Dark chocolate cupcakes topped with dark chocolate frosting. Chocolate lovers only!
This recipe is dedicated to all of you chocoholics.
Pure, unadultered, inexplicable, out-of-this-world love for chocolate.
I know many of you adore chocolate. My most popular cake recipe is… chocolate! My triple chocolate cake recipe is what inspired me to make these death by chocolate cupcakes. Today’s cupcakes are a different recipe than that cake, but they are just as rich, fudgy, and decadent.
They are dark chocolate cupcakes with a thick dark chocolate frosting on top and sprinkled with chocolate chips. The cupcakes are not overly sweet—they are deep and intense. Pure chocolate. And a lot of it. If you’ve tried my chocolate peanut butter cake, you know the type of decadence I’m talking about!
I have made about 7 batches of chocolate cupcakes so far this summer. I am not exaggerating! Some batches ran over the sides and looked more like brown mushrooms, not cupcakes. Others did NOT taste like chocolate. Others were crunchy on top (eww!), dry, bland, and blah. Blah blah blah. I have been searching and testing and testing (and testing some more!) to find that perfect chocolate cupcake recipe. Finally, I took a few things I’ve learned from all my mistakes to come out with the best. I only give you the best of the best!
I’ve brought you chocolate cupcakes before on my website. These chocolate cupcakes with Nutella frosting are loved by many of you! And these chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting are quick, easy, and ultra moist. Both chocolate cupcake recipes are fantastic! However, I did not develop either of them on my own.
Today’s new recipe produces rich, moist, and flavorful cupcakes. I use a mix of melted chocolate and cocoa powder to make these cupcakes ultra fudgy. I nearly double the amount of cocoa powder than previous recipes that I’ve tried this summer. 2 eggs, brown sugar, and buttermilk gives each bite a tender, moist texture. They are the complete opposite of dry and bland!
Buttermilk is required for this recipe—the lactic acid present is what will allow the baking soda to react and leaven the cake.
Don’t have buttermilk? You can make your own. Measure 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup. Then, add enough milk (1%, 2%, or whole) to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1/2 cup. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in your recipe.
The batter for the cupcakes is very thick. I’m warning you now! Very thick—almost like frosting or chocolate pudding. Just taste it. You KNOW you’ll have amazing cupcakes after you taste the batter. So deliciously fudgy.
The frosting I use for these cupcakes is one of my favorites. It’s the same frosting recipe that I often use to frost my peanut butter cupcakes. The wonderful thing about this frosting is that there is not that much butter in it. It’s not a buttercream frosting. It’s pure, thick chocolate. Like melted fudge, but thicker. You all love it so much.
I could eat this dark chocolate frosting with a spoon and be happy for the rest of my life.
It’s ultra smooth and velvety. One of the best frostings I’ve ever had.
I piped the frosting on with Wilton tip #12. I use this tip almost exclusively on my cupcakes, as well as the Wilton 1M.
I am in LOVE with these chocolate cupcakes. By far my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.
I made a version of them for my cookbook—you will LOVE what I did with them. 🙂 Trust me, you have to try these chocolate cupcakes. Soft, moist, tender, intensely fudgy, chocoholic-heaven! Everything about this recipe is perfection to me and I know you will adore each and every bite, too.
Other chocolate desserts to make: chocolate cream cheese Bundt cake, super moist chocolate cupcakes, chocolate buttercream, triple chocolate muffins, chocolate hand pies, salted dark chocolate cookies, chocolate sugar cookies, peanut butter chocolate lava cakes, chocolate crinkle cookies, chocolate zucchini cake, and of course, chocolate chip cookies!
Print
Death by Chocolate Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Dark chocolate cupcakes topped with dark chocolate frosting. Chocolate lovers only!
Ingredients
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter
- 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
- 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
- 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature*
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk*
Dark Chocolate Frosting
- 2 and 3/4 cups (330g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2/3 cup (55g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 6 Tablespoons (95ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: 1/3 cup (60g) semi-sweet chocolate chips for decoration
Instructions
- For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each time. You may also melt the butter and chocolate over low heat on the stovetop. Stir until smooth and set aside to slightly cool.
- In a medium sized bowl, toss the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Add the cooled butter/chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add half of the flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk. Repeat until everything is added. Stir until *just* combined; do not overmix. The batter will be very thick like pudding.
- Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full with batter. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- For the frosting: Sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder to assure there are no lumps. Set aside. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy—about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sifted sugar/cocoa powder alternately with the heavy cream and vanilla. Beat on low speed after each addition. Once all added, beat on high speed until creamy and combined for at least 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
- Frost cooled cupcakes and top with chocolate chips as desired. Cupcakes stay fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Store covered in the refrigerator is desired for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-cup Cupcake Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bags (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton #12 Piping Tip
- Flour: Using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour is OK. I find the cupcakes to be slightly softer using cake flour.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs are required for this recipe. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, put them in a glass of warm water for 5-10 minutes.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1/2 cup. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cupcakes won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Milk Chocolate Frosting: Try my Milk Chocolate Frosting if you’re not a fan of dark chocolate.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking the BEST cupcakes before you begin!
Hi, I followed the chocolate frosting recipe but my frosting was very thick and did not look at all like your picture of chocolate cup cake and frosting. I added alittle bit more whip cream to make it manageable to spread on the chocolate layer cake I made. The frosting tasted good it just was not light fluffy and easy to spread.
I am an avid baker and this is the absolutely the best chocolate cupcake recipe ever. I have made so many and could not find my go to recipe and now I found one. So moist, good rise, and the best chocolate flavor. Thank you Sally.
Have you ever substituted cultured buttermilk powder for the liquid buttermilk? I bought the buttermilk powder to use in something because I usually end up wasting most of it when I buy a bottle of buttermilk. I was just wondering if you had tested that as a substitute in this recipe/any of your other recipes.
Hi SL, we haven’t personally tested it, but that should work just fine. And many readers report successfully using powdered buttermilk in our recipes! Let us know if you give it a try.
Will the frosting be enough for a round 9-inch 2-layer cake?
Hi Jessica! It may be not quite enough. Here’s a recipe for our chocolate buttercream to frost a two layer 9 inch cake.
Sally, can you freeze the frosting of this recipe? If so, for how long and what is the best method of defrosting? This is truly the ONLY chocolate frosting I ever use!! I love it!! Thank you!
Hi Michelle! Store frosting up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed.
Recipe tasted good but my cupcakes sank in the middle and overflowed. I would use the paper liners next time that are larger – otherwise these overflowed a lot for me. I’ve never had that happen! I also used cake flour.
DUDE, im not kidding when I say these are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had. I been baking for a year and this recipe was so worth it. the extras are sooooo worth it because the are THE cupcakes, moist, just chocolate enough, and overall perfect
Hi,
We loved this frosting, lighter on the butter, is it at all possible to turn it into a vanilla frosting? Like replacing the cocoa powder by more vanilla extract and adding some confectioner sugar if too liquid.
Thank you so much
Hi Marie, you can try tweaking this for a vanilla frosting, but cocoa isn’t always a 1:1 swap with confectioners’ sugar so it may take some trial and error. If you’re looking for a lighter vanilla frosting, you may also enjoy this not-so-sweet whipped frosting.
Hello Sally Team,
May I make thes into mini Bundt cakes?
Can’t see why not! We’re unsure of the bake time of mini Bundt cakes.