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
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- Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
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- Cherry Stuffed Honey Cupcakes
did you seen me a text that I won something from you if you did please let me know if not please let me know I have never got something like that before so help me out it said I won 750 please help
Hi Marilyn, I didn’t send any messages and I don’t have any giveaways at the moment.
There was a scam offering people pries/gifts from you. Thankfully I realized in time before I gave any details to the page, They selected a number of people from those who had responded initiallyand then you were redirected. perhaps you have been hacked
Hi Marie, yes, scammers are relentless in their pursuit. When you see these types of accounts, please report them and block them.
Wow!! is all I have to say… This is by far thee most amazing cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. Super chocolatey and moist. Thanks for the recipe.
That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Leesha!
Best cupcake recipes ever, i have made two batches already, my kids love it. Thank you for sharing.
You’re so welcome!
This is the best cupcake recipe I’ve ever seen! For such a quick and easy recipe, it came out amazing. The chocolate and coffee go so well together and it’s not over powering. Thanks so much Natasha!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review, Adin!
wow I made this with 1 tbsp instant coffee with cream cheese filling and they are awesome thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jenn!
Hi!
I was wondering if you think this will turn out if I use apple cider vinegar in place of white vinegar and dairy free milk in place of the coffee? I want to make for my daughters birthday but she has many food allergies. Thank you!
Hi Megan, I haven’t tested anything besides vinegar, but vinegar does help activate the baking soda, and the reaction helps to darken the color of the cupcake. I peeked through the comments, and I’m not finding anyone mentioning a dairy-free substitute either. I wish I could be more helpful here. If you happen to experiment with either, I’d love to know how you like this recipe.
Hi, Natasha! I want to make these, but am wondering if the yield is 12 or 24 in a normal cupcake tin. I’ve seen a comment saying it’s 24, and just want some clarification. Thanks!
Hi Victoria, we used a 12-count muffin tin. If you use a cupcake tin it should make 24.
Made these cupcakes and they were amazing!!! I would like to make it into a cake with eggs. I know that you have a chocolate cake recipe but it has no eggs. Can I use this exact cupcake receipt as a cake?
Hi Ruth, this recipe doesn’t rely on eggs and they are not necessary for the cake.
WOW! BEST CUPCAKES EVER. they are so moist, not too sweet, chocolately, and super easy to make! amazing recipe
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Umaina!
I made this recipe before and it came out great. Today I tried to make it into a cake. But the batter was extremely lumpy and the cake is gummy:( idk what went wrong
Hi Shakira, we have a chocolate cake version of this recipe. Click here to get our chocolate cake recipe which also has a video tutorial so you can see where things may have gone wrong.
They look delicious. I wonder if a cream filling could be inserted and make them even better than Hostess does?
Hi Vinko, I haven’t tested that, but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
great recipe Natasha, I wonder why there’s no baking power…
I made the exact measurement and added 1 TSP of BP..the frosting is fantastic..
Hi Anna, we used baking soda in this recipe so baking powder is not needed.
Bonjour Natasha
il faut que j’arrête de faire vos recettes (j’ai pris 5kg depuis que je suis abonnée) trop trop bonnes !!!!!!!!Bon promis juré je commencerais un régime après les fêtes!!!!!!!
Bises
Agnès
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, Agnes!
I made the chocolate cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting. It taste really good. It was moist. The cream cheese frosting was the best. My coworkers like it to.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Rhemy. I’m glad you all loved it!
The best cupcake! I made these twice already they are moist and delicious! Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Mimi!
This is the best recipe ever! My cupcakes where so delicious , oh my god they are so moist and sweet. Just perfect.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Dudu!
I was a bit sceptical as my batter looked very wet and runny but I trusted the recipe and baked them anyway. They came out so perfectly moist!! I paired them with a classic American buttercream and they taste delicious. Thankyou!
I’m so happy they turned out perfectly, Bhumi!
These turned out fantastic! I added toasted walnuts for a little crunch. Also used your white buttercream frosting. Wonderful recipes, thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! Great to hear that you loved these cupcakes!
Perfect! I made them this morning and they are moist and chocolaty! There was a lot of leftover batter (filled 12 muffin tins) so I scooped it into a mini muffin tin – additional 16 mini bites! I followed the recipe exactly – no need to make changes. Thanks, Natasha!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Kathy!
Your chocolate cupcakes recipe was divine!! Made 50 of them for church for Pastor Appreciation and everyone raved! I gave you credit for the delicious flavors. Also used your Buttercream frosting recipe and tinted it orange and yellow, with piped chocolate leaf on top.
I’m happy to hear that it was a huge hit!
Hi Natasha – These are the absolute best chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever made. Adding coffee was a game changer! I always use foil-lined baking cups (not the paper ones) so nothing sticks. I made half the recipe of chocolate icing and frosted all 12 cupcakes. Individually wrapped them in Saran wrap, placed in a large zip lock bag and put in freezer. Freezing the icing was not a problem. I’m sooooo ready to bake more of these fantastic cupcakes. Thank you!!!
I’m so glad to hear that and thanks for the tip!
hi my name is faith and i am 12 years old and i want to say those chocalate cupcakes are realy delicious
Hello Faith, yes these are so good. I hope you can try or taste this soon!