How to Make Double Chocolate Cupcakes From Scratch
There’s no need to break out the mixer for these cupcakes or the frosting. Just a few bowls, a whisk and a spoon. The cupcakes are simple — melt butter, add coffee and cocoa powder then whisk until smooth. Add flour, sugar and a few more ingredients like baking soda and salt then stir in sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Simple. By the way, we know, coffee sounds a little odd, but trust us. You don’t end up tasting the coffee, but you do taste the chocolate. That’s right — coffee boosts the flavor of the cocoa powder, making these taste rich. We love adding a sour cream chocolate frosting to these. If you’ve never had it, it tastes like a combination of chocolate pudding and buttercream. You don’t pipe it onto the cupcakes and instead just spoon or spread it on top. The frosting then has enough powdered sugar in it to gently fall over the sides of the cupcake, but not so far that it’s messy. For more chocolate cake recipes, take a look at our favorite chocolate cupcakes recipe or this amazing chocolate cake. Recipe updated, originally posted April 2013. Since posting this in 2013, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne We add coffee to this recipe — you don’t really taste the coffee. It’s there to bring out as much chocolate flavor as possible. If you don’t want to use coffee, water will also work. Also, you can make the sour cream chocolate frosting a day in advance — just keep covered in the refrigerator. 3/4 cup (175 ml) brewed coffee 1/2 cup (40 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 2 large eggs 1/2 cup (125 grams) sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ounce (30 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup (115 grams) powdered sugar 1/4 to 1/3 cup (60 to 80 grams) sour cream 2Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat then add coffee and warm through. Remove from heat then whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Cool 1 minute. 3In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream and the vanilla extract until well blended. 4Gently stir the cocoa and coffee mixture into the flour mixture until combined. You do not need to beat, just stir until incorporated. Add the egg and sour cream mixture and continue to stir until blended. 2Whisk in the powdered sugar and 1/4 cup of the sour cream. The frosting should be loose, but spreadable. Add more sour cream as necessary. Refrigerate 30 minutes. (The frosting will thicken slightly after refrigeration). 2To frost cupcakes, spoon or spread a generous tablespoon on top of each cooled cupcake.
