Best Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (homemade or store-bought)
• 1/2 cup milk (buttermilk, oat milk, or other favorite plant-based milk)
• 1/4 cup oil (canola, vegetable, extra-virgin olive oil, melted coconut oil, melted butter *see notes in the recipe post)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (half of full recipe (or another favorite frosting)

Instructions

1. Prep. Preheat oven to 325º F. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan. Spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. Whisk dry ingredients. Add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Add wet ingredients. Add milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract to the flour mixture and mix until well combined. Carefully add the boiling water to the cupcake batter. Mix until well combined and the batter is smooth. Note that the batter will be very thin.
4. Bake. Evenly distribute the cupcake batter. Each cupcake liner should be about 1/2 full. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done. Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool completely.
5. Frost and serve. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting according the recipe instructions. Note that you'll need 1/2 of the frosting recipe for a dozen cupcakes. Frost the cupcakes and serve.