, cool, cover, and store on the counter overnight, and then frost before serving, or freeze (see below).
- Store Frosted Leftovers: Pack into an airtight container and store on the counter for a day, then move to the refrigerator for 4-5 days. If you don’t have a cupcake carrier, you can flip a storage container upside down to store cupcakes on the lid, snapping the bottom on top.
- Freezing: Cooled unfrosted cupcakes or Cupcakes frosted with buttercream can be covered and frozen up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or quick-thaw on the counter for 2 hours.
My Chocolate Cupcake recipe is sure to become 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. Let us know your favorite way to decorate in the comments!
Easy Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup warm coffee, or substitute with room temperature buttermilk*
- 1 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
- 1/3 cup light olive oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Quick prep – Preheat oven to 350˚F with the rack in the center of the oven. Fill a 12-count muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Mix dry ingredients – In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Break up any larger cocoa clumps with your whisk.
- Mix wet ingredients – In a second mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients: coffee, vinegar, oil, egg, and vanilla, and whisk until well blended.
- Combine batter – Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whisk just until the ingredients come together and no dry streaks remain. The batter will be a little loose and lumpy.
- Fill and bake – 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. Don't overbake. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Cupcake Recipes to Try Next
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
- Greek Yogurt Cupcakes
- Cherry Stuffed Honey Cupcakes
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.
Hi! Going to make these with my toddler for Dada birthday, but I only have a medium eggs…. Should I do 2?
Hi Emily. Using just one medium egg in place of a large should be fine.
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.
I measured correctly but I doubled it and the batter seems runny What should I do?
Hi Malissa! Watch my video tutorial to see the texture and thinness/thickness of my batter. It’s not very thick but not very thin either.
If your batter was thinner, there is something off with the wet/dry ingredients ratio. I would look over the ingredients again to make sure you didn’t measure anything incorrectly.