Name: Chocolate Cupcakes
Cook time: 23 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour; ⅓ cup (32 g) unsweetened cocoa powder; ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar; ¼ cup (53 g) packed light brown sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp baking soda; ½ tsp salt; 1 large egg; ½ cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream; ⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral oil; ½ cup (120 ml) hot coffee OR hot water; 2 tsp vanilla extract; ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Rich chocolate cupcakes with a soft, moist chocolate crumb and semisweet chocolate chips mixed right into the batter. They come together with a whisk and a couple of bowls—no mixer needed.

Jump to Recipe

Plain unfrosted chocolate cupcake on a wooden table — A simple unfrosted cupcake lets the soft chocolate cake speak for itself.

Why You’ll Love Them

Rich chocolate flavor
Soft, moist crumb
Chocolate chips throughout
Easy whisk-and-bowl method

Don’t Mess This Up

Do not overmix once the flour and wet ingredients come together.
The batter becomes thinner after the hot coffee or hot water is added; this is normal.
Fold the chocolate chips in at the end rather than aggressively mixing them.
Fill the cupcake liners about ⅔ full.
Use the tested 23-minute bake time at 350°F, but still check for doneness because ovens vary.
Cool completely before frosting.

What It Should Look Like

Dry ingredients for chocolate cupcakes in a mixing bowl — Dry ingredients: cocoa, flour, sugars, leaveners, and salt before whisking.

Whisked dry ingredients for chocolate cupcakes — Whisked dry ingredients: evenly combined with no large cocoa or flour pockets.

Wet ingredients being added to the dry cupcake ingredients — Starting the batter: the mixture will look thick at first.

Partially mixed chocolate cupcake batter — Partially mixed batter: it loosens as the liquid is incorporated.

Smooth finished chocolate cupcake batter — Finished batter: smooth and fairly fluid.

Semisweet chocolate chips added to cupcake batter — Chocolate chips: fold the semisweet chips in last.

Chocolate cupcake liners being filled — Filled liners: each one should be about ⅔ full.

Finished Texture

Broken-open chocolate cupcake showing the moist crumb — Inside, the crumb should be soft, moist, and chocolatey.

Serving Note

These cupcakes can be topped with chocolate buttercream once they are completely cool.

The Chaos Test

Mixer needed? No
Actual bake time: 23 minutes

Yield: 12 standard cupcakes
Oven: 350°F
Bake time: 23 minutes

Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe by Batter Behavior

0.0 from 0 votes

Yield

standard cupcakes

Bake time

minutes

Oven

350

°F

Rich chocolate cupcakes with a soft, moist chocolate crumb and semisweet chocolate chips folded into the batter. Yield: 12 standard cupcakes. Oven: 350°F. Bake time: 23 minutes.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
⅓ cup (32 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (53 g) packed light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
½ cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream
⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral oil
½ cup (120 ml) hot coffee OR hot water
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Make the Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, oil, and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
Slowly whisk in the hot coffee or hot water.
The batter will be fairly thin once everything is incorporated. This is normal.
Fold in ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.
Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners, filling each about ⅔ full.
Bake at 350°F for 23 minutes. This is my actual tested bake time.
The cupcakes are done when the tops spring back lightly and a tester comes out without wet batter.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting.