These really are the best ever super moist chocolate cupcakes. Made from scratch with cocoa powder, they are deeply chocolatey, perfectly fluffy, and with a slightly domed top. And dare I say it? These homemade, moist chocolate cupcakes are way better than any boxed cake mix, with the same super moist crumb and texture that you know you love.
This is the be all, end all, of chocolate cupcake recipes. Your days of resorting to a cake mix can be a thing of the past. If you love making desserts from scratch and have been searching for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe, your search is over.
I know these are big claims, but honestly, I feel like I have tried every chocolate cupcake recipe on the planet. And while there are many good chocolate cupcake recipes out there, this one is hands down the best chocolate cupcake recipe ever. I’m pretty confident you will agree.
These cupcakes are the perfect thing to pair with the homemade rainbow chip frosting recipe I posted about the other day. And I have a salted caramel frosting recipe coming your way soon as well that is amazing with these cupcakes.
Important Notes About Making Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes From Scratch
The recipe calls for hot water, which is super important to achieving super moist chocolate cupcakes with an intense chocolate flavor. It doesn’t have to be boiling, but it needs to be really hot because the heat is going to react with the cocoa powder, causing it to “bloom”, which brings out as much chocolate flavor as possible from the cocoa powder.
The hot water is also going to create a pretty thin batter, too. Don’t be alarmed by that! The thin batter is going to allow the baking powder and baking soda in the batter to really do their magic and the cupcakes will rise and dome beautifully, with a wonderful texture thanks to all the scientific magic going on behind the scenes.
One final note – be sure to only fill the cupcake liners halfway full! Not 3/4 or even 2/3 full. Just half. It is going to seem strange and like there is not nearly enough batter in each cupcake liner, but just trust me on this one. There is so much lift to the thin batter that if the cupcake liners are too full, the cupcakes will overflow and you won’t get that beautiful, domed cupcake shape that is the hallmark of perfect cupcakes. Plus, the top edges will get crisp and stick to the pan and the cupcake centers are probably going to sink. So just halfway full, m’kay?
Using This Chocolate Cupcake Recipe to Make a Cake
Yes, you can absolutely use this recipe to make a super moist chocolate cake instead of cupcakes. Just keep the following in mind if that’s the route you decide to go:
- This recipe only makes 14-16 cupcakes which is the same as one square baking dish or 9-inch round cake layer. If you are trying to make a cake in a large rectangular baking dish or create a two layer cake, you would have to double the recipe. Which is easy enough using the “Servings” feature in the recipe card below – just hover over the number next to “Servings” and a slider will appear that lets you adjust the number you want to obtain from the recipe. All of the measurements will automatically adjust for you, based on the number of cupcakes you want to make.
- The oven temperature stays the same, but the baking time will change since individual cupcakes cook faster than cakes cooked in larger pans. Cakes cooked in two 9-inch baking pans should take about 30-35 minutes to fully bake, but just be sure to test the center of each cake with a toothpick or sharp knife to test for doneness before taking your cake layers out of the oven.
These really are the best, super moist chocolate cupcakes ever. Made from scratch with cocoa powder, they are deeply chocolatey, perfectly fluffy, and with a domed top. These homemade chocolate cupcakes are way better than any boxed cake mix, with the same moist crumb and texture that you know and love.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup very hot water
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Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
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Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and whisk together.
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Combine the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in another bowl and whisk together.
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Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix using a stand mixer until combined.
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Add the hot water to the batter and mix again, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until combined. Batter will be thin.
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Fill cupcake liners half full, then bake for 18-21 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs when used to test a cupcake.
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Cool completely before frosting.
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Here are some other amazing chocolate recipes for you to check out from fellow bloggers also participating in our week long celebration of Chocolate!
I'm Amy: former lawyer, now SAHM in the CA Bay Area. I love food, photography, books, travel, exercise, adoption and pie. Definitely pie. 
So lovely and decadent.
I made these tonight and they were delicious! They were perfectly moist and had a rich, but not overbearing, chocolate flavor, which I loved! I had to stop Jason from eating all of them! 🙂
Awesome! So glad you guys liked them and I really appreciate that you appreciate the balance of richness and chocolate without going too far, lol! It does my foodie soul good to hear such a compliment! 🙂
Hi there! Is there a way to adapt this recipe to a vanilla cake? Thank you!
Not really! I’m sorry! I still haven’t gotten around to perfecting my white cake recipe, although the one I use for strawberry shortcake is pretty wonderful! https://houseofnasheats.com/strawberry-shortcake/
Hi, could we please know what is the equivalent of a cup measurement for English bakers.
I haven’t had a chance to do conversions for my recipes yet, but this site has a helpful chart for you: http://www.sweet2eatbaking.com/uk-us-conversion/
Hi. I’m glad I found this recipe. It tastes great and is easy to make. Also, with how expensive butter is where I live, using an oil based recipe is my preferred option now. The only thing is, my cupcakes didn’t rise nicely like in your picture. I filled it halfway as you’ve instructed but it didn’t rise all the way up. It domed and then cracked, making it look like a volcano. Maybe my oven was too hot. I put it at 175°C. I’ll definitely be baking more with this recipe but I need to figure out how to make sure it doesn’t crack. Any tips?
Hi Moira! I’m glad you like the recipe but that’s too bad about yours cracking on top! My guess is that the oven was too hot and they cooked too fast, creating a crust on top that prevented proper expansion and finally resulted in cracks. Do you use an oven thermometer? They are pretty inexpensive and can really help to make sure the oven is set to the proper temperature during baking.
Your recipe is super success…. I m soo grateful that you shared your recipe with us.
Made these with bob mills gf cup for cup flour and they turned out perfect
Awesome! I love Bob’s Redmill gf cup-for-cup flour! It’s such a great product!
My go to recipe for chocolate cupcakes! Would it work the same if I left out the chocolate to make a vanilla cupcake?
I’m glad you like them! No, I don’t think that they translate perfectly to a vanilla cupcake just by leaving chocolate out. Sorry! I’m working on a vanilla cupcake recipe soon though!
Thanks for the best recipe. I always make these and it gets finished in minutes. The only thing I don’t like is the taste of baking soda and the moist top.
is it okay to use dutch processed cocoa powder for this recipe?
Yes, you can use dutch processed cocoa powder in these.
Most amazing chocolate cake . Super moist very tasty. Thank you for the recipie.
You are welcome!
We do not have coffee. I do have espresso powder. Can I substitute and how?
This recipe does not call for coffee, so there isn’t really a need to substitute espresso powder.
Thank you for getting back so promptly. I must be seeing things. Will try this weekend. They look wonderful.
I can’t stand buttermilk. Can I substitute with regular milk instead?
You won’t be able to taste buttermilk in the cupcakes after they are baked. It makes a very tender, rich crumb. But you could try adding 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a 1/2 cup measuring cup then filling it the rest of the way with whole milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes before adding it to the batter where you would otherwise use buttermilk.
Hi Amy, thank you for sharing your recipe. Quick question, can I use cream instead of buttermilk?
You’re welcome! Cream doesn’t have the acidity that will cause the same reaction as buttermilk, but if you don’t have buttermilk you could combine a little lemon juice with whole milk or half-and-half (about 1 tablespoon lemon juice per cup of liquid, although I’m not sure I would go with cream) and let that sit for 5 minutes before using in place of buttermilk.
Would it make any difference if I use unsalted butter instead of vegetable oil?
Yes, actually, in this case it probably would. Oil actually makes most cupcakes more moist than butter. The recipe would work with butter, but you would be more likely to end up with cupcakes that weren’t quite as moist.
Instead of buttermilk what can I use???
You can substitute 1/2 cup greek yogurt mixed with 1/2 cup of milk, or pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar into a 1 cup measuring cup, then fill it to the top with milk and stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes before using. Both are great buttermilk substitutes.
Omg these were the best cupcakes I have ever baked. My family said they were award winning. My only problem is that there were not enough to last more than 1 day. Followed the recipe exactly, paired them with a chocolate cream cheese icing.
I’m glad you enjoyed them! I have never tried them with a chocolate cream cheese icing! Come to think of it, I have never HAD chocolate cream cheese icing! This must be remedied immediately! 🙂
Can you use unsweetened cocoa powder?
Yes! I edited the recipe to be more specific. 🙂
Great, thank you! I will be making them for my sons first birthday!