Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes
These chocolate cupcakes are the BEST! They are super moist, made from scratch, and are packed with rich chocolate flavor. Take them over the top with the optional creamy chocolate ganache center! Use the incredibly silky chocolate frosting included in the recipe, or change up the frosting for different seasons or occasions; there are many options linked below!
I have shared approximately one billion (actually, 35ish) cupcake recipes over the years, but this is the ONLY chocolate-chocolate version you'll find. I've had some chocolate cupcake bases, but those were topped with things like peanut butter frosting, espresso buttercream, and salted caramel frosting… then there were the faux Hostess cupcakes and the black-bottom cupcakes.
They are all amazing cupcakes, but this recipe is IT when you need something fabulously rich and overflowing with chocolate flavor. I use this recipe anytime I want chocolate cupcakes; I've never been tempted to try other recipes since finding this one.
Why I Absolutely LOVE These Chocolate Cupcakes
First things first - the cake part of these cupcakes is phenomenal. It's often hard to find a cupcake recipe that not only domes perfectly when baked but is also moist and tender inside (not dry and crumbly) with a rich chocolate taste. These are all of that and more; they melt in your mouth.
To enhance the flavor and the moist texture, a dollop of chocolate ganache is placed on top of the cupcake batter before they are baked. It's an optional step, and you can make the cupcakes without it, but I highly recommend it.
And oh my, the frosting. It's almost beyond words. Satiny, smooth, buttery, just sweet enough, and oh-so-chocolatey. I could eat it with a spoon. Piled high on those cupcakes, it's the perfect frosting-to-cupcake ratio for me.
Ingredients Breakdown
Below are notes on the most important ingredients in these cupcakes (be sure to check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities):
- Bittersweet Chocolate – This is used in the ganache and the cupcake batter; bittersweet chocolate comes in a variety of percentages. I usually opt for around 60% which is closer to semisweet territory (and you can use semisweet if you prefer it), but you could go up to around 72% bittersweet if you’d like! I prefer to use Ghiradelli baking bars.
- Heavy Cream – For the ganache; I don’t recommend substitutions to ensure it sets up correctly.
- Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder – Don’t substitute unsweetened cocoa powder. You can find Dutch-process at some grocery stores, and also Amazon.
- Hot Coffee – The coffee really enhances the chocolate flavor and takes it to another level). Feel free to use decaf coffee if preferred; if you cannot have coffee for other reasons, you can substitute hot water.
- Bread Flour – This is used because it has a bit more protein than all-purpose flour and helps to keep the cupcakes stable enough for the ganache filling. I always use bread flour (even if I omit the ganache filling, which I do at times), but some readers have reported success using all-purpose flour, as well.
How to Make the Cupcakes
Here is a quick rundown on how to make the best chocolate cupcake recipe!
First, get your muffin pan ready by lining it with paper liners.
Step #1: Make the Chocolate Ganache – Melt together the chopped chocolate, heavy cream, and powdered sugar, then whisk together and chill in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.
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Step #2: Make the Cupcakes – Pour hot coffee over the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder, whisk until smooth, then refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together all of the dry ingredients (including sugar) in a medium bowl. Then, whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake liners, then place one rounded teaspoon of ganache on top of each cupcake batter. Bake until cupcakes are set and firm to the touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step #3: Make the Frosting – In a food processor, process the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the corn syrup and vanilla extract and process until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add the melted chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy. Frost the cupcakes as desired.
Recipe Notes & Success Tips
- Equipment Used – Muffin Tin / Paper Liners / Food Processor
- Ganache Filling – It's important not to chill the ganache filling for too long, or it will be too firm and dense, and will sink to the bottom of the cupcakes. It will still be there, and still be delicious, but will be firmer and lower in the cupcake than intended.
- Chocolate Frosting – This is a phenomenal chocolate frosting – it’s luscious and silky, not at all too sweet. It does have corn syrup in it, which turns a lot of people off. I beg you to try it, but if you don't like it or don't want to make it, then I suggest my chocolate buttercream frosting. It's different, but would be my #2 option for you. You could also use vanilla frosting, cream cheese frosting, peanut butter frosting, 7-minute frosting, or Swiss meringue buttercream!
- Gluten-Free Cupcakes – While I have not personally created a gluten-free version, multiple readers have reported success using gluten-free flour or baking mixes.
- Chocolate Cake – If you are looking for a chocolate cake recipe, I don’t recommend modifying this one, but highly recommend my best-ever chocolate cake!
- Double Batch – You can double this recipe to make 24 cupcakes.
- Storage – The frosted cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Make-Ahead Frosting – The frosting can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 hours before using, or refrigerated for up to 3 days. If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.
- Freezing the Cupcakes – The baked (and cooled) cupcakes can be frozen in an airtight container or resealable freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator, then frost as desired.
More Favorite Cupcake Recipes:
- Classic Vanilla Cupcakes
- Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Meringue Buttercream
- Coconut Cupcakes with Toasted Coconut Frosting
If you make these chocolate cupcakes and love them, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Ganache Filling
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ¼ cup (59.5 ml) heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
For the Cupcakes
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup (28.67 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ¾ cup (177.75 ml) hot coffee
- ¾ cup (93.75 g) bread flour
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- 1¼ cups (283.75 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- ¾ cup (64.5 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup (255.75 g) light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) chocolate, milk, semisweet or dark, melted and cooled
Instructions
- Make the Ganache Filling: Place the chopped chocolate, heavy cream and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave on high power until the mixture is warm to the touch, 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth, then refrigerate until just barely chilled, no longer than 30 minutes.
- Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin pan with liners. Place the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Pour the hot coffee over the mixture and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate mixture for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla extract into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Add the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin pan cups. Place one slightly rounded teaspoon of ganache filling on top of each cupcake. Bake until the cupcakes are set and just firm to the touch, 17 to 19 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pan and place on the wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Make the Frosting: In a food processor, process the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the corn syrup and vanilla extract and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add the melted chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 one-second pulses. Frost the cupcakes as desired. The frosted cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
- The ganache filling can be omitted it if you’d like a more traditional chocolate cupcake.
- The frosting can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 hours before using, or refrigerated for up to 3 days. If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Dee Frances
This recipe was originally published on August 20, 2013.
What do you use to frost your cupcakes with? Do you have a certain tip that you always use? Or special technique? Thanks!
Hi Betsy, For these, I used an Ateco decorating tip (#823) – it’s a large open star. I tend to like the stars for cupcakes, as they give kind of a swirly ice cream cone look, which I love. I just sort of swirl the icing on top!
Did anyone else have a problem with the ganache sort of erupting out of the cupcakes? It seemed to kind of bubble over and leave a hole in the center. The frosting will camouflage this, but what happened?
Oh my goodness, tried these last night and they are absolutely delicious. I’ve tried SO many chocolate cake recipes in the past and nothing has ever met my expectations, but these surpassed everything I thought they would be. The ganache not only made the cake stay moist, at 15 minutes in the oven it also floated down and became this beautiful soft fondant centre. Yum!
For everyone (especially other British folk) who’s not sure about using bread flour and white vinegar (I just used a standard white malt vinegar from the supermarket – you can’t taste it) my advice is to not worry about it. Just trust the recipe!
These turned out great!
If I wanted to make these cupcakes but only 6 of them how would I convert it?
Hi Maddie, You would need to cut the recipe in half, however I have not tried it and not all recipes scale well, so please stop back and share your feedback if you give it a go!
Made these last night and wish I could express my love for this cupcake in words. Decadence is an understatement. They were incredible. The ganache adds a nice pop to the already delicious chocolately goodness. I posted earlier in the comments that I used a stand mixer as I don’t have a processor. I just creamed the butter for a few minutes before adding the dry ingredients and then the wet. Frosting came out almost as beautiful as the picture.
Hi – i made these last night and everyone said they were delicious – just wanted to know if the frosting can be put in freezer to be used after 4 days?
Also made red velvet – frosting was nice but could feel the powdered sugar – it did not seem to blend – what might have gone wrong.
By the way congrats for wedding – Wishing you a long and fruitful marriage :) !!!
All the best from island of Aphrodite (CYPRUS)
I have never frozen frosting, as I’m not sure how the texture would hold up to freezing and thawing. If you try it, please let me know how well it thaws.
Came across this recipe a few days ago and can’t believe how many comments you’ve gotten since then! Made these to the letter and they are to-die-for delicious! You could seriously give the two local cupcake shops in my town a run for the money. Goes to show you, nothing beats getting in there and baking with lots of love and hungry ambition! Can’t wait til you post the next devilishly delicious dessert. As always, my vote is for chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.
Hi, I am a newbie in baking and discovered your blog a few weeks ago. Since then I have tried The Baked Brownie and loved , loved those. :) Next on my list are these cupcakes.. they look so so delicious . I love to eat what I bake but sadly I must also cut down my calorie intake. I realize the frosting compliment the cakes but is it a must? I think the cakes alone would be fabulous already. Please reply. I really really love to make those very soon.
Hi Mra, I personally could never eat a cupcake without frosting, but I suppose that’s a personal preference. This frosting is amazing and I, of course, highly recommend it, but if you’d prefer to make them without it, that’s certainly up to you!
Hi, thanks a lot for your reply . I got it though email but somehow does not appear here yet. I live in Singapore and on my last visit to the supermarket, I could not find the light corn syrup. They may either be out of stock or do not carry it. In any case, can I substitute it with sugar syrup ( 1 cup sugar dissolved in 1/4 warm water ) or honey as a website suggested?
That photo looks amazing! Do you have any idea why CI used bread flour in this recipe? I think of it as having more protein and gluten and seems like it might make them tough. I’ve got some nice organic bread flour that I’m planningn on using but just wondered if you might have some insight on the “why”. Congrats on the wedding too — this must be a very smart man!
Hi Nancy, Per CI, the bread flour was used to make the cupcakes sturdy, but not tough, and allow more chocolate to be added (including the ganache center) without the cupcakes falling apart.
Thank you, Michelle! I knew that CI would have a well thought out, investigated and tested reason for specifying something like that. And I’m all for it if it means MORE CHOCOLATE!
Congratulations!!! These cupcakes look delicious!
It was that time of the month for my daughter and I. These cupcakes were awesome and our family is enjoying our chocolate coma. My husband managed to steal the first one and said it was the best cupcake he ever ate! Thanks!
Congratulations on getting married! So happy for you :). These cupcakes make me really sad I can’t eat chocolate.
CONGRATS!!
I am new to the whole baking from scratch thing so I have a couple of questions.
What the heck is a Ganache Filling?? haha and Where would I find bittersweet chocolate and Dutch processed coacoa?
It would mean a lot to me if you answered ASAP :D
Hi Victoria, Ganache is a soft chocolate mixture that is typically made from melted chocolate and heavy cream; it can be used as a cake filling, to pour over a top, as a truffle filling, cupcake filling, etc. You should be able to find bittersweet chocolate in virtually any grocery store in the baking aisle. If I go to my “small” grocery store, I buy the Ghiradelli 60% cacao bars (they are 4 ounces each). In the larger grocery store near me, they actually Callebaut in 1-pound blocks in the bulk section. Dutch process cocoa can be a little more difficult to find. I buy mine from Penzeys; you can also order it from a bunch of different places, including King Arthur Flour or Amazon.com.
Nevermind! Thanks!
Is there anything I can substitute for white vinegar? Congrats on your marriage!
Hi Maddie, Nothing in particular I can think of; I recommend using the white vinegar as called for.
Hi Michelle,
I just made those fabulous cupcakes and wanna THANK YOU sooo much for this amazing recipe! Especially the ganache filling, it adds a very special moist to the cupcakes:) I just have one question, I made the frosting with dark chocolate, and it did taste good, but too greasy (buttery) that made it heavy, and it’s soft (doesn’t stand firmly), I wanna make those again in the coming few days as I have a friends gathering, shall I reduce the butter (to the half) with keeping the same other ingredients? Would that work, or what else can I do? Thanks a lot <3
Once again, THANKS for the AMAZING yummy recipe, It's soo sweet of you to post that right after your wedding, CONGRATULATIONS…:) Wish you a lifetime of happiness <3
Hi Ala’s, Thank you for the best wishes! As for the frosting – this is definitely more of a European buttercream (which tends to be more buttery) vs. an American buttercream (which tends to be more sugary and stiffer). Unfortunately, you won’t be able to reduce the butter and not alter the other ingredients and still have a workable frosting. If you like a stiffer, less buttery frosting, I would recommend trying more of an “American-style” buttercream: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/10/22/best-chocolate-buttercream-cupcakes/
Thank you so much Michelle :)
Congratulations on your marriage. it is so wonderful to see people in love. In Australia corn syrup is not that easy to come by, can you suggest any substitutes?
Thank you
Thank you, Raj! You can use Lyle’s golden syrup if that’s available to you.
I plan on making these cupcakes next weekend, but I have one question first. What type of chocolate did you use for the frosting? I know the recipe lists milk, semisweet, or dark, but I would love to hear which one you choose to use. These cupcakes look delicious and I can’t wait to make them!
Hi Kelsey, I used the semisweet chocolate :) Enjoy!
What type of food processor do you have Michelle? What type of food processors are good for frosting? I’m trying o buy one now no more then $80 which I hope is durable. Congrats on your marriage!
Hi Madison, I have a Breville Sous Chef food processor (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005I6ZKCE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005I6ZKCE&linkCode=as2&tag=broeyebak-20), which is more than your price range. I don’t think there are any specific ones you need for frosting; this is only the second frosting I’ve made in a food processor. Happy shopping!
I’m also looking on eBay for one…. Would a 4 cup be good or maybe a 7 cup I plan on making a lot of cupcakes for a party so I’m thinking this may be more quick.
Hi Madison, I’ve never made cake batter in a food processor, but if you are choosing between a 4-cup and 7-cup, I would definitely recommend the 7-cup. You’ll have a lot more flexibility in what you can make in it.
Oh and since I’m using it should i out in more butter?
Hi Scarlet, No, I would not add any more butter.
Congratulations. What a great way to celebrate. That chocolate frosting looks soo silky and decadent
I made these today and my husband and I nearly passed out from the richness.
Thanks for sharing!
-andi
I don’t have a food processor and was wondering how long I should beat the frosting with the hand batter.
Hi Scarlet, I haven’t made the frosting with a hand mixer, so I can’t say for sure, but I would mix until completely combined and shiny.
First – congrats!
Second – oh my goodness, I cannot wait to make these and eat every single one! Really, they look extremely delicious!
These decadent, super chocolaty cupcakes make me drool. I couldn’t resist, so I’ve featured them on my blog, hoping that you don’t mind, but if you do, please contact me and I’ll remove it. All the best.
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Congratulations first of all! And these cupcakes look divine, especially that frosting!
nothing like a classic chocolate cupcake!
I can’t find Dutch-processed cocoa powered any where in my town :( boo
All I find is unsweetened cocoa powered or natural unsweetened?
Could I use Hersey brand instead of the Dutch?
Hi Sienna, In a pinch, you can substitute in this recipe, but I highly recommend investing in some Dutch-process cocoa powder if you bake with chocolate often. You can order it from many places, including Amazon, King Arthur Flour, Penzeys, etc.
What type of chocolate did you use in the
Frosting? Looks yummy!
Hi Kristiina, I used semisweet chocolate :)