Ultra-moist, tender and so rich, these Chocolate Cupcakes are the ultimate hit of chocolate! They stay moist for days, use simple ingredients and are topped with dreamy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!

Chocolate Cupcakes - cupcake cut in half showing frosting

Before we get into these cupcakes and why I love them so much, here are my top 3 favorite cupcake recipes on the site!

Vanilla cupcakes – delicate and moist!
Red Velvet cupcakes – topped with my dreamy Cream Cheese Frosting!
Salted Caramel Cupcakes – chocolate cake with perfectly tasty Salted Caramel Sauce!

Table of Contents

Moist factor – ULTRA

Chocolate Cupcakes - step by step image

Here’s why everyone should start using the word moist and love it. These cupcakes are ultra-moist. That’s because we use boiling water as our last step when making the batter which does a couple things:

Makes these cupcakes fluffy – the hot water activates the baking powder and bicarb soda in the batter ingredients.
Makes them more chocolatey – it helps dissolve the cocoa powder and gives these a smooth and ultra-chocolate flavor.
It adds more moisture! – the boiling water helps make this Chocolate Cupcake recipe even more moist. Water = moisture. Science.

Why you’ll love my Chocolate Cupcakes!!

There are so many things to love about these ultra-moist Chocolate Cupcakes!

Easy – They’re so easy to make and use basic ingredients you most likely have!
Moist and tender! – these cupcakes are ultra-moist, delicate, soft and so tender.
Ultra-chocolatey – these cupcakes deliver on chocolate with a rich and moist chocolate cupcake with creamy chocolate buttercream frosting on top!

Bake low and slow for ultra-moist cupcakes

I bake my cupcakes on a really low temperature to stop them from doming and because they come out dense and ultra-moist!

Fan forced oven – 110C / 230F.
Conventional (no fan) – 130C / 265F.

Bake them in the middle rack of your oven for best results.

Which frosting goes best with Chocolate Cupcakes?

Pretty much any frosting will go nicely with these cupcakes but here are my recommendations!

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting – super creamy and chocolatey!
American Buttercream Frosting – This rich and creamy vanilla frosting is an all-round favorite.
Cream Cheese Frosting – super creamy, not overly sweet.
Chocolate Ganache – ultra dense and fudge like chocolate frosting.
Chantilly Cream – top them with freshly whipped cream right before serving for a lighter than air experience!
Eat them plain! They’re delicious without frosting too!

Ingredients To Make Chocolate Cupcakes

Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page – just scroll down to the bottom, or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.

Jump to Recipe

Cupcakes

All-purpose flour – also known as plain flour. Don’t be tempted to use cake flour as the plain flour mixed with cocoa powder basically makes this as light as cake flour.
Caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar.
Cocoa powder (cupcakes) – It’s best to use Natural cocoa powder for this recipe as it reacts with the bicarb soda in the dry ingredients and helps the cupcakes rise while giving it a deep rich chocolate flavor.
Baking powder
Bicarb soda – also known as bicarbonate of soda or baking soda.
Salt – I used fine salt.
Butter (melted) – I used unsalted butter. You want to make sure your butter is cooled a little before adding to the batter.
Vegetable oil – canola oil will also work.
Eggs – I used large eggs. Make sure they’re at room temperature. If they’re straight out of the fridge pop them into hot (not boiling) tap water for 10 minutes before using.
Buttermilk – regular milk will also work but the buttermilk makes these cupcakes super moist. I prefer using store bought buttermilk.
Boiling water – The boiling water is one of the most instrumental ingredients in this recipe. It’s what helps makes these cupcakes ULTRA moist!

Frosting

Butter (softened) – I used unsalted butter. It’s SUPER important to make sure your butter is softened before using it for the frosting otherwise you won’t get creamy, fluffy frosting.
Salt – I used fine salt.
Vanilla Extract – Always use good quality vanilla extract when baking, it makes a huge difference. I have a great recipe here for it if you’d like to try your own!
Powdered sugar – also known as icing sugar. Make sure your sugar is sifted with no lumps for a smooth frosting.
Cocoa powder (frosting) – use It’s best to use a good quality Dutch process cocoa powder for this frosting. It has a deliciously strong flavor and is less acidic.
Dark cooking chocolate (frosting) – Using good quality chocolate is important in this recipe. I used semi-sweet chocolate with at least 70% cocoa. You can find cooking chocolate in the baking isle of your supermarket. Make sure you let your chocolate cool down before using in the frosting. Warm is ok, not hot.

Making the perfect Chocolate Cupcake.

Mix the dry ingredients together.
Whisk the wet ingredients together (except boiling water).
Add wet to dry.
Mix together only until no dry ingredients are showing.

Add boiling water to the batter.
Mix until evenly combined.
Line cupcake tin with liners
Fill liners with batter 3/4 of the way. Bake.

Once baked, cool on a cooling rack.
Frost with my creamy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Tips and Tricks For Recipe Success!

For an extra chocolate flavor – replace the boiling water with 1/3 cup of brewed coffee.
Sieve your cocoa powder to make sure it’s lump free in your batter. Trying to get the lumps out will likely result in overmixing your batter. Speaking of…
Don’t overmix your batter, it can cause your cupcakes to shrink and come out tough. Only mix until no dry ingredients are showing.
Scrape down the bowl – to make sure no dry ingredients are left behind.
Room Temperature ingredients are important in this recipe. Make sure your eggs and milk are at room temperature. Microwave your milk for 30 seconds and soak your eggs in warm water for 10 minutes before using. It’ll result in a much better cupcake batter and a cupcake that bakes nicely!
Fill your liners the right amount – about 3/4 of the way is the right amount for this recipe. Anything more than that and they can
When frosting your cupcakes – avoid using a round piping tip with chocolate frosting unless you’re going for the 💩 emoji look! 🤣

Frequently Asked Questions about Chocolate Cupcakes

How do I store these cupcakes?

Store these cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 4 days. They’re even more moist the next day.

Can I make this recipe into a cake?

Try my Easy Chocolate Cake recipe which is just as delicious and moist as this cupcake recipe!

What’re the best oven settings to use?

I use a fan forced oven which runs hotter than a conventional oven with no fan. If using a conventional oven (no fan) bake these on 130C / 265F. Bake them in the middle rack of your oven for best results!

What is the best cocoa powder to use?

For this recipe, you want to use unsweetened Natural Cocoa powder. It’s acidic enough to reacts with the bicarb soda and helps the cupcakes rise!

Why are my cupcakes domed at the top?

Look, they’re going toa taste the same, but it’s likely your oven temperature was too high. I would recommend using an oven thermometer for best results. You pop it into your oven and it will give you an accurate reading of your oven temperature.

What size muffin tin do you use?

I use a Wiltshire muffin tin. It’s pretty standard in size.
Bottom 5.5cm
Height: 3cm
Top: 7cm

What size cupcake liners do you use?

I use a brand named Confetta who are based here in Australia, but any greaseproof cupcake liners will work.
Bottom: 5cm
Height: 4cm
Top: 7.5cm

Why have my cupcakes sunk?

Most likely because they weren’t baked enough. Pop them back in the oven to finish baking as soon as you see them sinking. It may not prevent them from sinking but they’ll at least be baked when people eat them and you can just cover them up with frosting.

Why have my cupcakes come away from the liners?

This can happen for a couple reasons:

Humidity – your oven is humid which can cause the cupcakes to sweat.
Cupcakes were cooled in the liners – once cool enough to handle, transfer your cupcakes to a cooling rack to avoid them sweating.
Overmixing – if the cupcake batter is overmixed (mix only until you see no dry ingredients) they can shrink as they cool and come away from the cupcake liners.

What happened to the old recipe?

I updated this recipe because I believe recipes can always get better and you can always find new ways to make recipes tastier. The old recipe is great and is used widely through this website with my older, over the top cupcake recipes. This recipe is designed as a stand alone and not really designed to work with those older recipes. Basically both recipes are great, but I prefer this new updated recipe, it’s just so moist and delicious.

Gave this a go? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!

Looking for more chocolate fixes?

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4 comments

Bella July 17, 2022 - 12:14 pm

Hi Nick,

Is it possible to substitute the whole milk for buttermilk OR instead add a tablespoon of vinegar into the milk?

Nick Makrides August 1, 2022 - 4:25 am

Hmm, you could, but these cupcakes already come out incredibly moist! N x

Jane September 8, 2022 - 2:53 am

I must say this method isn’t my favorite, my cupcakes came out very dry. I do prefer the traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar first. I love many of your other recipes though so I will keep trying 🙂

Nick Makrides September 9, 2022 - 10:45 am

Hi Jane! Hmm, this recipe is super moist. I’m actually developing an even nicer chocolate recipe. I’m glad you took the time to let me know your thoughts though and that you enjoy my other recipes! N x

Chocolate Cupcakes