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!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
Can I substitute the vegetable oil for butter?
Hi Laura. Melted butter will work too, but oil provides a more moist cupcake.
Absolutely best cupcake recipe. They moist,fluffy and the perfect sweetness. Would be yummy with and without icing..
I’m so glad you loved it, Melissa! Thank you for your feedback.
Hi,I have to make 100+ cupcakes and need to take on Sunday.Now my question is can I make cupcakes on Friday n store in room temperature n frost on Saturday and then take on Sunday?Will it be ok?and will it work?
I have these in the notes section of the recipe. Make ahead: Cool the baked cupcakes, cover and store at room temperature for 1 day until ready to frost and serve. Or freeze in an airtight container, unfrosted, for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and allow to come to room temperature before frosting. Storage: Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter for 1 day, then refrigerate for 4-5 days.
Welp… You’ve helped create a monster, I hope you’re proud of yourself😡😂
I’ve been using your recipes for years and 99% of the time I’m thrilled with them.
Hubby is a chocolate fiend so I made these cupcakes on Sunday. He’s blessed …doesn’t eat sweets until 10 o’clock at night and then will eat one cookie… that sort of guy.
Yeah, well that’s not the case with these cupcakes paired with the chocolate buttercream frosting. He had four in one night while sitting alone in hotel room.😂😂😂
He’s away right now for work, but when we spoke last night, he said where did you get that recipe? I said Natasha and casually mentioned we’ve been using your recipes for years and he didn’t know it. Now he’s quizzing me which of the recipes that he likes so much are yours😂😂😂
Love what you do keep it up thanks👏👍🏻
That’s awesome, Jules! So happy to hear they’ve been a hit. Thanks so much for using my recipes.
This recipe with your buttercream frosting recipe is a 10/10! I subbed King Arthur’s gluten free all purpose flour and it worked perfectly. Thank you so much!
made these for my boyfriend’s 18th birthday since it seemed easy, he said they were the best he’s ever had and was surprised since i wasn’t much of a baker! after just two days they were all gone. thank you so much natasha for this amazing recipe 😀 will continue browsing your site for more deliciousness!!
That’s wonderful, Evelyn! So glad they were enjoyed! I hope you find many more recipes you’ll love on here.
Hi this recipe is so good!! I am making it again, but I don’t have vinegar. Is there anything I can substitute for vinegar ?
You can use another acid, like lemon juice.
I’ve tried this recipe before and it was really good! however the coffee flavor was a bit strong, and I followed the recipe exactly. What type of coffee would you suggest using?
Hi Mia, I haven’t had that issue with this recipe and they normally bake up chocolatey and yummy and you shouldn’t taste the coffee, but I’m happy to help troubleshoot – it may me the kind of coffee used, for example if it was very strong or bold it may show up more compared to a medium roast coffee.
Oh man, these are the BEST chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever had. My friends and family love them and order them from me all the time at first I was a little nervous because the batter is so runny but these turned out so moist and chocolatey and perfect.
Great Chocolate Recipe! I tripled it for a potluck party and they were delicious! Easy to make and the coffee added such richness–YUMMM!
That’s just awesome, Kayla! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Great, quick and simple recipe for rich-tasting chocolate cupcakes. I used leftover strong black coffee and neutral vegetable oil. This came together fast, and baked for twenty minutes to perfection. I loved the fine, soft texture. I used the Hershey’s Busy Day frosting recipe which turns out creamy and fudgy. I will make these again. Thank you, Natasha.
I am an 11-year-old baker and love this recipe! It is not too sweet and easy to make. It’s a hit in my family!
That’s wonderful, Aya!
So happy to hear that it was a hit with the family.
These are perfection! So easy to make, and in addition to the coffee, I added a tsp of espresso powder. This will be my new go to chocolate cupcake recipe! I want to make a whole cake with this recipe!
It sounds like you found a new favorite, Michelle! That’s so wonderful! Thank you for your review!
I’m a young 10 year old baker who loves to explore new recipes. Looks like I just found my favorite author! Your recipes are the best and never cease to impress my family and friends. These cupcakes are amazing!!
Thank you for your kind words, I’m glad you found my recipes and that you’re enjoying them!
OK, I Have baked these for two birthdays now and they are perfect. But, I’m wondering if I could pour the batter into a loaf pan to have a chocolate loaf cake? What changes would I need to make as far as baking time?
Hi April, I haven’t tried it in a loaf pan, but I bet it may work, if you try it, you will need to adjust bake time – let me know how it goes!
Just wow! I made this today and it’s a hit! Literally heavenly saving this recipe for the future. Thank you
Easy to make, fun too, but I was hoping for a more fluffy cupcake. These were more like a chocolate “biscuit”. Without the frosting and a glass of milk, they’d be way too dense.
I’m not sure what the point of the coffee and vinegar was, I don’t really taste much beyond the chocolate. But they definitely didn’t smell or taste funny.
Was worth a try. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I had fun making them.
Hi CJ! The most common cause of dense cupcakes is using too much flour. Be sure to measure correctly, I have a How to Measure Ingredients (Wet and Dry) VIDEO tutorial here. The coffee taste doesn’t come through, it’s actually there to elevate the chocolate flavor. As for the vinegar, baking soda needs an acid to activate, that is the purpose for using it here.
It’s true, these are very easy and delicious. I followed the recipe to a T and they turned out great. The only extra thing I did was sieve the cocoa powder.
So happy to hear you loved them, Tee!
These came out so well. My 11yr old wanted to bake some cupcakes and we picked this recipe. She followed the recipe all by herself and they were amazing so light and chocolatey
Don’t you just love it when the kids help in the kitchen? Tell her I said “amazing job” and I hope she makes more of my recipes very soon!
I was hesitant to try this recipe because of the amount of acid – vinegar, coffee, cocoa powder (unless dutch processed). Unfortunately, my concern was valid. These did not come out very well at all despite following the recipe to a T and using fresh higher quality ingredients. They baked up nicely, however the taste was pretty bad. I found a second recipe that is similar… slightly different ratio and avoids vinegar, and those too came out poorly. I think it’s the result of 8 ounces of coffee. A tsp of espresso powder with buttermilk saved the day with a different (3rd) recipe.
Hi A, I haven’t had that issue with this recipe and they normally bake up chocolatey and yummy, but I’m happy to help troubleshoot – did you use Dutch Processed? I used Natural unsweetened cocoa powder.