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10 mins prep 15 mins cook 12 servings

Chocolate Cupcakes

Moist, rich chocolate cupcakes with a silky smooth chocolate buttercream. A chocolate lover's delight!

Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

  • Softened Unsalted Butter: 170 g
  • Caster Sugar: 170 g
  • Large Eggs: 3
  • Self Raising Flour: 130 g
  • Cocoa Powder: 40 g
  • Baking Powder: 1 small pinch
  • Milk: 2 tbspn
  • Salt: 1 pinch

Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

  • Softened Unsalted Butter: 200 g
  • Icing Sugar: 360 g
  • Cocoa Powder: 40 g
  • Milk: 2 tbspn

Chocolate Cupcakes Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 160ºc (320ºf) and put 12 cupcake cases in a muffin tray
  2. Whisk together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking thoroughly in between each addition
  4. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Add the milk and fold the mixture until combined
  5. Divide the mixture into 12 cupcake cases. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
  6. Leave the cupcakes to cool completely on a cooling rack

Chocolate Buttercream Method

  1. Whisk the butter until pale and creamy
  2. Sift in half the icing sugar and whisk until smooth
  3. Sift in the rest of the icing sugar and cocoa powder, add the milk and then whisk again until smooth. If the mixture feels too stiff, add some more milk
  4. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes, decorate as preferred and enjoy!

Indulgent And Rich, You Have To Try These Chocolate Cupcakes

You really can’t go wrong with chocolate cupcakes with piped chocolate buttercream. I mean, who doesn’t like chocolate? This is my go-to recipe which I’ve been making for years and it never fails to please. They are light yet moist, and have a rich chocolate flavour. The buttercream is light and creamy yet packs a strong chocolate hit. Paired together with some extra chocolate decorations and you’ve got a real winner. This recipe makes 12 generously sized cupcakes that rise up beautifully, and enough buttercream to pipe until your hearts content. Here are some extra tips to help you get perfect results!

how to make chocolate cupcakes
Milk Choco Cakes

Top these chocolate cupcakes with any kind of decorations you like - go wild or keep it simple! Here are some different ways I've decorated my chocolate cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes
Chocolate Sunflower Cupcakes
Creme Egg Easter Chocolate Cupcakes

Extra Tips

  • Start with softened butter, but not melting. Room temperature butter whips up better and creates lighter textured cakes
  • Use good quality dark cocoa powder to ensure a rich chocolate flavour
  • Make sure you sift in the cocoa powder so the mixture doesn’t become lumpy
  • Cocoa powder can make the mixture quite dry, which is why I like to add a bit more milk than my vanilla cake mixtures. The milk loosens it up and makes it lovely and creamy again
  • I like to add a tiny pinch of baking powder to the cake (around 1/8th tspn). This helps the cupcakes to rise beautifully and I do this with all my cakes. This step is especially important when making chocolate cupcakes as the mixture tends to be heavier and denser than vanilla cupcakes
  • Use an ice-cream scoop when dividing the mixture between the cupcake cases. It makes life a lot easier and they will all be even
  • When making buttercream, make sure to whisk the butter until it’s pale and fluffy before adding icing sugar. This will give you extra creamy buttercream!
  • When I make vanilla buttercream, I whisk it for a couple of minutes after I’ve added the icing sugar. With chocolate buttercream, if you whisk it too much after adding the cocoa powder and icing sugar, it will lose it’s rich chocolatey brown colour and turn pale. To avoid this, only mix it enough for it to become smooth again
  • Store these chocolate cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months

Love chocolate? Why not try my best ever fudgy chocolate brownies too?

Zoe

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