Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

Look no further. This easy chocolate cupcake recipe is rich and chocolaty with a moist and soft center. These are perfect for birthday celebrations, bake sales or anytime when you need chocolate cake in your life. These easy homemade cupcakes are dairy-free and egg-free (making them naturally vegan) and this is still our favorite recipe!

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Why We Love This Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

We’ve made a lot of chocolate cakes and cupcakes and so far, this ridiculously easy chocolate cupcakes recipe is our favorite.

Here are a few reasons why:

• They have a deep rich, chocolate flavor.
• Thanks to oil in the batter, they are soft and moist in the middle.
• No eggs or dairy are required! (This is my personal favorite since it means I can still make amazing cupcakes when I’m out of eggs!)
• No mixer is needed to make them. You only need a whisk, spatula (or spoon) and bowls.

This recipe makes excellent vegan cupcakes! The cupcake batter is naturally vegan and we have included tips in the recipe below for making the buttercream vegan-friendly.

How to Make the Best Chocolate Cupcakes (Only three steps!)

This recipe couldn’t get much easier. The batter comes together quickly and requires simple, everyday ingredients. Here’s a quick overview of how to make them (the full recipe is below):

• Whisk or sift dry ingredients together (we call for all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder).
• Mix oil, vinegar, vanilla extract and sugar, and then add to dry ingredients — A spoon or spatula is perfect for this. The batter will be thick, but this step makes sure that the flour gets coated in the oil, which means that your baked cupcakes will be light, soft and very moist in the middle.
• Stir in very hot water or coffee — This is a common trick when making chocolate cake. The hot liquid helps the cocoa bloom, which just means it will have a deeper, more rich chocolate flavor when baked. Coffee and chocolate are baking superstars. You won’t taste the coffee in the cupcakes, but you will have a more rounded, flavorful chocolate cupcake.

FAQ: Why do you add vinegar to the cupcakes batter? Vinegar reacts with the baking soda and makes the baked cupcakes extra fluffy and more airy than if we were to leave it out. You don’t taste the vinegar, but it’s a game changer for texture in these cupcakes!

The cupcakes bake for around 20 minutes in the oven. When you take the cupcake pan out of the oven, leave the cupcakes in it until they are cool to the touch. When the cupcakes have cooled, remove them from the pan and frost with your favorite frosting. (We’ve included a simple vanilla buttercream in the recipe below that can be made vegan if needed.) Or you can take a look at some of our other cupcake recipes that have different frostings on top:

• These Double Chocolate Cupcakes have a simple sour cream frosting spooned on top.
• Our Easy Carrot Cake Cupcakes have a lighter version of cream cheese frosting.
• These Pumpkin Cupcakes have a more traditional cream cheese frosting.
• Or for a more traditional chocolate buttercream, look at this Chocolate Cake

Storing Cupcakes

This recipe makes about 16 cupcakes. Here are our tips for storing them:

• Store unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
• Freeze unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container up to two months. Bring them to room temperature before frosting (about 2 hours).
• Store buttercream frosting up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Allow it to warm up slightly before frosting the cupcakes.
• Store frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
• Freeze frosted cupcakes up to two months. To do this, partially freeze them by placing them on a baking sheet and leaving them uncovered in the freezer until the frosting has hardened (30 minutes to an hour). Then transfer the cupcakes to an airtight container, being careful to leave some space between each cupcake. Bring them to room temperature before serving (about 2 hours).