Chocolate Cupcakes (Made with Buttermilk)
This Chocolate Cupcake recipe delivers everything you love about a classic chocolate cake — deep cocoa flavor, a soft crumb, and easy, reliable results. It’s the cupcake version of my reader-favorite Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake.
Table of contents
Why I love this recipe
I love this recipe because it delivers everything you want in a chocolate cupcake — a soft, moist crumb, rich cocoa flavor, and reliable results every time.
The batter mixes up quickly, bakes evenly, and makes cupcakes with the perfect balance of soft crumb and deep flavor.
They rise with a gentle dome this is sturdy enough to hold a generous swirl of frosting but tender enough to melt in your mouth.
I love that they stay moist for days and pair beautifully with just about any frosting, or just a simple sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Why are these chocolate cupcakes so soft?
The secret to the soft, tender texture is a careful balance of ingredients and technique.
On the ingredient side, a combination of oil and buttermilk gives these cupcakes their delicate crumb. You’ll find a detailed explanation of how these ingredients work in the “ingredient notes” section below.
As for the technique, emulsifying the oil and eggs with the other wet ingredients forms lots and lots of tiny air bubbles in the batter, which are then expanded by the baking soda and powder. This produces a very fine and even crumb that melts in your mouth.
The technique of “blooming” the cocoa with hot water (or coffee) deepens the chocolate flavor and helps the batter stay smooth and fluid. That extra moisture translates to a fine, even crumb once baked.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Cake Flour – I like to use bleached cake flour for the softest and most tender cupcakes. Unbleached cake flour is also a good choice. As a last option, use all purpose flour to make the cake flour substitute in this post.
- Dutch Process Cocoa – I always use Dutch process cocoa for deep chocolate flavor and color, but you can substitute “natural” cocoa in this recipe. Your cupcakes will be slightly lighter in color and flavor, but will still be delicious.
- Hot Water – When you mix the cocoa with boiling water it blooms the chocolate flavor. You can also use hot coffee to further accentuate the chocolatiness.
- Buttermilk – Acidic buttermilk tenderizes the crumb and adds a beautiful tangy flavor. The best substitution for fresh buttermilk is buttermilk powder. It’s shelf stable and keeps in the pantry for months. A third option is to add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk.
- Oil – Oil coats the flour proteins which reduces the amount of gluten development for a tender crumb. The oil also reduces the amount of water absorbed by the flour, leaving more water in the cake batter for a moister crumb.
Method (with step by step photos)
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- Sift the cocoa and baking soda in a small bowl. Add hot water or hot coffee to the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Set aside. Sift together the other dry ingredients and set aside.
- Combine the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the ingredients until they are smooth and emulsified.
- With the mixer running, add the flour to the batter and mix to combine.
- With the mixer running, add the cocoa mixture.
- Mix the batter until the chocolate is completely incorporated.
- Use a scooper to portion the batter between the 12 cupcakes. Each pan will be about 2/3-3/4 full.
- Bake until the cupcakes are nicely domed and the center of a cupcake springs back when lightly pressed.
- Cool completely before icing.
Tips & Tricks
- This is a very thin batter. It’s easiest to portion the batter with a scooper or cup with a pouring spout.
- The recipe will make 12 standard size cupcakes. You can use the batter to make mini cupcakes or jumbo cupcakes. Fill each cup about 2/3 full no matter the size of the cupcake. Adjust the baking time as needed.
- Cool the cupcakes fully before frosting — warm cupcakes melt buttercream.
Frosting & Decoration
My personal favorite cupcake and frosting combination is a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream. It’s like a upgraded “devil dog”, yumm!
Choose any of these frostings for your cupcakes or just finish them with a simple sprinkle of powdered sugar.
- Old Fashioned Chocolate Frosting — Classic American style buttercream with a sweet chocolate-y flavor.
- Chocolate Ganache – For the unapologetic chocoholic, this rich chocolate truffle frosting is a dream.
- American Buttercream – Simple and sweet! A classic for kids’ birthday celebrations.
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream — Silky and less sweet, meringue buttercream is the frosting I prefer. You can flavor the basic meringue buttercream with melted chocolate for a chocolate-on-chocolate treat, flavor it with raspberry puree for a beautiful fruit finish or add strong espresso powder for a mocha treat.
- Cream Cheese Frosting — This wonderful frosting is a rich and tangy contrast for the chocolate cake.
- Malted Chocolate Frosting — The old fashioned flavor of this milk & flour frosting is absolute perfection with dark chocolate cupcakes
A swirl of frosting is a lovely decoration as is, but you can also add a flourish with colorful sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or a perfectly ripe berry.
Storage & Freezing
The batter can be mixed and held in the refrigerator for a day before baking.
The baked cupcakes will keep for 4-5 days stored in an air-tight container at room temperature.
Do not refrigerate the baked cupcakes unless you use a frosting that requires refrigeration (e.g. cream cheese frosting).
Baked and unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to a month. Defrost before icing the cupcake. Sometimes the paper wrapper may separate after freezing.
Yes, you can double the recipe for two dozen cupcakes or halve the recipe to make just six.
Yes. But be sure to mix the wet ingredients vigorously with a hand whisk or spatula until all the ingredients are well emulsified. This is the key to an even crumb.
No, this recipe was developed using vegetable oil. Butter would alter the balance of the recipe. I suggest using this Chocolate Butter Cake recipe if you prefer a butter based cake.
If you didn’t measure your ingredients carefully, especially the baking powder/soda, the cupcakes may over-rise and then sink. Always weigh your ingredients for the best results.
If you don’t sift your dry ingredients, you can end up with unmixed bits of baking powder or baking soda which can cause tunneling or large holes in the cake crumb.
FAQ & Troubleshooting
More Cupcake Recipes
- Vanilla Cupcakes – The yang to this chocolate cupcake’s yin.
- Red Velvet – The classic cake batter can be baked as moist and delicious cupcakes.
- Marble Cupcakes – Why choose between chocolate and vanilla when you can have both?
- Lemon Meringue Cupcakes – Everything you love about the classic pie in a cupcake.
- Strawberry Filled Cupcakes – These little beauties are stuffed with homemade strawberry filling and topped with a fluffy of pink strawberry buttercream.
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Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Dutch process cocoa powder (¼ cup)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ounces boiling water (¼ cup, see note)
- 4 ½ ounces cake flour (1 cups, see note)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 4 ounces vegetable oil (½ cup)
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ounces buttermilk (½ cup)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 8 ounces granulated sugar (1 cups)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line a 12 muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Sift together 1 ounce Dutch process cocoa powder and ¼ teaspoon baking soda in a small heat-proof bowl. Whisk 2 ounces boiling water into the cocoa, it will foam up a bit from the baking soda. Set aside to cool while preparing the other ingredients.
- Sift 4 ½ ounces cake flour with ½ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon table salt, set aside.
- Combine 4 ounces vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 4 ounces buttermilk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 8 ounces granulated sugar in a mixer bowl. Mix on medium speed to combine the ingredients, continue mixing for 2-3 minutes to emulsify the ingredients.
- With the mixer running on low, add the flour and then add the cocoa mixture. Mix until completely incorporated.
- Use a scoop to portion the batter evenly between the cupcakes. Bake until the top springs back on a cupcake in the middle of the pan when lightly pressed, about 10 minutes.
- Cool completely before icing. Sprinkle with jimmies for a burst of color.
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