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5.0 from 12 votes

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes (Easy, one bowl recipe)

These one bowl chocolate cupcakes are easy to make, foolproof and absolutely delicious! Deep chocolate flavor, and perfectly sweet. Special enough for birthdays, and simple enough for every day chocolate cravings!EASY - This recipe is great for beginners. Using a scale to measure ingredients will make it even easier and more accurate. US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Please use the US Customary / Metric toggle button to switch between measurement units.

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Additional Time
3 hrs
Servings: 14 cupcakes
Calories: 174 kcal
Course: Dessert , Cake , Baked Goods
Cuisine: European , North American , American

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes
  • 80 g hot water or hot coffee
  • 45 g dutch cocoa powder about 5 - 6 tbsp, do not pack the cocoa into the spoon
  • ¼ tsp salt use ½ tsp, if you don’t mind a slight salted flavor in your chocolate cupcakes
  • 115 g unsalted butter ½ cup / 4 oz, melted and cooled. You can also substitute with an equal amount of oil
  • 60 g sour cream straight from the fridge
  • 100 g brown sugar
  • 100 g white sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 10 mL vanilla extract
  • 125 g AP flour about 1 cup, spoon and leveled
  • 3.6 g baking powder
  • 2.5 g baking soda
Frosting
  • Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream (intermediate option for buttercream)
  • Chocolate Buttercream (easy option for buttercream)
  • Vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream (intermediate option for buttercream)
  • Vanilla buttercream (easy option for buttercream)

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes
    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners (12 cavities). You can also line 2 - 3 extra muffin pan cavities with liners, in a second pan (for a total of 14 - 15 cupcakes). Set aside.
  2. In a large heat-proof bowl, add the hot water and cocoa powder. Whisk the two together until you have a smooth paste. Let it sit for a few minutes to allow the cocoa to bloom and for the mixture to cool down a little.
  3. Add the salt, melted butter, sour cream, and mix to combine.
  4. Add both sugars, and whisk to break up and mix the sugars into the batter.
  5. The batter should not be too warm at this stage. If it is, let it sit for a few minutes to cool down a little.
  6. Add both eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk to combine.
  7. Add the flour, baking powder and soda. Gently whisk, just until the flour is mixed through the batter with no lumps. (You can also whisk the flour with the baking soda and baking powder in a separate bowl, and add this to the batter.)
  8. Evenly divide the batter into the cupcake liners (about 3 tbsp, which should be about ⅔ of the way up the cupcake liners). If you have extra cupcake batter, cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in a cool place until the first batch of cupcakes is done and cooling.
  9. Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for about 16 - 17 minutes, rotating the pan at the 10 minute mark (if needed). The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean, and the tops are slightly springy to the touch.
  10. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool slightly for a couple of minutes. Then carefully remove them from the muffin pan, and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
  11. Once cooled, these can be frosted using one of the following recipes.
Frosting for the cupcakes
  1. Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream (change servings to 16)
  2. Chocolate buttercream (use recipe as is, for smaller amounts of frosting, or change to 18 servings)
  3. Vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream (change servings to 17)
  4. Vanilla buttercream (use recipe as is, or change to 30 servings)

Notes

  • When the cupcakes have cooled to room temperature, store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days (I’ve kept them for up to 3 days as well). This goes for frosted or unfrosted cupcakes.
  • They will keep in the fridge for about 1 week (in an air-tight container), unfrosted.
  • Or you can freeze them to keep them for longer. Make sure to avoid freezer burn. To do this, wrap the unfrosted cupcakes individually to minimize exposure to air in the freezer. They will keep for about 3 months this way in the freezer.
  • Cold and frozen chocolate cupcakes can be thawed out at room temperature, frosted and served again. 

Nutrition Information

Serving 1cupcake Calories 174kcal (9%) Carbohydrates 24g (8%) Protein 2g (4%) Fat 8g (12%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Cholesterol 43mg (14%) Sodium 103mg (4%) Potassium 108mg (3%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 15g (30%) Vitamin A 261IU (5%) Calcium 33mg (3%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 14cupcakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 174

% Daily Value*

Serving 1cupcake
Calories 174kcal 9%
Carbohydrates 24g 8%
Protein 2g 4%
Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 43mg 14%
Sodium 103mg 4%
Potassium 108mg 2%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 15g 30%
Vitamin A 261IU 5%
Calcium 33mg 3%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.