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.
Can I make this ahead of time and refrigerate for a day? Wasn’t sure if the boiling water made a difference/if the batter needed to be warm when they go in the oven? Btw, this a great recipe! Thanks for sharing! I’ve made these before, but never refrigerated the batter!
Hi Kristen,
No, I would not suggest preparing the batter and then storing it for any length of time before using it. If you are trying to save some prep time, feel free to measure out your dry ingredients a day or more in advance, and that will help a bit on baking day.
This is my go to recipe!! never fails! (also cookie cutters from IG! )
I am hoping to make a cake with this recipe. What size cake pan would you recomend? Thank you!
I have made this recipe in 6″, 8″ and 9″ pans round pans. Any size will work as long as you adjust the baking time. The cakes are done when they have a slight dome, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Happy baking!
Can I use cake flour instead of All Purpose flour for these chocolate cupcakes? If I do, would that change anything else in the recipe??
Can I use 2% milk instead of whole milk?
Yes, 2% would be fine, but I would not recommend non-fat or 1%. If I have a lower fat milk on hand, then I’ll just add a bit of heavy cream to fatten it up a bit.
I’m new to cake baking. What tip do you suggest for the frosting piping? Cupcakes in particular. Love yours. Thx
My favorite piping tip for piping icing on cupcakes is a Wilton 1M, it’s an open star tip. It’s by far the one I used the most! Happy baking!
Hi! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes. Can I use buttermilk instead of whole milk? Would it change the flavor?
Are they peanut free?
Hi Melissa,
I’m a little perplexed by your question. This is a recipe… you can see the full list of ingredients. There are no peanuts in the recipe, but it’s up to you to choose cocoa powder or other ingredients that are made in a peanut-free environment if that’s what you need. Happy baking!
Let me just say. This became part of my mother’s recipe book since the moment we made it. I would say, after trying them all, this one is by far the best. Chocolate. Cupcake/cake. Recipe. Ever. Period. Its so perfect, moist, but at the same time airy, spongey, it caramelizes on top. Completely gorgeous, it melts in your mouth. Its like those perfect boxed cakes but sets the bar even higher. This should be a secret recipe kept in the family for the next generations because everyone goes completely crazy once they try it. We make different chocolate cakes and my dad and brother always say “but i want you to make the one (I) found… that one is the best one”. So yeah. Thank you so much for sharing!
Followed the instructions and while baking the cupcakes sunk rather than rising. Please help.