How long do these cupcakes last?

Cupcakes will last up to 5 days in an airtight container on the counter, but they're best eaten within a day or two of baking (after that, the cake will start to dry out and the frosting will start to soften and melt into the cake).

Can I freeze chocolate cupcakes?

Yes - cupcakes (and cake in general) freeze very well! To freeze, let cupcakes cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container (we like Stasher Bags) and freeze for up to 3 months. You can freeze these cupcakes with or without the frosting. To defrost, place frozen cupcakes on the counter and let them come back to room temp for a few hours. See more cake freezing tips in our post on how to freeze cupcakes . We do not recommend refrigerating extra cupcakes, as the dry air inside the fridge will dry them out pretty quickly. If you need to store them longer than a few days, pop them in the freezer!

Can I leave out the apple cider vinegar?

No - the apple cider vinegar is very important here because it serves as the acid to activate our baking soda and make the cupcakes rise! If you don't have apple cider vinegar, you can substitute plain white vinegar or lemon juice.

Can I use a stand mixer?

We recommend mixing these small batch chocolate cupcakes by hand in a mixing bowl - because there is so little batter, we've found that stand mixers just don't do a great job of mixing everything in this recipe. If you don't want to mix by hand with a spoon or spatula, you can use an electric hand mixer.

Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes

Description

These easy small batch chocolate cupcakes are ready in under an hour!

Ingredients

Scale

For the cupcakes:

80 grams all purpose flour (about ⅔ cup when measured correctly by scooping and leveling)
15 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (3 Tablespoons )
70 grams sugar (⅓ cup)
3 grams baking soda (1/2 teaspoon)
Pinch of kosher salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (43 grams)
5 grams apple cider vinegar (1 teaspoon)
60 grams milk (¼ cup)
4 grams vanilla extract (½ teaspoon)
1 egg yolk
60 grams hot water (¼ cup) (see recipe notes)

For the chocolate frosting:

170 grams powdered sugar (1 1/4 cups)
15 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (3 Tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (27 grams)
Pinch of kosher salt
30 grams hot water (2 Tablespoons) (you may not need it all)

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Instructions

Before you mix the batter (a bit of prep):

Heat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
Put some water on to boil - you'll need a bit of hot water at the very end of mixing, and again for the frosting (I use an electric tea kettle set to the highest setting).
Line a standard muffin pan with 6-8 cupcake liners.

For the cupcakes:

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and a pinch of salt.
In another small mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together melted butter, apple cider vinegar, milk, vanilla extract, and egg yolk.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Whisk hot water into batter a little at a time until you have a smooth, thin batter.
Pour or scoop the cupcake batter into your prepared muffin pan, filling each cupcake liner about 2/3 of the way full. You should get 6-8 cupcakes.
Bake at 375° F for 14-18 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Remove cooked cupcakes to a wire rack and let them cool completely before frosting, usually at least 30 minutes.

For the chocolate frosting:

In a medium mixing bowl, mix powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and melted butter together with a pinch of salt. The butter will clump up a bit and form a crumbly mixture - that's ok!
Add hot water to powdered sugar mixture a little bit at a time, stirring well between each addition. The frosting will slowly start to come together, and will look almost like a thick pudding or fudge.
When you’ve reached your desired frosting consistency, use the back of a spoon or a small knife to frost each cupcake. I like to place a dollop of frosting on the cupcake and then use the back of a spoon to swirl it in a circle.
Tips: If the frosting is too runny to hold its shape at first, let it sit for a few minutes until it starts to firm up. This frosting will seize up as the butter cools, so plan to work quickly. If the frosting becomes too hard to spread easily, zap it for five seconds in the microwave to bring it back to a spreadable consistency.
You can serve these cupcakes immediately once they're frosted, although if you have time, we recommend letting them sit for an hour or so on the counter so the frosting cools completely - as it sets, it becomes thicker and more fudge-y. Enjoy!

Notes

How hot should my water be? The hot water in this cake batter should be not quite boiling (175° F or so - about the temperature you’d use for making tea). You can bring water to a boil in a pan or kettle on the stovetop while you prepare the rest of your ingredients, or use an electric tea kettle to heat the water. If you don’t have the time or equipment to heat water this way, you can use water straight from the tap on its hottest setting - it won’t draw out quite as much chocolate flavor, but it will still work! The hot water in this recipe ensures our ingredients are mixed evenly, enhances the chocolate flavor of these cupcakes, and helps the cupcakes retain moisture as they bake.

Please use a kitchen scale! Measuring ingredients by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable: For best results, use a kitchen scale and measure your ingredients by weight using the gram measurements above. If you don’t have a scale, measure your ingredients (particularly flour and cocoa) with the scoop-and-level method for best results.

Additions and Substitutions. Substitute melted coconut oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil for the melted butter in the cupcake batter. You can also substitute melted coconut oil for the butter in the frosting if you like. Use white vinegar (preferred) or lemon juice in place of apple cider vinegar if you need to. If you’re running low on white sugar, you can replace up to 45 grams of white sugar with brown sugar. Use an egg white instead of an egg yolk if you prefer (the cupcakes won’t be quite as rich or moist as they are with an egg yolk, but they’ll still taste great!) Substitute your favorite frosting for the chocolate fudge frosting here - this recipe is great with chocolate or vanilla buttercream, peanut butter frosting, and cream cheese frosting!

The chocolate fudge frosting in this recipe will start to seize up as the butter cools, so work quickly to frost your cupcakes. The frosting will be quite thick and will resemble warm fudge - it won’t look or feel like the traditional buttercream or whipped frostings we’re often used to. If the frosting is too thin (this often happens when too much hot water is added) add extra powdered sugar or let it cool on the counter for a few minutes to thicken it up. If frosting is too thick, zap it in the microwave in 5-second intervals to loosen it. I love that this frosting develops a rich, fudge-like texture as it cools (it’s one of my most-requested frostings from friends and family!) but you could also absolutely use a more traditional buttercream here if you prefer.

If you use reusable silicone cupcake liners, you may need to extend the bake time by 1-3 minutes, and the cupcakes may not be quite as soft as they are with paper liners (but they’ll still taste good!)

Storing and freezing. Extra cupcakes will last up to 5 days in an airtight container on the counter, although the texture is best if eaten within 1-2 days of baking. Freeze leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months; defrost frozen cupcakes on the counter when you’re ready to eat them.