Rich, moist chocolate cupcakes topped with a cream cheese frosting.
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small batch chocolate cupcakes
It’s always a great time for cupcakes, but it’s not always a great time for a large batch of cupcakes – which is exactly where these small batch chocolate cupcakes come into play. They’re seriously sooooo rich, chocolatey, and moist it’s ridiculous. And of course we’re pairing them with a rich and creamy chocolate cream cheese frosting to make the perfect dessert with the perfect balance of tangy and sweet.
why you’ll love these small batch chocolate cupcakes:
- They’re super moist and chocolatey: sour cream and a lot of milk helps keep these cupcakes super moist, and dutch cocoa powder helps make them *extra* chocolatey.
- They’re super easy to make: the cupcake batter comes together in one bowl, with no stand mixer or hand mixer required.
- They’re small batch: of course, you already know that!
This recipe will yield you with 6 delicious chocolate cupcakes. Happy baking! 🙂
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
How to make your chocolate cupcakes more chocolatey:
The secret to getting more chocolate flavor into your chocolate cake? Bloom your cocoa powder! Blooming your cocoa powder just means that you’re mixing the cocoa with a hot liquid. Here we’re using hot milk to both bloom the cocoa and add moisture into the cake. Adding in the hot milk releases the cocoa powder particles from a very thin membrane on them, exposing cocoa solids and bringing out more flavor. It’s truly such a simple way to add more chocolate flavor into your bakes, and makes it easier for the cocoa to incorporate into the batter.
Be careful when mixing the cupcake batter:
When you over-mix your batter, you create more gluten in the batter which will make your cupcakes go from light and moist to dense and chewy. When you’re mixing in the dry ingredients, be sure that you only mix *just until* that last streak of flour disappears into the batter.
Use room temperature ingredients:
This is super important for allowing the batter to come together smoothly. You’ll want to take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before baking to allow them enough time to come to room temperature.
Keep a close eye on the cupcakes while they bake:
Cakes and cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. I’d recommend that you start checking on the cake around 15 minutes.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for small batch chocolate cupcakes
CHOCOLATE cupCAKEs:
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Baking powder: for leavening and giving that “cakey” texture.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness
- Dutch process cocoa powder: gives the cake a deep, rich chocolate flavor. I wouldn’t recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa here, but you could use black cocoa powder for an even richer flavor. I would not recommend using unsweetened cocoa powder here – it’s less rich in flavor and it is more acidic and would need some baking soda to balance it out.
- Whole milk: for moisture in the cupcakes and for blooming the cocoa powder.
- Instant espresso: optional, but recommended to help bring out the chocolate flavor in the cupcakes.
- Vegetable oil: tenderizes the cupcakes. Any neutral oil, such as canola, will also work here.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens, brings out flavor, and helps lock in the moisture.
- Egg: contributes moisture and helps bind the batter together.
- Sour cream: tenderizes and adds moisture to the cupcakes. I recommend using full-fat sour cream for the best texture.
CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
- Cream cheese: the base of any good cream cheese frosting! I used full-fat cream cheese but you can use low-fast as well.
- Unsalted butter: adds some structure to the frosting. Feel free to use salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt if using!
- Salt: helps balance and bring out the sweetness of the buttercream
- Powdered sugar: sweetens and thickens up the frosting.
- Dutch process cocoa powder: to make it a chocolate frosting.
how to make small batch chocolate cupcakes
Here are a few images of the process of making these cupcakes. You can find the full recipe at the end of this blog post 🙂
- Start by mixing together the cocoa powder, instant espresso, and hot milk.
- Then whisk in the rest of the wet ingredients, followed by all of the dry ingredients.
- Distribute the cupcake batter evenly between six parchment liners, and bake.
- Beat together the chocolate cream cheese frosting ingredients, then frost the cupcakes once they’ve cooled to room temperature. Enjoy!
small batch chocolate cupcakes recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – I love making small batch recipes because they’re the perfect size for myself and others who might not always have a lot of people to bake for. But if you need more than 6 cupcakes, you can certainly double this recipe. Please be sure to use grams, especially if you’re scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
do I need to use instant espresso?
I highly recommend using instant espresso because it helps bring out more of the flavor from the cocoa powder, but you can omit it if you’d like. You could also use instant coffee or espresso powder instead of instant espresso if that’s what you have on hand.
can I make these into vanilla cupcakes?
If you’re looking for a small batch vanilla cupcakes recipe, you’re in luck and can find my small batch vanilla cupcakes here. I can’t lie, these chocolate cupcakes are delicious but vanilla > chocolate for me. They’re made with a vanilla buttercream frosting and they are *so* fluffy and delicious. You could make one batch of these, and one batch of those for a perfect dozen cupcakes. Plus – you’d then have the perfect excuse to make my 20 minute small batch chocolate chip cookies as well. 🙂
can I turn this into a cake?
Yes! Here’s my recipe for a small batch chocolate cake. It’s the same recipe, with a bit more frosting and baked off in a 6″ cake pan. 🙂
can I make these cupcakes ahead of time?
Definitely – I would recommend making the cupcakes no more than two days ahead of time. Store the unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature. I’d recommend waiting to make the frosting until you want to pipe it on to the cupcakes, to avoid needing to refrigerate it, bring it back to room temp. and re-whip it.
how to store these cupcakes
Like most baked goods, these cupcakes will definitely taste the best on the day that they’re baked. Once you frost the cupcakes, you’ll want to keep them stored in an airtight container in the fridge, where they will keep well for about 3 days. They *need* to be stored in the fridge since the frosting is made with cream cheese. If you use a standard buttercream, you can keep them out at room temperature with no issues.
The original recipe for these included a chocolate buttercream but honestly a cream cheese buttercream frosting pairs so much better with these chocolate cupcakes, because it’s more creamy and less sweet, which balances out the sweetness of the cupcakes.
tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 30 g dutch process cocoa powder (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. instant espresso optional, for flavor
- 65 g whole milk (¼ c. + ½ tbsp.)
- 75 g vegetable oil (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 90 g sour cream (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.) room temperature
- 80 g all purpose flour (⅔ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ⅛ tsp. salt
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 130 g cream cheese (½ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 70 g unsalted butter (5 tbsp.) room temperature
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 180 g powdered sugar (1 ½ c.)
- 18 g dutch process cocoa powder (3 tbsp.)
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a muffin tin with 6 parchment liners.
- Add the cocoa powder and the teaspoon of instant espresso (if using) to a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Heat the milk in a large microwave safe bowl or liquid measuring cup until it's hot and starts to foam up (you'll want it to be a larger bowl/cup to avoid the milk spilling over into your microwave)
- Immediately pour the hot milk over the cocoa powder. Give that all a good mix until the mixture is cohesive and has no lumps.
- Add in the vegetable oil, sugar, egg, and sour cream. Whisk the mixture together until it's well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until the last streak of flour disappears into the batter.
- Distribute the cupcake batter evenly between the six liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes. To check for doneness, I recommend using a thermometer for the best results. Stick a thermometer into the center of the cupcakes, and once it reads 205°F / 96°C, it's ready to be taken out!
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, with a hand mixer (or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) beat together the cream cheese, butter, and salt until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Then, beat in the rest of the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled, transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your tip of choice. Frost the cupcakes, top with sprinkles if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
Checking for doneness:
I wouldn’t recommend using the toothpick test for this cake. While testing, I found that once the toothpick came out of the cake clean, the cake was over-done and dry after baking. Instead, I highly recommend checking the internal temperature of the cake with a thermometer (as noted in the recipe)Store the cupcakes in the fridge:
Once you frost the cupcakes with the chocolate cream cheese frosting, you can safely keep it out at room temperature for up to 2 hours. After that, you’ll want to transfer the cake to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. Whenever you’d like another slice of cake, you can take it out and set it at room temperature for up to an hour before eating it so that it’s room temperature.Use a kitchen scale:
I can’t stress enough the importance of a kitchen scale for accurate baking. While other things can go wrong during the baking process, using a kitchen scale helps your recipe come out closer to how mine did and can be more helpful for troubleshooting if something goes wrong. Here is a cheaper kitchen scale (affiliate link) that was trusty and helpful when I was starting with a scale. If you can’t use a scale – please make sure that you fluff up your flour with a fork, and spoon it into your measuring cup while measuring the flour.Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.