I love chocolate…
So naturally, when I started experimenting with baking cupcakes from scratch (several years ago) I began a quest for the perfect chocolate cupcakes. I worked through several dozen recipes and of course, didn’t have too much trouble finding people willing to eat my “experiments.”
I finally found a recipe titled Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake, hmm, “…Perfectly Chocolate”, sounds about right to me! The first time I made it, I used Hershey’s unsweeted cocoa (as the recipe calls for). They turned out pretty good. The next time I made them, I used Ghirardelli brand unsweetened cocoa, and… perfect! The Ghirardelli brand gave a much deeper chocolate flavor. So I’d highly recomend using either Ghirardelli brand unsweetened cocoa, or the best quality brand you can find. You can really taste the difference. Since discovering this recipe, I’ve made it dozens and dozens of times. And every time, it’s delicious! The cake has a nice light and fluffy texture and a rich chocolate flavor.
Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
(makes 24-27 standard sized cupcakes)
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (best quality available)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (best quality available)
1 cup boiling water
Directions-
Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute.
Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin, don’t worry, this is right).
Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. (I usually put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.)
Bake cupcakes for aproximately 18-22 minutes.
Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
Recipe source- Hershey’s
Try the recipe HERE for either vanilla or chocolate (my favorite!) cream cheese frosting.
Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa best quality available
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract best quality available
- 1 cup boiling water
Instructions
- Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute.
- Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin, don’t worry, this is right).
- Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. (I usually put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.)
- Bake cupcakes for approximately 18-22 minutes.
- Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
Really lovely piping! Love the flower.
Thank you for the recipe – these are fabulous! My two cents worth…have made these twice using cocoa I had on hand. The first time, used Hershey's Dark. The cupcakes were insanely delicious. The second time, used Scharffen Berger. To my surprise, the cupcakes weren't nearly as good. Maybe that's just my personal preference for dark chocolate. Also, because the batter is thin, I found a squeeze bottle with a wide nozzle worked well for me when I filled the cupcake papers. I made a giant mess trying to pour from a measuring cup.
i use this same recipe with buttermilk instead of whole milk and coffee instead of water. but i'll try this variation, since milk is more handy.
Came across your blog today, tried your chocolate cupcake with the choc. frosting, was insanely rich and moist too. My girls and husband fell in love with it.
This is a perfect recipe, thank you for sharing.
Please could you tell me what cutters/techniques you used to make the butterfly and flower decorations?
Anonymous- Yes these cupcakes freeze well. Just defrost at room temperature for an hour or so.
Enjoy!
HELLO, THANK YOU FOR THE RECEIPE
A JUST HAVE A ????
CAN I KEEP THE BAKED ALREADY CUPCAKES IN THE FREEZER FOR COUPLE OF WEEKS????
Thanks for all the kind comments! So glad to hear from those of you who have tried it!
Bubbabo Cupcakes- I will be sharing my vanilla cupcake recipe in the next few months.
Hi, I made you cupcakes and they are divine. Any chance you could share your vanilla cupcake recipe too.
I just made these, and frosted them using your cream cheese frosting (with blackberry), and they are the BEST cupcakes I have ever had. Bar none. The frosting really pushed them over the edge. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Sarah