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Home » Baking & Desserts » Cupcakes » Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

22 February 2017

Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

These chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and taste delicious. They get their extra chocolate-y flavour from both cocoa powder and grated milk chocolate. Perfect topped with smooth chocolate buttercream.

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These chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and taste delicious. They get their extra chocolate-y flavour from both cocoa powder and grated milk chocolate. Perfect topped with smooth chocolate buttercream.

As promised, here’s the recipe for my yummy chocolate cupcakes, all ready for the creation of my build-your-own cupcakes index which I’ve been busy working on and will be sharing with you soon. The idea is to have all of my cupcakes and buttercream recipes in one place so you can mix and match (with maybe a hidden centre in the middle too 🙂 ). The index is also going to have a round up of all of my fancier cupcake creations, such as raspberry trifle, white russian or millionaires’ shortbread as well.

These chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and taste delicious. They get their extra chocolate-y flavour from both cocoa powder and grated milk chocolate. Perfect topped with smooth chocolate buttercream.

These chocolate cupcakes are based on the same recipe as my chocolate birthday cake, which gets its extra chocolate-iness from using a combination of both cocoa powder and grated chocolate. I’ve used milk chocolate in the recipe (as I prefer it slightly sweeter) but I’ve been assured by readers that have tried the recipe that it works just as well with dark chocolate too.

These chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and taste delicious. They get their extra chocolate-y flavour from both cocoa powder and grated milk chocolate. Perfect topped with smooth chocolate buttercream.

These cupcakes are topped with my chocolate buttercream. For a change I used dark chocolate (OK, I went to the cupboard and discovered someone had eaten all my milk chocolate – I’m blaming the dog). The dark chocolate worked really well, I’d definitely recommend it if you prefer a slightly richer flavour.

These chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and taste delicious. They get their extra chocolate-y flavour from both cocoa powder and grated milk chocolate. Perfect topped with smooth chocolate buttercream.

Free From/Suitable For…

  • Suitable for Vegetarians
  • Nut-Free
  • Soy-Free

The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.

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chocolate-cupcakes-5

Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

These chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and taste delicious. They get their extra chocolate-y flavour from both cocoa powder and grated milk chocolate. Perfect topped with smooth chocolate buttercream.
4.88 from 31 votes
Print Rate Save Go to Collections
Active Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
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INGREDIENTS

Metric - US Cups/Ounces
  • 150 g self-raising flour
  • 30 g cocoa powder
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 175 g soft margarine - or softened butter
  • 3 large eggs
  • ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
  • 75 g milk chocolate - choose something from the baking aisle in the supermarket as it will cope well with the heat in the oven without going grainy
  • ½ tbsp milk

Extras

  • 12 cupcake cases

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.
  • Put your cupcake cases into a muffin tin.
  • Grate the milk chocolate (75g).
  • Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl (150g self-raising flour, 30g cocoa powder, 175g caster sugar, 3 large eggs, 175g soft margarine, ⅛ tsp vanilla extract, ½ tbsp milk and the grated chocolate) mix on a low speed until fully combined.
  • Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 cupcake cases (I use a  cupcake scoop to help split it evenly).
  • Put the tin into the oven and cook the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. After 20 minutes put a skewer in the middle and check if it comes out clean. If it does they're done, if not pop them back in for a couple more minutes and check again.
  • Once cooked, remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave them to cool in the tins for a few minutes.
  • Remove the cupcakes from their tin and pop them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTES

Want chocolate cake but can't have dairy? Take a look at my dairy-free version of this recipe.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a comment and rating at the bottom of the page to let others know what you thought.
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NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 155mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 580IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 0.8mg

Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.


These chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and taste delicious. They get their extra chocolate-y flavour from both cocoa powder and grated milk chocolate. Perfect topped with smooth chocolate buttercream.

 

These chocolate cupcakes are easy to make and taste delicious. They get their extra chocolate-y flavour from both cocoa powder and grated milk chocolate. Perfect topped with smooth chocolate buttercream.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leena says

    February 20, 2021 at 1:14 pm

    5 stars
    Please can you advise if this recipe would need to be doubled if making a cake instead in a 7inch tin

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      February 22, 2021 at 2:40 pm

      The amount of mixture in the recipe is the correct amount for using in 2 7″ sandwich tins.

  2. Sam says

    February 19, 2021 at 3:17 pm

    5 stars
    I love these cupcakes, they’re so ‘chocolatey’. Easy recipe and great outcome. I always use your recipes for birthday cakes but have only just tried the cupcake recipe for the first time.

    Reply
  3. Katie says

    February 07, 2021 at 3:51 pm

    5 stars
    Love the taste of this recipe, but my cupcakes are really greasy at the bottom? Any ideas how I can solve this please x

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      February 08, 2021 at 3:11 pm

      If your cupcakes are greasy the most likely reason is that the butter/margarine wasn’t quite mixed in enough. If there are any small lumps left in the mixture, then these melt in the oven and leave you with greasy bottoms.

      Another thing to try (if you don’t think it’s that) is to add a little rice into the bottom of your muffin tin before adding the cupcake cases. This rice will absorb any moisture/oil at the bottom of the cupcakes while they bake.

  4. Ruby says

    December 08, 2020 at 11:14 am

    5 stars
    Hi this recipe looks so good and so easy, i can’t wait to try it. Can you tell me what type/brand of chocolate you use for this recipe and your chocolate buttercream recipe as i feel like that has a really big impact on taste. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      December 08, 2020 at 5:05 pm

      I usually use Dr Oetker or Green and Blacks from the baking aisle.

      Aldi is also very good (although I can’t remember the name of it).

  5. Charlotte says

    October 19, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    5 stars
    I love this recipe. So easy to follow and vest tasting cupcakea yet and i have tried a few. Only thing i changed was i used dark chocolate which i melted before i added to the mix.

    Reply
  6. Zainab says

    October 19, 2020 at 8:03 am

    This looks great. I’m going to be baking stuff for Halloween and will be using your recipes. I don’t have any cocoa powder can I s still make this recipe?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      October 19, 2020 at 8:40 pm

      You can, although it won’t be as chocolatey and it will be flecked with chocolate rather than a dark chocolatey colour. If you do decide to give it a try replace the weight of the cocoa powder with additional flour.

  7. Elise says

    August 19, 2020 at 4:42 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing everyone loved them as usual favourite recipe and super easy to follow for my kids thank you!

    Reply
  8. Zahraa says

    August 08, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    4 stars
    Hi Charlotte,

    I absolutely love your recipes! I just had a quick question in regards to your chocolate cupcakes and chocolate orange flavoured cupcakes.
    Everytime I make them they fall apart from the cupcake cases, is there anything you’d suggest to help prevent this?

    This is the method I follow when I bake them;
    After I take the cupcakes out of the oven, I leave them in the tray so they can adjust to the temperature change.
    After this I place them onto a wire rack to cool down further.

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      August 08, 2020 at 5:57 pm

      What cases do you use? I have this problem with some brands but never with Tesco or Dr Oetker muffin cases.

      At the moment the humidity in the air is making this more common.

    • Anthony says

      October 30, 2020 at 8:33 am

      5 stars
      I used to have this problem before, but what i do now is leave them to cool in the tin for 2 minutes, then take them out and put them straight on to the cooling rack. I heard somewhere that if you leave them to completely cool in the tin, they sweat and that’s what makes the cases come away from the Cupcakes. I have never had a problem since.

  9. Suzanne says

    July 20, 2020 at 5:05 pm

    5 stars
    Another cupcake recipe that I love – they were so easy to make and turned out better than any chocolate cupcakes I have ever made. Have even increased the amount of chocolate on occasions to make the taste a bit stronger but definitely delicious!

    Reply
  10. Jules says

    July 08, 2020 at 10:00 am

    Can you use any chocolate for the buttercream ie some white and some milk or would milk work the best trying out for a friends son who is chocolate obsessed si was going to do a mixture

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      July 08, 2020 at 1:21 pm

      You can use either dark or milk for the chocolate buttercream. If you’d like to use white, then you can use my white chocolate buttercream recipe.

  11. Sian says

    June 22, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have made several attempts in making chocolate cupcakes but they’ve always been small in side and very dry. I decided to look at alternatives and came across this one. I was a bit apprehensive about using milk chocolate instead of dark as I’ve heard that milk chocolate ruins the quality of the cake. However, the cupcakes came out perfectly and were absolutely delicious. So moist and were a huge hit during my son’s birthday. By far the best recipe for chocolate cupcakes.

    Reply
  12. Rebecca Davies says

    June 20, 2020 at 4:18 pm

    5 stars
    Made these cupcakes for my parents 40th wedding anniversary. I used plain chocolate instead of milk chocolate and topped with the buttercream suggested. The cakes were gorgeous and received lots of compliments. Will definitely make them again.

    Reply
  13. Zara says

    May 22, 2020 at 11:17 pm

    Are u able to make this recipe without the grated milk chocolate?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 23, 2020 at 11:18 am

      You need to add the chocolate in some form other wise it won’t have enough flavour (it will work as a cake, but it isn’t nearly chocolatey enough in my opinion).

      If you have the chocolate but don’t want to grate it then you can melt it instead. Melt it and leave it to cool to room temperature. Mix together all of the other ingredients and then mix in the melted chocolate.

    • Jessica says

      June 22, 2020 at 10:49 am

      I made these without the grated chocolate and enjoyed them. They were light in flavour and just right. If you want more richness then I would add the chocolate or even chocolate chips.

  14. GLM says

    May 22, 2020 at 4:28 pm

    140 is not hot enough so even after 25 minutes they were still not cooked

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 23, 2020 at 11:29 am

      It sounds as though your oven could run a little colder than others (sadly they can all be a bit inconsistent). I’d suggest bumping the heat up a little or leaving them in for a little bit longer and you should find they’re perfectly baked.

  15. Danielle says

    May 10, 2020 at 5:08 pm

    5 stars
    Cakes turned out light and moist. My 10year old found them easy to make and is looking forward to using the birthday chocolate recipe to make her dads birthday cake. That nice had to have 2!!

    Reply
  16. oshee says

    February 04, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    5 stars
    superb

    Reply
  17. Stephen says

    December 11, 2019 at 9:12 pm

    Tried this and turned out really good, but have made them twice after and even after 22 minutes in the oven I put the cocktail stick and it’s got stuff on it so put them in again for another 3 mins and when they came out they had sunk and are more brownie texture and gooey. Don’t know what is going wrong any advice ?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      December 14, 2019 at 10:10 am

      Hmmm, it’s a bit of a mystery why the worked first time and not after that.

      The reason the collapsed and went fudgey was most likely because you checked them before they were cooked in the middle. But why weren’t they cooked?

      It could be…

      1) You used larger cupcake cases so there was more mixture in each one – this will mean they take longer to cook.
      2) You baked more at once so your oven was fuller – there is less space for the heat to circulate around the cakes so they take longer to cook, meaning they’re underdone at the normal time.
      3) Your oven temperature has gone out of alignment – if it’s a little too cool then they won’t be baked through. I’d recommend getting an oven thermometer to check the temperature of your oven.

  18. Sheron says

    November 12, 2019 at 11:21 pm

    4 stars
    Turned out great. 20 mins was too long though, so I did 15 and left them in for 5 mins with oven off. Kids enjoyed them.
    Shame I can’t post a picture.

    Reply
  19. Michelle Stubbs says

    November 03, 2019 at 4:04 pm

    5 stars
    Loved these cupcakes, recipe is really easy to follow as an amateur baker. Cakes were delicious and everyone enjoyed them. Thank you! 🙂

    Reply
  20. Lydia says

    October 21, 2019 at 9:24 pm

    5 stars
    I’m new to baking and this recipe is really easy to follow and the cupcakes were amazing. I substituted grated chocolate for chocolate chips as a time saver so was worried they might not turn out great, but they were amazing, Thank you so much, can’t wait to try the vanilla cupcakes next.

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      October 22, 2019 at 10:12 am

      I’m so glad you enjoyed them 🙂

      I hope you enjoy the vanilla ones too. Let me know if there’s any other flavours you’d like to see on here.

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4.88 from 31 votes

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