Super-Rich Chocolate Cupcakes

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If you’ve already tried our Super-Rich Chocolate Cake, you know why this cupcake recipe is an essential part of your arsenal. Rich in flavor and light as a feather, these cupcakes stay moist for days. The deep chocolate flavor works beautifully with several buttercreams and icings, including our chocolate buttercream, peanut butter buttercream, and caramel meringue buttercream.

MAKES 24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (428g/15oz) granulated sugar

1¾ cups (237g/8.3oz) all-purpose flour

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (87g/3oz) unsweetened dark cocoa powder (22 to 24%), sifted

1½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons salt

2 eggs

1 cup (240g/8.5oz) whole milk

½ cup (104g/3.6oz) vegetable oil

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

¾ cup (180g/6.3oz) boiling water

Chocolate Buttercream

White nonpareils, for decoration

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.
  4. Whisk the egg mixture into the sugar-flour mixture just until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
  5. Place the espresso powder and boiling water in a liquid measuring cup and whisk until dissolved. Carefully whisk into the cake batter until fully mixed. Scrape the bowl again.
  6. Using a #20 scoop or a ¼-cup dry measuring cup, evenly scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. This batter is very loose and a bit messy. To get an even scoop, use your hand to level the batter and remove any excess from the bottom of the scoop. (You can also place the batter into a liquid measuring cup and fill each cupcake well halfway.)
  7. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean.
  8. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
  9. To decorate as in the photo, fill a piping bag with a Wilton #2A tip with chocolate buttercream and pipe onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with chocolate cake crumbs or white nonpareils.