Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes
Ultra-chocolatey & moist small batch chocolate cupcakes frosted with a chocolate cream cheese frosting.
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
Affiliate links: Kitchen Scale (my favorite) | Kitchen scale (great starter option) | Cordless Hand Mixer | Cupcake Pan | Oven Thermometer | Cookie Scoops | Cocoa Powder
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
Serving: 1cupcakeCalories: 551kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 6gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 258mgPotassium: 242mgFiber: 3gSugar: 48gVitamin A: 675IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 2mg