Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with the Ultimate Chocolate Frosting are delicious chocolate cupcakes topped with a smooth creamy chocolate frosting. These amazing moist chocolate cupcakes will be your new favorite! Try my Black Bottom Cupcakes for another delicious cupcake recipe!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Chocolate: I prefer using bars of chocolate, chopped, for this recipe. You can substitute chocolate chips in this recipe. Unsweetened cocoa powder is also used in this recipe for additional chocolate flavor.
Coffee: Coffee will enhance the flavor of the chocolate, not overpower it. You can substitute with hot water if desired, but that would affect the flavor.
Room Temperature Ingredients: Using room temperature ingredients (butter, eggs, sour cream, and cream cheese) will help you get the best results when baking these cupcakes.
How to Freeze Chocolate Cupcakes
- To freeze, first allow the cupcakes to cool. I recommend freezing these cupcakes without the frosting.
- Place the cooled cupcakes into a labeled and dated freezer-safe container or bag. Store for up to 3 months.
- Allow the cupcakes to thaw before frosting and serving.
How to Store
Because there is cream cheese in the frosting, you will need to store these cupcakes in the refrigerator in an airtight container. These cupcakes will last up to one week.
Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ultimate Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter
- 2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (115 g) sour cream, room temperature
- ½ cup (42 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chips or chopped bar
- 1 ½ cups (3 sticks / 339 g) unsalted butter
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups (250 g) confectioners' sugar
- ¼ cup (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup freshly brewed coffee
- chocolate sprinkles, optional
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with liners. Set aside.
- Add the butter and chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 20-second increments, stirring after every 20 seconds, until the chocolate is melted and smooth (about 1-2 minutes total). Set aside to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and sour cream. Whisk on medium speed until smooth. (about 1 minute)
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the butter and chocolate mixture to the stand mixer and whisk for about 30 seconds, or until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, slowly sprinkle in the flour mixture, about ¼ cup at a time. Mix until just combined. The batter will be very thick.
- Fill the cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full with batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes. The center of the cupcake should spring back up if gently pressed, and a toothpick should come out mostly clean when inserted in the middle. Allow the cupcakes to cool.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 20-second increments, stirring after every 20 seconds, until the chocolate is melted and creamy (about 1-2 minutes total).
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Slowly pour in the melted chocolate. Scrape the sides as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the hot coffee and cocoa powder. If the mixture seems too thick, an additional tablespoon of hot coffee can be added.
- Add the coffee mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on low until combined.
- With the mixer still on low, add in the confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time. Once incorporated, turn mixer on high for 1-2 minutes.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes, add sprinkles if desired, and serve.
Did you make this recipe?
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I loved this recipe. I even made it into a cake. Of course it wasn’t made for that but I loved just how light and fluffy it was as opposed to the usual heavy, dense chocolate cake I’m used to. I’ve been trying different choc cake recipes and they are always heavy (even the ultimate choc cake recipe suggested here)
It did however break (like I said it’s not good for cake, especially if you intend on using fondant on it). It was one of the best cakes I ever had really, felt like I was eating little chocolate clouds 🙂
But I didn’t like the frosting. It had a sour hint to it that I didn’t appreciate. So I wouldn’t use it in future, I’d stick to a good chocolate buttercream instead. But it wasn’t runny as others have suggested, I could pipe it just fine. I think preparing it in a cool environment makes all the difference too. I refrigerated it a bit before piping. The texture was amazing but the taste… Not my favourite 🙁
Excellent feedback, thank you!
I love making cakes.
Love trying new and different recipes. Will enjoy your new ideas!
These were delicious … love the texture of the cupcake … I find it interesting that people blame the recipe for not turning out … not the way they measured or temperature of the ingredients, or oven … or even the weather …. all affects the outcome when baking. So big deal, there was extra frosting … better than not enough. Don’t change the recipe!!!
These were probably one of the most amazing and delicious desserts I’ve ever made!! Oh my word! And if they didn’t turn out for you, something definitely went wrong. I had to substitute sour cream with light vanilla greek yogurt and used 88% cacao chocolate in the cupcakes themselves.Fortunately because the yogurt was sweet I didn’t adjust the sugar.Then with the frosting I substituted 7oz of the chocolate with cocoa powder and didn’t add any more sugar than the recipe calls for. They turned out perfect as far as I’m concerned!Maybe a little crumbly, but still moist and rich.
Oops forgot my rating!
Absolutely delicous!
I just finished making the cupcakes and the icing. They both turned out perfect and delicious! Awesome recipe, this is my new favorite! The only downside to this recipe is that I almost finished all of the cupcakes myself! LOL!
My cupcakes sank in the middle, I want to try it again but what did I do wrong?
You may have taken them out of oven a minute too soon. If they are not quite baked will fall in center
What if you don’t have a stand mixer with whisk beaters for the chocolate cupcakes?
I didnt use stand mixer when mixing the batter for the cupcakes…i just mix them manually and it still turned out perfect!