It was my birthday this week, so of course, I celebrated with cake! These Classic Chocolate Cupcakes were perfect for the occasion. They’re decadent and full of rich chocolate flavor, plus there’s something so fun about getting your own mini-cake! I had a great week sharing these with my loved ones, and I wanted to share them with you too!
Tips for the Best Chocolate Cupcakes
Mixing the Batter
When making these cupcakes, it’s important to use room temperature milk and eggs. If your milk and eggs are too cold, your cupcakes will not rise to their full potential. Adding cold milk and eggs to a room temperature mixture containing butter (in this case the melted and cooled butter) can cause lumps to form. Using room temperature ingredients ensures a smooth batter and light-textured cupcakes!
Don’t over-mix or under-mix the cupcake batter. Mix the batter until the dry ingredients are just mixed in. This will keep the cupcakes light and fluffy. Over-mixed cupcakes are likely to be dense and tough, but under-mixed cupcakes will have pockets of unincorporated flour. It’s important to find the balance between the two, so mix until all dry ingredients are combined, then stop!
Prepping and Filling the Pan
Prep a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners or by greasing each well thoroughly. I would recommend using high quality cupcake liners for the best results. If your cupcake liners are not nonstick or high quality parchment, it is best to grease each liner with nonstick spray. If you choose not to use liners, grease each muffin well thoroughly.
Fill each well of the muffin tin about ¾ of the way full. I used 3 tbsp per cupcake. It’s important to keep the size of each cupcake consistent so that they cook evenly. If cupcake liners are underfilled, the cupcake will be too small. If they are overfilled, the cupcakes will overflow and be too big. Three-quarters full makes the perfect sized cupcake.
Cool the Cupcakes
I know it’s tempting to take a bite as soon as these cupcakes are out of the oven, but it’s important to let them cool before frosting and eating. If you don’t give them enough time to cool before frosting, the frosting will melt and slide right off. The cupcake is also less likely to stick to the wrapper while cool. Cupcakes are best at room temperature!
Store the Cupcakes
Cupcakes that have not been decorated can be stored at room temperature in a sealed container for a few days. Once frosted, the cupcakes need to be stored in the fridge. For the best flavor, allow them to come back to room temperature before eating.
These Classic Chocolate Cupcakes are a go-to for a reason – they’re easy to make and are a great dessert for any occasion. I frosted the cupcakes with my Whipped Chocolate Ganache. It’s a light and fluffy chocolate frosting made with only four ingredients that pairs perfectly with these cupcakes! Enjoy!
For other Sugar Dusted Sweets Recipes, click the photos below!
Classic Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup hot coffee or hot water
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prep a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners or by greasing each well.
- Sift the cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add the hot coffee (or hot water) and whisk until the cocoa powder dissolves. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch. Stir so that ingredients are evenly distributed and set aside.
- In the large bowl with the cocoa powder and coffee, add the granulated sugar and stir to combine.
- Add eggs, vanilla, milk, and melted butter to the cocoa powder mixture. Whisk until fully mixed.
- Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until all flour is just combined.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Each well of the muffin tin should be about ¾ full with batter. There may be excess batter when using a standard muffin tin – do not overfill.
- Bake at 350°F for 24-26 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Let cool before frosting. Enjoy!
Best cupcake I’ve ever had!
Oh wow, thank you so much!