Are you looking for a decadent chocolate cupcake recipe with the most delicious frosting you've ever tasted? Well, you found it! These cupcakes are moist(I know I hate that word too) yet airy but still rich and chocolatey! And don't get me started on the buttercream...it honestly tastes like chocolate mousse. It's so smooth, airy and light. So, so good!
If you've got a craving for chocolate, you need to try these cupcakes!
I’d love to hear how you like it, so please comment below.
If you make them, please share your creations and tag @tarynstastingtable
Ingredients:
- Chocolate chips, or chopped up chocolate, milk or dark
- Bittersweet chocolate
- Cocoa powder
- Instant espresso
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Vegetable oil
- Whole eggs
- Egg whites
- White vinegar
- Vanilla extract
- Butter
Equipment:
- Cupcake/muffin baking pan
- Cupcake liners
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Large bowl
- Spatula
- Measuring spoons and cups
- Whisk
- Piping bag
- Piping tip
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare your baking pan by placing the cupcake liners in.
Add very hot or boiling water into a mixing bowl of the stand mixer. Mix in instant espresso powder, and stir lightly until dissolved.
Carefully pour in chocolate chips and cocoa powder. Let this sit for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until smooth.
In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Add in the flour mixture to the chocolate espresso mixture, and stir until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a spatula.
Mix in the eggs one at a time. Then add vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth - it will be thin!
Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with minimal crumbs).
Allow cupcakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and place on a cooling rack until fully cooled.
To make the Swiss Meringue Chocolate Buttercream, add egg whites, sugar and salt in a heat-proof bowl. Give the mixture a brief whisk.
Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl. Whisk the egg whites occasionally while it warms up. When the mixture has warmed, whisk it constantly. You will heat the mixture until it reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF or until it's not grainy between your fingers.
Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer or transfer to stand mixer bowl, mix with a whisk attachment until you get room temperature glossy peaks. This will take about 8 minutes or more.
Switch to a paddle attachment and while the mixture is running on low, add tablespoon sized dollops of room temperature butter making sure to let the butter incorporate before you add the next piece. Once all the butter is incorporated, go ahead and add the vanilla extract.
The desired temperature of Swiss Meringue is about 73°F. If you find the buttercream looks curdled, it has cooled too much. Place the bowl over the simmering water again and stir the mixture, it will heat up very quickly and start to smooth out. If you find the opposite, that your mixture seems very runny, place it in the fridge to cool down. It should set up fine.
Drizzle in the melted and cooled chocolate while the mixer is running on low. Scrape the bowl down and mix again. You can now transfer it to a piping bag.
Once your cupcakes are cooled, pipe your frosting on your cupcakes.
Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes:
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate milk or dark
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup hot water
- 1 ½ tsp instant espresso
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Swiss Meringue:
- 5 egg whites room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup bittersweet chocolate melted
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare your baking pan by placing the cupcake liners in.
- Add very hot or boiling water into a mixing bowl of the stand mixer. Mix in instant espresso powder, and stir lightly until dissolved.
- Carefully pour in chocolate chips and cocoa powder. Let this sit for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until smooth.
- In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Add in the flour mixture to the chocolate espresso mixture, and stir until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a spatula.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time. Then add vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth - it will be thin!
- Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with minimal crumbs).
- Allow cupcakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and place on a cooling rack until fully cooled.
Chocolate Swiss Meringue:
- Add egg whites, sugar and salt in a heat-proof bowl. Give the mixture a brief whisk.
- Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl. Whisk the egg whites occasionally while it warms up. When the mixture has warmed, whisk it constantly. You will heat the mixture until it reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF or until it's not grainy between your fingers.
- Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer or transfer to stand mixer bowl, mix with a whisk attachment until you get room temperature glossy peaks. This will take about 8 minutes or more.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and while the mixture is running on low, add tablespoon sized dollops of room temperature butter making sure to let the butter incorporate before you add the next piece. Once all the butter is incorporated, go ahead and add the vanilla extract.
- The desired temperature of Swiss Meringue is about 73°F. If you find the buttercream looks curdled, it has cooled too much. Place the bowl over the simmering water again and stir the mixture, it will heat up very quickly and start to smooth out. If you find the opposite, that your mixture seems very runny, place it in the fridge to cool down. It should set up fine.
- Drizzle in the melted and cooled chocolate while the mixer is running on low. Scrape the bowl down and mix again. You can now transfer it to a piping bag.
- Once your cupcakes are cooled, pipe your frosting on your cupcakes.
Notes
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