These chocolate fudge cupcakes are a chocolate lover’s dream! These fudge cupcakes have a moist chocolate cupcake that is topped with an intense chocolate ganache buttercream.
After making my chocolate caramel cupcakes I knew I needed a simple but rich chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting – and this is it! This recipe uses a similar cupcake base and it’s then topped with possibly the most chocolatey frosting I’ve ever had!
The frosting is inspired by Zoë Bake’s ‘Zoë Bakes Cakes‘ chocolate frosting. She has you make a chocolate ganache with chopped chocolate, butter and cream. After letting it cool completely until it becomes thick you combine it with powdered sugar. Honestly the most rich and intense frosting I’ve ever had!
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Why you’ll love this recipe!
- The chocolate cupcakes are extra moist thanks to oil being used instead of butter.
- You don’t need a mixer to make the cupcakes!
- These chocolate fudge cupcakes are perfect for a crowd or a birthday party as it makes 12 cupcakes.
- I’ve decorated these cupcakes with Lindor chocolates, but you could also use chocolate sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles or leave them with just the frosting!
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: I’ve only tested these moist chocolate fudge cupcakes with all purpose flour.
- Cocoa Powder: make sure to use dutch-processed cocoa powder. Not sure what you have in the pantry? Check the ingredients on the cocoa powder! If it mentions alkali or acidity regulator, then you have dutch processed cocoa powder. You do not want to use unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe.
- Greek Yogurt: this is going to make the cupcakes extra moist! You can use sour cream instead if that’s all you have on hand.
- Espresso Powder: this isn’t going to make the cupcakes taste like chocolate, it will just give a very intense chocolate flavor and deepen that flavor.
- Oil: use a neutral oil like vegetable oil or canola oil.
- Chocolate: be sure to use a high quality chocolate bar for the chocolate ganache buttercream.
- Heavy Cream: if you’re in Europe you can use double cream.
Step by Step Process
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius and place cupcake cases in a cupcake pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Step 2:In a measuring jug or a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, Greek yogurt, oil, vanilla extract, white sugar, light brown sugar and vinegar. Whisk until smooth.
Step 3: In a mug or cup, whisk very hot water with the espresso powder. Mix until smooth and the powder has dissolved. Add to the jug with the wet ingredients.
Step 4: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold everything together with a rubber spatula. Fold until the batter is smooth.
Step 5: Pour the chocolate cupcake batter into the cupcake liners (I like using a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop for this) until they are ¾ of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Step 6: In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the heavy cream, espresso powder, salt and vanilla extract. Heat until the butter has completely melted, then add in your chopped chocolate. Turn off the heat. Swirl the pan so the chocolate is completely covered by the hot cream and let sit for 3 minutes.
Step 7: Whisk the mixture until it is completely smooth. Pour into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and let cool completely. This can take 30-40 minutes! You should be able to scoop it with a spoon, it should be soft but solid enough to scoop.
Step 8: With a paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer, pour in sifted confectioners’ sugar ½ a cup at a time. Depending on the thickness of the ganache and the brand of confectioners’ sugar, you might not need to add all of it. If it is still a bit grainy after adding all of the confectioners’ sugar, add heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until smooth.
Baking Tips & Tricks
- Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting them!
- I recommend using a weighing scale to measure all of your ingredients – especially the flour and cocoa powder. Using too much or too little can lead to overly dry cupcakes.
- You want the chocolate ganache to be totally cool and set before you start adding the confectioners’ sugar, otherwise it won’t firm up properly.
- Don’t want to use this chocolate fudge frosting? Use my chocolate sour cream frosting instead!
- Sift your powdered sugar before adding to the chocolate fudge buttercream. If you don’t you’ll have grainy and lumpy frosting!
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few reasons why cupcakes sink after baking. The baking powder might have been expired or isn’t as active – make sure you close the lid of the baking powder properly after you’re done using it! Second reason may be if you opened the oven door too early, and finally, you might have taken them out of the oven before they were finished baking.
I like the use oil in my cupcakes instead of butter as that will make them extra moist! Make sure you use a neutral oil and not a flavored oil like olive oil.
Yes, you can place the bowl with the ganache in the fridge to set faster but make sure to mix it every so often!
Try these chocolate recipes next!
Have you made this recipe? Please rate the recipe below! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @alpineella and Pinterest!
Recipe
Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
Equipment
- 12 cup cupcake tray
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 95 grams all purpose flour
- 43 grams cocoa powder dutch processed
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 100 grams sugar
- 100 grams light brown sugar
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 113 grams greek yogurt room temperature
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2 tablespoon hot water
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
Frosting
- 120 ml heavy cream
- 113 grams butter
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- 300 grams dark chocolate chopped
- 339 grams confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1-4 tablespoons heavy cream optional
Instructions
Make cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C and place 12 cupcake liners in your muffin tray. This recipe makes about 14 cupcakes, so you will need to make these in two batches.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a mug or cup, mix together the espresso powder and 2 tablespoons of hot water.
- In a large jug, whisk the eggs, coffee, greek yogurt, oil, vanilla extract, vinegar and two sugars until smooth
- Pour the wet mixture into the flour, stirring until it is just about smooth – we don't want to over mix the batter!
- Fill the cupcake liners ¾ of the way and bake for 18-20 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for 15 minutes in the tray, then take them out and place on a cooling rack. Bake the last two cupcakes.
Make Frosting
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the butter, heavy cream, salt, vanilla extract and espresso powder. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted. Turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Swirl the saucepan so all of the pieces of chocolate are covered. Let sit for 3 minutes.
- Use a whisk to whisk until completely smooth. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl and let cool completely until set and firm. You should be able to scoop it with a spoon!
- Place in your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a hand held mixer, and add ½ cup of confectioners' sugar at a time, beating on low. Continue until it is thick and looks like frosting – note, you might not need to add all of the frosting! It depends on the thickness of your ganache as well as the brand of confectioners' sugar.
- If your frosting looks grainy and not smooth, add a tablespoon of heavy cream at a time, mixing on medium speed until it is smooth. It took about 4 tablespoons of heavy cream to make mine smooth in these pictures!
- Frost your cupcakes! I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to frost my cupcakes.
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