{Recipe} Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
I love chocolate…
So naturally, when I started experimenting with baking cupcakes from scratch (several years ago) I began a quest for the perfect chocolate cupcakes. I worked through several dozen recipes and of course, didn’t have too much trouble finding people willing to eat my “experiments.”
I finally found a recipe titled Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake, hmm, “…Perfectly Chocolate”, sounds about right to me! The first time I made it, I used Hershey’s unsweeted cocoa (as the recipe calls for). They turned out pretty good. The next time I made them, I used Ghirardelli brand unsweetened cocoa, and… perfect! The Ghirardelli brand gave a much deeper chocolate flavor. So I’d highly recomend using either Ghirardelli brand unsweetened cocoa, or the best quality brand you can find. You can really taste the difference. Since discovering this recipe, I’ve made it dozens and dozens of times. And every time, it’s delicious! The cake has a nice light and fluffy texture and a rich chocolate flavor.
Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
(makes 24-27 standard sized cupcakes)
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (best quality available)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (best quality available)
1 cup boiling water
Directions-
Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute.
Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin, don’t worry, this is right).
Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. (I usually put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.)
Bake cupcakes for aproximately 18-22 minutes.
Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
Recipe source- Hershey’s
Try the recipe HERE for either vanilla or chocolate (my favorite!) cream cheese frosting.
These look delicious.
Would love one right now.
Yummy.
Mmmmmmm. Thanks for the tips.
I use this recipe too, but with a few changes…dark choc. cocoa powder, melted dark choc., coffee, and sometime sour cream. I also like to add choc. chips to the batter. This makes for an insanely rich, moist chocolate cupcake.
They are perfect!!! Great advice and I wish I had one of them!
yummy! Can't wait to make them myself.
Thanks for the recipe Glory! They look divine.
I live in Australia and we don't have Ghirardelli brand unsweetened cocoa, do you know of a good substitute?
Totally loving your blog and love getting your emails, it makes my day. xo
Wow these look wonderful, sounds a delicious recipe too. Love your blog! I'll be back soon. Lucie x
Wow your cupcakes are so pretty, they look extremely chocolatey too yummm!
.
I recognize those middle beauties! Good times. Your blog is beautiful!
I tried it and it´s just PERFECT! I love it. thank you for sharing it.
Virginia
I just made these, and frosted them using your cream cheese frosting (with blackberry), and they are the BEST cupcakes I have ever had. Bar none. The frosting really pushed them over the edge. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Sarah
Hi, I made you cupcakes and they are divine. Any chance you could share your vanilla cupcake recipe too.
Thanks for all the kind comments! So glad to hear from those of you who have tried it!
Bubbabo Cupcakes- I will be sharing my vanilla cupcake recipe in the next few months.
HELLO, THANK YOU FOR THE RECEIPE
A JUST HAVE A ????
CAN I KEEP THE BAKED ALREADY CUPCAKES IN THE FREEZER FOR COUPLE OF WEEKS????
Anonymous- Yes these cupcakes freeze well. Just defrost at room temperature for an hour or so.
Enjoy!
This is a perfect recipe, thank you for sharing.
Please could you tell me what cutters/techniques you used to make the butterfly and flower decorations?
Came across your blog today, tried your chocolate cupcake with the choc. frosting, was insanely rich and moist too. My girls and husband fell in love with it.
i use this same recipe with buttermilk instead of whole milk and coffee instead of water. but i'll try this variation, since milk is more handy.
Thank you for the recipe – these are fabulous! My two cents worth…have made these twice using cocoa I had on hand. The first time, used Hershey's Dark. The cupcakes were insanely delicious. The second time, used Scharffen Berger. To my surprise, the cupcakes weren't nearly as good. Maybe that's just my personal preference for dark chocolate. Also, because the batter is thin, I found a squeeze bottle with a wide nozzle worked well for me when I filled the cupcake papers. I made a giant mess trying to pour from a measuring cup.
Really lovely piping! Love the flower.
Great informative recipe on these chocolate cupcakes.The piping looks perfect.
I have made these several times!! We love them. Do you have a vanilla cupcake recipe are you willing to share?? Please!!
wow. looks gorgeous. do you have any instructions or tips on how you made those butterflies.
Thanks.would appreciate if you could reply to
Pearse@netamumail.com
Pearse
I use Hershey's recipe too! But…I was thinking of starting the quest for a chocolate cake all over again, because even though it tastes great, my cupcakes always turns out super flat making it difficult to remove from the cupcake tin. suggestions?
@Francesca- My cupcakes with this recipe usually have at least a small dome shape. You may need to get fresh baking soda and baking powder. I'm not sure what else the problem may be.
@Pearse- The butterflies are made from fondant, and cut with a cutter made just for fondant. I don't remember where I bought the cutter (I've had it a while). Try a google search for "fondant butterfly cutter"
I could not find any of the ghiradelli unsweeten cocoa. If I use the sweet cocoa is that okay?
Bakers Treats- If you substitute for sweet cocoa you would need to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe, but I'm not sure by how much. You may also want to look for another brand of unsweetend cocoa.
I'm making these for the second time because they were a hit the first time. Thank you for sharing such a yummy recipe!
Those chocolate cupcakes look fantastic and very delicious. I featured them on my dessert/fashion blog:
http://tissosweetcandy.blogspot.com/2011/02/be-my-valentine.html
I will definitely be trying this recipe very soon!
Chelsea
Hi! I used this recipe and your vanilla creamcheese icing recipe last week to make some cupcakes, and everyone loved them and are ordering me to make more!
Thanks for the recipe and keep up the great work! (:
Hi I made these today with nutella frosting and hard chocolate covered and they were super delicioussss! the only problem I had was i think since it was so liquid it stick to the liners soooooo hard. It was a little difficult to take the liners off. any help?
Sweet baking boutique-
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe. I've made this recipe probably 100 times and I've never had a problem with it sticking to the liners, so I'm not quite sure what the problem may have been. My only suggestions might be to bake them a few minutes less, or try a different kind/brand of liners.
Happy Baking!
hi there..ive made these HEAPZ of times and everytime ive made them they rise unevenly..can anyone help with this matter?what do i have to do to get them to rise perfectly?
these are delicious!!do u happen to have a vanilla recipe you would like to share?
Hello there! I just wanted to say that all of your baked goods are absolutely lovely. This has been my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe for ages and I thought I would post here that, if anyone wants to make this treat a little bit healthier, you can substitute fat-free plain yogurt for the oil and therefore have a practically fat-free cake! And there is absolutely no flavour difference from what I (and my taste testers) can tell between the two.
Happy baking!
- Eve
Oh my goodness… totally absolutely delicious… just baked my lot… & its absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! Will bake a 2nd batch now for our gals' night out to the spa… (My 1st batch was "sacrificed" to the kids… since it looked really bad (even though it tasted divine) as I didn't estimate filling 2/3s properly… so they overspilled out of the cupcake holders… Ooopss…! So if you're attempting this cupcake, make sure you definitely take note & fill 1/2 to 3/4 full as they do rise a fair bit! LOL!) Hope you don't mind me reposting (& referencing you) on my blog too…
Thanks heaps!
Hi there Glory, Was wondering if this cupcake recipe would work as a giant cupcake cake… if you know what I mean… the gals LOVED it after our night at the hot springs…
Awesome! Love all your treats…can't wait to try more. Shared a couple on my blog today. Thanks for the inspiration!
Blessings,
Holly
http://hallelujahsbyholly.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-chocolate-cupcakesyum.html
Hello
I was wondering if this recipe could be altered slightly for lemon cupcakes for Mother's Day?
Lemon cupcakes?- I wouldn't start with this recipe for lemon cupcakes, I would try to start with a vanilla cake (which I dont' have a recipe to recommend, I can't seem to master that one!). Sorry I couldn't be of much help this time!
Hey Glory! I am a little perplexed as I have made this recipe once before and the cakes turned out perfect. The last two times I have made them they have sunk in the middle!! Is all purpose flour plain or self raising??? Love your blog, Mel
Melissa- The recipe is correct, use all purpose flour. But I would check and make sure your levening agents (baking powder and baking soda) are fresh (less than 6 months old). Also, you may need to bake then just a minute more. You may be pulling them out before they are fully baked in the center. Good luck!
Thanks heaps!! Melissa
Just made these in order to turn them into cupcakes in a jar tomorrow. Had to taste test one though…YUM! I think I've finally found a cake recipe that will allow me never to make cupcakes from a boxed mix again.
such an easy recipe and the first 12 came out perfect!! I think I can stop my search for the perfect chocolate cupcake, these are soooo chocolaty!!
Your blog is wonderful.
This recipe is lovely.
You can see my cupcakes here:
http://lacasitadeazucar.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/el-mejor-cupcake-de-chocolate/
Wonderful day because I "StumbleUpon" your blog. The largest star tip I've found (for the frosting on top of the cupcake) is a Wilton 1M. Is that what you are using? Your "swirl" looks bigger than mine. Thanks!
Patti and Bruce- Glad you found me! I use a Wilton 1M for frosting.
Your cupcakes are beautiful and taste so delicious! I am curious as to what piping tip you use to frost your cupcakes. I love the look of your frosting swirl & am trying to master recreating it
Loves
-Erica :]
Hi… Was wondering if I could convert this recipe to a diabetic friendly cake/cupcakes. Would you by any chance know how? I absolutely LOVE this recipe… have made it many times now… but been requested for a diabetic version now…
Thanks!
@Karen- The sugar in baking adds not just to the sweetness, but also affects the texture and the browning. You'll have to do a bit of experimenting with sugar substitutes to see what may work.
LOL… Thank you for all the recipes posted, will certainly try them out, now even more excited to try them a.s.a.p! Why?… This Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes recipe is actually a recipe I have. LOL… A few months ago I was also looking for that perfect chocolate cake recipe and it so happened that my niece got a recipe from a friend of hers… she gave me "THIS" one. I tried it out and was amazed by it! I absolutely love it, as does anyone that we feed it to. Knowing where it originates from is super and I'm ready for more! Thanks so much!
GT, thank u, I tried with just 1 cup of sugar and it turned out very nice. Have u tried baking the same recipe as one big cake? My prob with cupcakes with frosting is in keeping it as they can go on top of each other, whereas cake is easily stored
Hi, just want to know if the milk listed is evaporated milk?
Thanks,
Lorie
Hi!
I think you are so talented and I just wanted to say I love your blog. I used your recipe as inspiration for my own cupcake and I just wanted to say thanks very much! I hope you don't mind I gave a shout out to you in the post. http://www.gigidiaries.com/2011/07/test_24.html
Thank you for the inspiration!
Katrina
I have been in the cupcake business for 2 years now. I started with scratch cake, and because of so many failures, I went to box. I am getting the courage to go back to scratch. I am going to try this recipe. I hope it works. I really want to bake from scratch
Hi, Glory,
I wanted to use this recipe for an 8" cake. What would you change the ingredient portions to?
I love ur blog. I add it as a favorite. Today i did this recipe and it went out great. Thanks for making it so easy. I love baking and im learning throught out ur page.
Best wishes and keep the awesome job.
Carolyn Cabrera, Dom. Rep.
Hi,Your cupcakes are beautiful!! Can you please share what piping tip you use for your swirled cupcakes? Thanks in advance:)
WOW ! After the perfect vanilla cake I have found the perfect chocolate cake here. Thanks a million for your divine recipes. I was just wondering if I could use cake flour instead of all purpose flour in this recipe……I have a big bag lying in my pantry.
http://sadaf-culinaryadventures.blogspot.com
Whenever I try this recipe, the cupcakes always fall after 2 minutes out of the oven. Any suggestions?
Ohhh -I just made these for my kids birthday and they were so wonderful! So perfectly yummy and easy. Even my MIL thought they were delightful! I've given out the recipe a few times already.
These are the most delicious cupcakes. Ever. Thanks, Glory! :0)
i just made these chocolate goodness cupcakes for the ump-teenth time and i still get the same reaction with my first bite. SO GOOD! moist, chocolatey, yumminess! friends and family LOVE them. just finished baking another batch right now (going to see my hair stylist tomorrow and wanted to surprise her with some goodies).
thank you!!!! i HEART your blog and all your wonderful goodies!!
Hi, They look wonderful. I'd like to make them as mini cupcakes. Are there any changes on the ingredients? I'm assuming it will be just changes in temperature and time of baking. What is your recommendation?
What a great recipe! Made them this weekend and they were excellent!
i tried it but it didnt rise…how come ?
it rise but after pricking with toothpick it fell down.. how come ?
Hi Glory. I posted your cupcake recipe on my blog and linked back to you. Wanted to let you know. Love, love, love your blog. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Hi!!! I tried this recipe and the cupcakes were delicious! Thanks!!! (: The only problem I have is that the top of the cupcakes became really sticky after they cooled. Do you have any idea why?
Thanks so much for the recipe! I used it to make some cupcakes for my daughters birthday and they turned out fabulously
OMG, these are fantastic!! I used this recipe to make some Black Forest cupcakes on the weekend and they turned out amazing. Normally I prefer vanilla cake over chocolate, but I do believe this recipe has converted me : )
Thanks for posting this…
These look great! I will be making a batch this week. I do have a question, why all-purpose flour instead of cake flour like your vanilla cupcake recipe?
I tried these but they didnt come out right. They had sink holes in the middle of them. Any idea of what I did wrong. I realized I used sweet cocoa instead od unsweeten maybe that were I went wrong.
Hi, I made these yesterday but the vanill cream cheese frosting turned out too runny even though I followed your instruction step by step. Please can you tell me what I might have done wrong?
Hi I made these the other week–and they were delicious–but I had trouble with them cooking out over the cupcake papers. So much so, that I had to throw away my first batch. The second batch I then didn't fill the papers as full, and it worked better, but It still seemed to run out over on a few of them. Any tips or suggestions? The batter seems so very runny….wondering if that's why?
Hi there. Just wanted to say that since finding your blog (only a few weeks ago) I have baked your chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, and have frosted them with your vanilla cream cheese icing, peppermint icing and peanut butter icing. I have also made your mini cinnamon sugar cupcakes. Needless to say I am constantly running to the store for more ingredients, am making my friends, family and co-workers VERY happy and am a hit at parties. Thanks for this wonderful blog and these fantastic recipes…they have turned out perfectly every time!
What would your baking istructions be to bake this in the oven in 2 8" cake pans instead of cupcake pans?
Can I just say that these cupcakes are delish! I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder and they turned out fantastic. They were perfectly chocolatey! I did find that I didn't need to bake them as long though. I found that out after my first batch was done. This will definately be a recipe in the KEEP file!
Glory, are you using brown or black liners for your chocolate cupcakes? thanks!
Couldn't sleep so I made this recipe into a cake at about midnight, let it bake for another 10-15 minutes (not sure exactly how much longer, kept an eye on it). I'm waiting for this baby to cool and I've taken a little nibble off and I vow to NEVER make a chocolate box cake again. I used what I had, hershey's cocoa powder and I'm pretty stoked to frost it!
I made these cupcakes with your chocolate cream cheese frosting for my brother's birthday dinner. They were a huge hit!! Light and fluffy in texture yet oh so rich and chocolatey in taste. This was my first time ever making a recipe from scratch. Thanks for all you post!!
This is the only chocolate cake recipe I use. Beautiful with jam and cream in it. I make cakes and cupcakes but my icing never looks as good as yours. Need to practise (and taste test too;)
Hi. Just wanted to know. I have baking powder but not baking soda can I just use 3 tsp of baking powder instead will that b okay? Plz let me know as soon as possible need to make them today thanks
I noticed that your chocolate peanut butter cupcake and your chocolate cupcake recipes contain the same ingredients and measurements except for the eggs. one recipe calls for three eggs and the other has two eggs. is there a reason for this?
@about eggs- Yes, sorry, I've been meaning to update this! I've experimented with 2 or 3 eggs, both taste pretty much identical, but the ones with an extra egg hold together just a bit better. I usually use 3, but again, the difference is very slight.
Hi Glory!! I love your blog <3 I have a quick question. Have you ever turned a chocolate cake recipe INTO a vanilla cake recipe?!? I have an amazing chocolate cake recipe and I need to change it to vanilla but I wasn't quite sure what to do to change it so it doesn't come out funky…I checked online but I couldn't really find anything and since you bake ALOT more then I do I figured you might know something….any help would be great!!! Thanks
@Amanda- I have great vanilla cake recipe here, http://glorioustreats.blogspot.com/2011/07/perfect-vanilla-cupcakes-recipe.html
It would be tricky to start with a chocolate recipe and make a direct change to vanilla.
I tried this recipe twice, and I too had sink holes in the middle. I'm wondering if it's because I'm at high altitude??
@Angie- Yes, sorry but at high altitude you will certainly need to make adjustments! I would suggest a google serch to help you find some suggested adjustments for baking at high altitude. Best of luck!
These look delicious!! I am wondering if I use 2% milk instead of whole milk will it make a big difference?
Hi…your recipes and directions on how to frost cupcakes were very helpful and informative. I just wanted to know how you made the butterflies and flowers with imprints on your cupcakes, and what did you use?
… best chocolate cupcakes I've ever made. Will never use any other recipe again. Combined with your frosting tips and recipe, the cupcakes were a huge hit! Thanks!
Just tried this recipe, I was so excited because I thought I'd finally got it right! They were very gooey and almost not cooked inside, is it necessary to add the boiling water? the batter looked perfect until I added the water, there was way too much liquid! Will definitely try this recipe again though.
@Annonymous- It sounds like you might just need to bake them a few minutes longer. I've made this recipe (with the water) hundreds of times with great success. Feel free to make any adjustments you want to try, but I can assure you, the recipe should work well as is (unless by chance you're at very high elevation).
I made these today and used grape seed oil instead of olive or vegetable oil WOW are they light and fluffy and the grape seed oil didn't leave any flavoring in it at all!
What could I add or substitute in this recipe to make them chocolate orange cupcakes?
I made these tonight with my little ones and they were absolutely wonderful!! We made the chocolate cream cheese frosting and it just topped them off. The perfect amount of sweetness. Wonderful recipe!! Thanks for sharing it, I will definitely keep this as my "go to" for chocolate cupcakes
Maria
Question- Do you measure the boiled water before you boil it, or after? Because I feel like if you did before, it would evaporate? Thanks!
Whenever I make these, they form a crispy skin on the top but are amazingly moist and soft inside, what am I doing wrong?! Please help!
I'd like to make a double (or triple) layer cake instead of cupcakes for my daughter's birthday. Do you have the cooking conversion? Thank you!
Hi, I was wondering if I could use 3 teaspoons of baking soda instead of baking powder? And i was wondering, why does the recipe call for both?
I made them two days ago… just perfect!! Thanks!
This is HILARIOUS! I discovered the Hershey's recipe just a few weeks ago and LOVE IT!! So I clicked your link to see if it was similar to that one…only to find it was the same one. Guess I've got the best recipe already.
I've made it 3 times to great success (for cakes and cupcakes)… am waiting to try it for a larger cake…
ssI'm so sad. I made a batch of chocolate and vanilla last night and neither turned out. The chocolate taste good but look terrible and actually pulled away from the liner. The vanilla turned out dry…I feel like a failure. They are for a babyshower so tonight it is to the box mix
I've been using this recipe for probably over 12 years ( though I have always called it "deep dark chocolate cake"), but I had forgotten all about it for the last few years. Just made it again yesterday, and it truly is the perfect chocolate cake. This recipe has never failed me.
when it says use 3/4 cup of flour how much is that in weight??
Great! looks really delicious.=D
Just tried this recipe….same as another…the batter looked perfect until I added the water, there was way too much liquid! They were very gooey and almost not cooked inside even after adding SEVERAL minutes cooking to them. I will try again without the water because they had great flavour.
I JUST baked these, and they are some of the best cupcakes I have ever had!!!
I just made a gluten-free version of your cupcakes and….I'm in heaven! I made the regular recipe for a shower last weekend and my husband said they were the best chocolate cupcakes he's ever had. So, I'm going to fool him tonight and see if he could taste the difference in the gluten-free recipe. I use the "land-o-Lakes" gluten-free flour blend and it is the best flour blend I have found! Maybe you could spotlight a gluten-free recipe soon!
So i made these and they would not come off of the paper liner which was super dissapointing cause i only got like half the cupcake- Any tips for this?
Honestly, the BEST chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Made it for my birthday, and I'll never go back. Added fresh strawberries, cut in half, to the top with a dash of powdered sugar and served it with vanilla ice cream. HEAVEN. (The batter will be the consistency of water when you pour it in the pan – don't fret. It will bake up correctly.)
This comment has been removed by the author.
Made these last night and they are FABULOUS! Not only in taste but absolutely love the domed tops which cool to a slightly harder texture (yum). Ample batter to make 12 standard & 48 mini cupcakes. A tip for Australians – remember that US cup & tablespoon measurements are different from the Australian sizes eg Aussie 1 cup is 250ml whereas US 1 cup is 237ml (usually rounded to 240ml); Aussie 1 tablespoon is 20ml (4tsp) whereas US 1 tablespoon is 15ml (3tsp). Target has a cup/spoon set with US sizes on it for only $4, worth getting!
Hi Glory,
I just made your vanilla cake recipe last night and it was wonderful! I'm planning on trying this next, but I need to make a 12" double layer round cake. Do you by any chance know if doubling would be enough and if I would need to adjust the temp?
Any help is greatly appreciated! Love your blog!!
Michelle
Found this post hours ago on pinterest and made them asap. Made a few adjustments based on what I had and just enjoyed the most wonderful chocolate cake I've had. Moist, fluffy, rich…and decadent! Could only be done better with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
Used Hershey's Dark Chocolate powder, buttermilk, and coffee as substitutes. Filled each cupcake with 1/4 cup batter, made exactly 24 cupcakes. Came out with perfect mounds (not flat at all). I baked it for 20 minutes in my oven.
Mahalo for my new go-to chocolate cake recipe.
I made these cupcakes today. Didn't have regular milk so I used buttermilk and I didn't have enough unsweetened regular coco powder so I substituted the same amount of dark chocolate powder. The taste and textures was amazing! They were indeed flat on the top and the batter was indeed very runny but they tasted great. My only complaint is that too much of the cupcake stuck to the cupcake wrapper. Has anyone found a solution to this problem yet?
How about doing a proper recipe in gramms? So the rest of the World (except America) can bake these cupcakes. Couldn't do these ones because I have no idea how much flour etc. I need.
I found that if you didn't cool the cup cakes enough they stuck to the wrapper. When the cakes cooled enough, they shrink a little and release better. Just my two cents on this…
I made the recipe… but they came out flat, not so cute looking… what did i do wrong? Writing from South America.
Tried this recipe today and it was just perfect ..Thank you so much
can someone please tell me how to make the little flower on top of the cupcake??? LOVE it!
Have you made this as a cake instead of cupcakes? If so, what temp and how long? I've made the cupcakes twice and they are perfect!!!
Well, I knew I loved the cupcakes and thought I would try making a little double layer 6″ cake for Fathers Day for my BIL
Did NOT work…….I think this is too soft for a cake. I baked it for almost 50 min at 350 in 6″ pans that were filled a little more than half way,
I an say it came out of the pans ok…but trying to frost them….they are just too wiggley…they dont firm up like a cake. UNLESS Im doing something wrong……I think Ill stick to CUPCAKES with this recipe….those are AWESOME!
Ansa
Glory replied: — June 18th, 2012 @ 12:50 am
Ansa- I have made cakes several times with this recipe, but as you said, the cake is quite fluffy and delicate. I usually freeze my cake layers (wrapped well in plastic wrap) before frosting them, this give you a more durable surface to frost.
Hi, I was just wondering if its okay it use canola oil instead of vegetable oil or will it alter the taste?
Glory replied: — June 29th, 2012 @ 4:55 am
Canola oil will work just lovely!
These cupcakes are AMAZING!!
I would like to make a cake using this recipe but do the measurements need to be changed?
Glory replied: — July 8th, 2012 @ 8:46 pm
This recipe can be used for a cake, using the recipe as is. Of course you’ll need to adjust the baking time, depending on the size of your pans. The cake is baked when it has a slight dome, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter.
Hi, I want to try this recipe but was wondering if I could use cake flour vs all purpose flour as long as I used 1cup + 2tbsp for every 1 cup of all purpose flour this recipe calls for?
Glory replied: — July 12th, 2012 @ 1:23 am
I’ve only made the recipe as posted, but feel free to try any substitutions you like =)
I have been using this recipe for about 2 months, however I have a big problem with getting just the right amount of batter into the cups, if I put just a smudge too much they overflow out of the cups instead of just rising to make a pretty dome…any idea what I might be doing wrong?
I have tried many chocolate cupcake recipes and this one got the best reviews from everyone I’ve made them for!! love!!
These are amazing!! I’m quite new to this whole homemade baking bit… as in… this was my first attempt at baking a homemade cupcake!! I must say, I’m extremely grateful that your recipe was the first I came across!!! The only problem i ran into is that the second and third batch tasted a bit off. The first batch was ridiculously amazing!! but the last two had a bit of an eggyv (?) taste to it. Am i supposed to keep it in the refrigerator between pouring cupcakes or did i not mix it enough before pouring again? I know it sounds like a silly question, I’m just not sure if I’m doing something wrong.
Glory replied: — July 24th, 2012 @ 11:08 pm
Lynn, You do not need to do anything special with the batter while the first, or second batches are baking. I have never tasted any difference within the batches. Often the second and third batches bake up a bit better, with a nicer dome, because the baking soda has already had time to activate. Other than that, there should be no difference. Make sure you are using the best quality cocoa and vanilla you can find, those two ingredients make a big difference.
Glory, I made these this weekend and they were fabulous! Thanks for the great recipe as always
Glory replied: — July 17th, 2012 @ 11:08 pm
Yay, so glad you enjoyed them! They are always a favorite in our house!
Looking forward to seeing you at Cookie Con!
I loved your vanilla cupcakes so I figured I’d try these. Would this recipe work with coffee instead of boiling water?
Glory replied: — July 24th, 2012 @ 11:10 pm
Yes. If you are using high quality cocoa, coffee is not necessary, but if you can only get ahold of Hershey’s cocoa (for example), using coffee in place of the hot water will help deepen the cocoa flavor, and will leave no coffee flavor.
Hi! I found your blog yesterday looking for a flawless chocolate cupcake recipe, needlees tosay that i was lost for a couple of hours in here lookinhg through everything else…
I was hoping you could help with one thing, i realy want to try these but i’m from Portugal and i’m not quite sure how to “translate” the measures…
I roughly turned the cups measures into these grams and ml measures, could you tell me if this is correct?
365g Sugar
250g Flour
100g Cocoa
1 ½ spoon Baking Powder
1 ½ spoon Baking Soda
1 spoon Salt
2 Egs
240ml Whole Milk
120ml Vegetable Oil
2 spoons Vanilla Extract
240ml Bowling Water
Thank you so much for the blog, I’m really dying to try them so i can put them in my blog (although is not a coking blog) and to make them to a friends Bridal Shower.
Cacd
Glory replied: — July 24th, 2012 @ 4:51 pm
Cluadia- I have never baked using grams or ml, so I would have no way to know without using Google and converting the measurements the best I could. I’m sure if you used a conversion chart, you have reached a very close match. Best of luck!
Thank you for the replay.
But not pretty, by my own fault. I still don’t master the frosting situation…
I already made them and i think i got it right because they were delicious!
When i get them to look as good as they taste i will take a lot of pictures!
Thank you again*
Love your recipe! Where can I find brown cupcake liners?
Love these cupcakes. They have become my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. The only change I make is I swap unsweetened applesauce for the veggie oil, equal parts, and they still come out delclious.
I brought them into work and one of the girls took a bite and said these taste so… healthy and clean.
Thanks for the great post.
I took my first stab at making cupcakes this week and started with your perfect vanilla cupcakes recipe. They turned out AMAZING! You made me look like I’ve done this before… the chocolate cupcake recipe, on the other hand, not so delicious. I will admit I searched for Ghirardelli and came up short, so Hershey’s it was. The taste was actually quite good, but my major issue was that I cooked them for only 20 minutes and they were crispy on the edges and stuck terribly to the top edge of the liner. Also the bottom had a huge glob of cupcake stuck to it. Any suggestions? Thanks for your great blog!
Glory replied: — August 23rd, 2012 @ 5:48 pm
Crystal, I’m so glad you enjoyed my vanilla cupcake recipe. Baking times can vary a bit, so feel free to experiment. You may want to try different liners as well.
To get the dome on the cupcake use cold eggs
This cupcakes are so good!!! They are fluffly, chocolaty, heavenly divine
They are fresh out of the oven, but i had to take a bite out of one… They are delicious!
But im gonna do a dulce de leche frosting ^^ Just because my latin blood is asking for it XD
These cupcakes look delicious. Does anybody know the UK equivalent to this recipe please? Would love to try it xx
Glory replied: — August 23rd, 2012 @ 4:45 pm
Kirsty, A google search should lead you to a good conversion chart.
Happy Baking!
I live in Colorado and know that sometimes you have to adjust the recipe for the high altitude. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Glory replied: — September 6th, 2012 @ 10:31 pm
Tessa, Yes, for cake some adjustments are usually neccessary at high altitude. Here is a post that should help get you started, http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html
What if I wanted to use this recipe for a cake and not cupcakes? Would anything change in regards to cook time?
Glory replied: — September 6th, 2012 @ 10:32 pm
Rachael, This recipe makes a delicious cake! I have not listed the baking times, because they will vary quite a bit depending on the size pans you use, and the amount of batter in each pan. The cakes are done when they have a slight dome, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Happy Baking!
I made your vanilla cupcakes a few weeks back for the base of a coconut cupcake and they we’re perfect! They we’re so moist and delicious, and now I definitely want to try this chocolate recipe. If I can only find Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder, do you suggest using hot coffee instead of the boiling water, or should I leave the recipe as is? Thanks!
Glory replied: — September 13th, 2012 @ 4:48 pm
Yes, replacing the water with hot coffee will up the chocolate flavor when using a more mild cocoa.
So glad you enjoyed the vanilla recipe and did some successful experimenting with it!
Happy Baking!
I asked my son what kind of cupcakes he wanted for his second birthday. “chocolate” he says. I had “pinned” this recipe months ago, but when I saw the picture I knew that’s what he wanted. They were amazing. All the kids devoured them. Thank you so much for a great recipe. They are my new chocolate cupcake staple.
Hi,, I made this today, not good, the batter overflowed the cupcake pan, any advice please? I´m thinking. too much sugar or too much baking soda and baking powder.
Help, please, I´m a little dissapointed, I wanted chocolate cupcakes for dinner TODAY!!
Las week I made your venilla cupcakes and I they turned out great.
Glory replied: — September 18th, 2012 @ 2:59 am
Hi, It sounds like your only problem was over filling the cups. Try filling the liners just half full. I have made this recipe probably 100 times, so I’m quite sure the proportions work (unless by chance you are at high elevation, that would be another issue altogether). Glad the vanilla ones worked out for you. Give this recipe another try and I think you’ll love it too!
Baked your chocolate cupcakes & they worked & tasted a treat. Only thing I didn’t need to cook them for as long as you wrote. I have added your scrumptous recipe to my book. Thanks heaps for sharing
Hi there! I am planning to bake these delicious chocolate cupcakes for the next weekend! Where can I get the recipe of this ” blue icing’ ? which looks amazing..Thanks
Glory replied: — September 28th, 2012 @ 7:39 pm
Zey, You can frost these with my American buttercream, http://www.glorioustreats.com/2011/08/american-buttercream-frosting-recipe.html (feel free to use the cream cheese version, that’s my favorite)
Hi Glory,
God bless you loads and loads for this ‘over the top lovely’ recipe. Thank God for I chanced to stop by your blog.
I baked a dozen of these yesterday for a birthday party today and people just loved them so much! Its a relief to have so little to do to make such wonderful treats. Ive pushed back my old recipe.
I find they taste the best a day later.
Thank you so much.
Can I divide this cupcake recipe.
Hi, i was wondering if i could half this recipe to make just 12 cupcakes? or will that not work? many thanks, eloise. x
I have tried to make these a few times now, and every time they sink in the middle when cooling I have tried leaving them in at different times, 16, 18, 20 and 22 mins. But they still sink. I use your vanilla one all the time, it’s perfect but I can’t get this one right. Any suggestions? Also would you not try putting real melted chocolate in it? Many thanks Eloise. X x
Glory replied: — November 9th, 2012 @ 10:35 pm
Without being in the kitchen with you, it’s hard to know for sure. Do you live at high elevation? By “sink”, do the cupcakes get concaved, or just lower slightly? The cupcakes will sometimes reduce just slightly as they cool, but they will/should still have a slight dome, or at least be flat, they should not be concave.
Very happy! I have ghiradelli and hersheys in my cubbard and havent found one recipe (until now) that actually wants you to use that brand! Yaye, on my way to the kitchen now;-) thank you soo much!
-pastrychef
I have some left over cake flour from a previous recipe, that I am trying to use up. Would it work with this recipe, or is all-purpose the better route? Can’t wait to try them out, they look wonderful! Thank you much!
Glory replied: — November 8th, 2012 @ 5:21 pm
Kiley, I have never used cake flour for this recipe, so I can’t answer for sure. I would say it would probably work fine. But you’ll need to adjust the measurement of flour a bit. Use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for ever cup of all purpose flour listed.
Where can I find Ghiradelli cocoa powder? I heard it could be found in Whole Foods, but I wanna be 100% sure since I live far from Whole Foods… By the way, I live in Houston.
Glory replied: — November 24th, 2012 @ 5:15 am
Of course I have no way of knowing what stores in your area may or may not stock Ghirardelli cocoa. I like Ghirardelli, and that’s what I use, but you can use any high quality cocoa powder available in your area. I’m sure Whole Foods would have a good choice. Usually price is a good way to know the quality of the cocoa… the higher prices cocoas are usually the higher quality.
Happy baking!
Is it possible to cup this recipe in half and keep the same consistency I need to make a dozen cupcakes and i don’t want to be tempted to eat the others!
does this recipe have butter?
These came out really good!. But I love the consistancy of your perfect vanilla cupcakes. Is there a reason why you shoulnd’t use cake flour in the chocolate recipe as well?
I made the chocolate cupcake recipe for Christmas to give out to my family and friends. My cupcakes turned out very good and I got a lot of compliments from my family even using the Hershey cocoa powder, but next time I will try the Ghiradelli (their box brownie mix is way better than any other brand so I figure your’re right about the taste of the cocoa powder). I did overfill most of them but nobody noticed or cared (definitely didn’t consider them ruined)! Most of mine came out a little flat on top as well but maybe it had something to do with overfilling them. Anyway, great recipe! They were super moist.
You weren’t kidding– these ARE perfect! They are moist and flavorful, and bake up just right to hold some of that American buttercream frosting (with a splash of bourbon, just for kicks). Thanks!
Hi Glorius Treats! Theese look so yummy I can’t wait to try them:) I was wondering if the recipe can be cut in half though. Im having a party and want to offer both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, so I don’t need 24 chocolate. I saw a few other people asked the same question, but I couldn’t find the asnwer. If I missed it, sorry!
Thanks for the help!
oh my gosh, this is the best tasting cupcake ever!! thank you so much for sharing ur recipe!! will be making it for my lil girl’s 3rd birthday party
Thank you for sharing this recipe and all the others you have. I have only recently discovered your blog and so far, I have tried this recipe and the buttercream frosting recipe and both produced amazing results.
When I made these the batter tasted phenomenal, but when they were in the oven they sunk. I have no idea why they did that. I followed the directions carefully. I was really disappointed because they tasted good, but sunk in the center. Also I put them in the oven for the time directed (about18-22 minutes) and they did not want to cook in the center.
Glory replied: — January 28th, 2013 @ 3:05 am
Do you live at a high elevation? The only time I’ve heard of this being an issue was for those at high elevation. Other than that, I’m not sure what may have happened. I’m made this recipe over 100 times and never had that issue. Maybe check you baking powder or baking soda for freshness?
I can’t wait to try these- I loved the vanilla ones! But I have a few quick questions: 1. I am making these for a group of about 50 people, so would it be safer to make 2 separate batches or double the recipe? And 2. I have Natural Process Non-Dutched Cocoa. Would that work? Thanks for your fabulous recipes- they are always a hit!
Glory replied: — January 30th, 2013 @ 6:11 am
For 50 cupcakes I would suggest two separate batches (unless you have two ovens). As you prepare the ingredients for the first batch, add the ingredients for the second batch into separate bowls, to make it easy to prepare the second batch.
I usually use natural cocoa as well, so that should work great.
I am so disappointed and frustrated! I tried this recipe, followed it exactly, and they were an epic failure. I threw them all away. I didn’t want them to burn, so didn’t take them out until the tooth pick came out clean. They were over cooked on the bottom and stuck in the muffin pan. Also not fluffy at all, more like chewy. Why ?? I feel like it may have been the hot water. Yet how come the rest of you had such success?? Not exactly my first time baking!
Glory replied: — February 10th, 2013 @ 4:31 am
Cheryl,
I’m sorry you didn’t have success. I’ve made this recipe dozens and dozens of times, it’s a favorite in our house. It’s hard to know for sure what to recommend… although the one note I picked up on is you said they stuck to the muffin pan, did you use cupcake liners? You will certainly have more success if you use paper (or foil) liners.
These are incredible – i made them exactly as you wrote the recipe and they were perfect. Thanks for the tip after the boiling water is added, i would’ve been totally perplexed at the consistency.
Maybe a silly question…can I use this recipe for a cake or is it specifically for cupcakes?
Gloria, these cupcakes came out WONDERFULLY soft and so decadent! I made them for my mom’s 50th birthday with a dark chocolate buttercream frosting and all 60 of them were wiped out! Thanks for sharing, love your blog!!!
Glory, Absolutely the best recipe in my book! So glad I found it!
hi wow these cupcakes look amazing im going to make it with the choclate frosting tommrow for valintines days cant wait and I was just wondering how did you make the red lovehearts on the choclate cupcakes thankyou
I just tried them out as a Valentines Day treat. They taste great, thanks for sharing!
LOVE this cupcake recipe! Just made them today and they turned out soooo moist! This recipe is a keeper for sure! Thank you so much for this excellent recipe!
You may have answered this already but what changes would you make to the recipe to make this into a layer cake. Also you said they would freeze well. Is that with the icing too?
Oh my. I will NEVER buy boxed mix again. I made these for a friend who was going through a rough time and of course had to sample before I gave them away. So moist and decadent. I used a chocolate buttercream frosting.
P.s. since I didn’t have whole milk, but had 2/3 cup of buttermilk, I used that and 1/3 cup 2%. Perfection….thanks for the recipe.
i made these cupcakes today and was a bit disappointed….although they were moist, on the other hand they were also very dense….i expected something light…..i followed the recipe to the T and im not very happy with the result…what could have been wrong…???
wow they look good cant w8 2 make em delicious
I never leave comments- but these were SO good I just had to. I followed the recipe exactly and they are divine!! I also made your vanilla icing to go with them, which was also incredible! I topped some with coconut, which pushed them way over the edge! Thanks so much for sharing this.
It looks so marvelous!
Please give us the secret of your smooth cream/icing !!
I tested a lot of different recipe and I get one nice for easter with small chocolat eggs
I made the chocolate cupcake recipe for Easter this year. The cupcakes were so moist and is the best from scratch cake recipe I have found except for a vegan one I had to use once. The secret is the chocolate , oil and hot water. The cupcakes were even better the next day. They were so yummy. My family loved them. I even got out the decorating equipment and had fun. I am excited that this can be made into a layer cake as well.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I am excited to try the vanilla ones next time.
This recipe was absolutely delicious! I would definetly recommend filling the cupcake liners 1/2 of the way full versus 3/4 full. My first batch I filled them 3/4 full and the cupcakes came out HUGE but very tasty. The second batch I filled them 1/2 the way full and they were still on the large side. My cupcakes were done much quicker at 13-15 minutes. Thank you for this delicious recipe that actually yielded more than stated!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I followed your instructions precisely and also read your entries on: “How to bake cupcakes” and “How to frost cupcakes”. They came out perfectly and were a hit at friend’s baby shower.
hi just wondering is that fan forced??
thanks
Glory replied: — May 6th, 2013 @ 3:55 am
I’m not sure what you’re asking?
Hi Glory,
I love all your recipes that I’ve tried and this one is no exception. I want to know if I can use the same recipe to make a whole cake because the batter is very thin. Alternatively, do you have another chocolate cake recipe for a whole cake? Thanks!!
Glory replied: — May 18th, 2013 @ 3:07 am
This recipe works great for cake.
Hi there! I found your blog via Pinterest. I’m wanting to try out this recipe and I was wondering what do you consider to be the best quality unsweetened cocoa? I have to admit that I’m usually cheap and buy the generic brand at the store.
thanks!
These are delicious, however, my first batch came out sunken in the center and flat tops. I live in Denver, so maybe an altitude problem? I added 2 Tb flour and increased oven temp to 375. They came out much better. Don’t overfill muffin cups more than 2/3 full either. Thanks for the recipe!
Making these for my kids school (120 of them… yikes!) and was so stressed out when my first batch overflowed the cups, then sunk in the middle. The flavor was amazing, but they were a mess. I checked my oven temp, and it was spot on 350. Did some reading, and figured out the problem. My oven seems to lose almost 25 degrees when I open the door, and takes over 10 minutes to recover.
Upped the temp to close to 400 to preheat, then bumped it down to 375 after I popped them in… 2nd batch in the oven right now, and beautiful little domes. Let’s hope I don’t have the sinking issue either but so far so good. Just wanted to share this in case someone else had similar issues. I’m used to working with thicker batter cupcakes but this recipe cut down on my cost for making so many (oil vs. butter) so I was excited to try it! Thanks for all your tips!