Last week I got an order for some birthday cupcakes. The request was for “just chocolate”. Sometimes just chocolate is all you need. Today I’m sharing my recipe for Chocolate, Chocolate Cupcakes.
This chocolate cake is one of my go to recipes. It never fails me… it’s moist and delicious and it’s easy. It uses just one bowl, you combine all the dry ingredients and then add the wet basically. One of the reasons that I like this recipe is that it doesn’t require butter like my other go to recipe does. This is nice if I happen to be low on butter, then I don’t have to decide between cake or buttercream. LOL
I made these chocolate cupcakes with a whipped chocolate buttercream and then I drizzled them with chocolate fudge just because. I dressed them up with some rainbow nonpareils so they were ready to party. I’ve come to the conclusion that sprinkles and drizzle are like accessories for cupcakes… you don’t necessarily need them, but boy does it look nice! 
For real, don’t they look gorgeous AND delicious?
Speaking of gorgeousness and deliciousness, allow me to digress for a bit while I get a little giddy over these pics. After I delivered 3 dozen of these babies to my friend I stopped by the store and picked up some foam core. Before now I’ve honestly been making due with whatever I have on hand when it comes to my photos. I actually went to school for photography so often times I would be a little sad about the kind of photos I was working with. (I know… we are always our worst critics.)
Anyway, as I work on taking my blog from hobby to a business I figured it was time to step up to “big girl” blogger. I’m so excited to see how my blog photos will grow! Next I will just need to work on my styling. That might take some time though. Every time I set up my shot I end up saying things like, “Don’t touch mommy’s set up please! Yes, I know it looks yummy, but you have to wait. Please don’t block the light.” You get the picture.
So if you are a lover of chocolate and you’re in the mood to keep things on the simpler side then these Chocolate, Chocolate Cupcakes are for you! They’re sure to satisfy any chocolate lover. Grab a tall glass of milk and enjoy!
xox Roxana
- 2 c flour
- 2 c sugar
- ¾ c cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 1 c whole milk
- ½ c canola oil
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 c hot coffee
- 1½ c (3 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 3½ - 4½ c powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ¼ c plus 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- ¼ c heavy whipping cream
- chocolate fudge and nonpareils (or sprinkles of your choice) for garnish (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and instant coffee and whisk it all together.
- Add the milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Turn the mixer on low and mix well scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Be sure to get all the dry ingredients incorporated, the batter will still be thick at this point.
- When the dry ingredients are just incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl and with the mixer on low very slowly add the hot coffee. Increase the speed to medium and make sure that the batter is mixed well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl down if needed. The batter will be thin now.
- Using a scoop, pour batter into each cupcake liner until about ¾ full.
- Bake for 14 - 17 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes for a couple minutes in the pan then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Begin adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on low speed increasing the speed to medium and scrape the bowl down as needed.
- After you've put in about half of the powdered sugar, add the cocoa powder, mix it well, then add the vanilla and the salt.
- Finish adding the rest of the powdered sugar, beating well after each addition.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and beat well on medium speed until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
- To decorate the cupcakes, insert a decorating tip into a piping bag (I used Wilton 2D), fill it with buttercream, and pipe swirls on each cupcake. If desired, drizzle with hot fudge and decorate with rainbow nonpareils.
