Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: So much rich, delicious chocolate flavor.
Texture: The cupcake is moist and tender, the ganache filling is slightly fudgy, and the buttercream on top is thick and creamy. Heaven in every bite!
Ease: Fairly easy, but a little messy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Perfect cupcake for any chocolate lover.
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Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes are what chocoholics’ dreams are made of.
As a total chocoholic myself, recipes that contain chocolate in any form are generally what excite me the most – let alone a recipe that contains chocolate in this many forms!
The chocolate in these Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes hits you immediately. Especially if you take a big enough bite to reach the chocolate ganache filling right off the bat. There’s so much goodness in both taste and texture happening here that I encourage you to fully savor every moment.
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These cupcakes are perfect for Halloween (especially if you add some white chocolate spiderwebs on top!) or Valentine’s Day (the perfect dessert for you and your chocolate-loving Valentine!).
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes
How to Make Moist Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Weigh your ingredients. I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients. Without a scale, it’s so easy to accidentally add too much of your dry ingredients, especially flour and cocoa, resulting in dry, dense cupcakes. Learn more about how to measure ingredients here.
- Oil. Oil creates an ultra-moist texture and open, slightly spongy crumb which is perfect for chocolate cupcakes. Since oil is liquid at room temperature, it gives the palate a sensation of moisture even though it contains no water! Give your vegetable oil a sniff before using to make sure it’s fresh. Feel free to use melted coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. Learn more about Oil vs. Butter in Baking here.
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder, eggs, and vinegar. More on these ingredients just below.
What Type of Cocoa Powder Do I Need?
For the best rich chocolate cupcakes, use Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder to achieve a deeper color, and because it will typically contain more cocoa fat (learn more about cocoa powder here), resulting in more moist and tender cupcakes.
You can find Dutched cocoa in some specialty kitchen stores, or online here. I haven’t tried using black cocoa, but that should work just fine too. If you must use natural cocoa powder, that will work as well, but your cupcakes might not be as dark in color or as rich in flavor.
Why Are Eggs Used in Cupcakes?
The more whole eggs a cake or cupcake recipe has, the richer it’ll be. For this recipe, I added an extra egg yolk. This adds a touch more richness, chewiness, and structure, so the cupcake can stand up to a generous amount of frosting.
Why is There Vinegar in This Recipe?
This may seem like a strange ingredient, but I promise you won’t taste it in the final result. It simply helps to activate the baking soda to create tall, fluffy cupcakes.
Preventing Cupcake Liners from Sticking
It’s important to use high-quality liners to prevent sticking. These are my favorite cupcake liners that basically never stick. If liners sticking to your cupcakes are a common problem for you, check out my How to Prevent Cupcake Liners from Sticking post.
How to Fill Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes
Possibly the best part of this recipe, Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes are filled with a hidden pocket of rich and fudgy chocolate ganache. Filling cupcakes is made easy with one simple tool: an apple corer. Use the corer to evenly remove the center of each cupcake. Bonus: little cupcake scrap pieces for you to enjoy while finishing up in the kitchen 😉
How to Store Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes
Store Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes covered at room temperature for up to 1 day, or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Dark Chocolate Buttercream
This buttercream has a LOT of chocolate in it, both in the form of melted chocolate and cocoa powder, so it’s thick, rich, and decadent. Feel free to play around with adding in more cream to thin it out, or more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Interested in Learning More About the Science of Baking?
Check out my online baking class, The Magic of Baking! All of the video lessons, downloads, and side-by-side comparison photos are ready and waiting for you right now. It’ll show you how and why baking recipes work so you can bake with complete confidence.
More Cupcake Recipes:
More Chocolate Recipes:
Chocolate Blackout Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the ganache filling:
- 2 ounces (57 grams) semisweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup (59 grams) heavy cream
For the cupcakes:
- 4 ounces (113 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup (28 grams)
dark Dutch-processed cocoa powder - 1/2 cup (119 grams) boiling water
- 3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs plus one egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces (227 grams) bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
- 3 cups (375 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 cup (21 grams) dark cocoa powder, sifted
- 8 ounces (227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Make the filling:
- Place the chocolate and cream in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave until mixture is warmed, about 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth. Place mixture in refrigerator until just chilled and firmed, no longer than 30 minutes.
Make the cupcakes:
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium heatproof bowl, add the chocolate and cocoa. Pour hot water over mixture. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk mixture gently until smooth then set aside to cool.
- Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with high-quality cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Whisk sour cream, oil, eggs, egg yolk, vinegar, and vanilla into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until smooth, being careful not to overmix.
- Using a spring-loaded scoop, divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake until cupcakes are set and firm to the touch, about 17 to 20 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely, about 1 hour. Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Fill the cupcakes:
- Using an apple corer or pairing knife, slice a small section of the center of the cupcake, being careful not to slice through the bottom. Fill each hole with 1 heaping teaspoon of the firmed ganache.
Make the buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar, cocoa powder, and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, as well as the mixer attachment. Add the salt, vanilla, cream, and cooled melted chocolate and beat on medium for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Spread or pipe evenly over the filled cupcakes. Serve or store covered at room temperature for up to 1 day, or covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This post was published in 2018 and has been updated with additional baking tips and baking science information. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Is there a substitute of egg? And can i use salted butter instead of unsalted butter for frosting
One question about the chocolate: for the filling it says semisweet and for the cupcakes bittersweet: can you explain/recommend what % would that be if I’m buying chocolate “chips” intended for baking? There are, for example, 55% cocoa or 35% cocoa and others. What percentage should I choose? Thank you! Recipe looks great!
Can’t thank you enough for this recipe. I have never made buttercream before, now I don’t want anything else! So rich, buttery smooth, and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! These cupcakes were the hit of the party.
Can these be made in advance and frosted and refrigerated?
Can these be made in advance? Do they need to be refrigerated?
Can these be made in advance? If they can do they need to be refrigerated due to the filling?
I need to make two dozen cupcakes. Can I double the recipe or do I need to make two batches?
You can double the recipe 🙂
Hello,
I think that I have texted you before. Just a quick note… I am probably old enough to be your Grandmother!
Have been baking since I was 25…Over 50 years ago! and I am still employed as a full time Pastry Chef. Have owned my own award winning shop but after a long but sudden onset serious illness was unable to work for over a year. So was unable to keep my building during my recovery. My spouse was not a fan of giving me money or emotional support. God must have had a plan!
Anyway, I am not in the habit of sending comments to these sites but am such a FAN of yours that I feel almost compelled to let you know how much enjoy not only your recipes but your personality that shines through! I was far from as pretty as you but was blessed with a Mentor that gave so generously of herself to share her skills and all of the tips and hints that are worth their weight in gold! We met in such a way that I can only say had to be arranged God or an angel. She was my best friend for over 20 years until she died.
I have had a long career in healthcare as well as baking. Graduated from the French Pastry school (at 55!) and still teach and bake..as I mentioned. Raised 5 children and out lived 2 spouses. . my current is a real challenge and my only hope is that I will out live him! He is 85, has the first buck he ever made I’m sure and doubt if he has given my $20 since I married him. Hope God hurries up with a plan for this one.
Anyway, Love your personality and recipes. I wanted to wish you Happy Holidays and let you know that you have a Fan. I am sure you are BUSY but at some point I would really love to get to know more about you. I have been a food editor (Pulitzer Prize winning paper) for 8+ years, After 1 year, my bakery was listed in USA Today’s Top Ten Bakeries in America, God only knows how that happened! and have many other awards from Natl Honey Board to others from competitions and publications to mention. Have made GF and later Vegan for over 50 years! My only son was allergic to wheat, dairy, coloring, eggs and other foods to the point where I was fearful that he might not survive. There were NO Whole Foods, Trader Joes or computer sites that sold GF ingredients so I bought a wheat grinder and made my own Rice flour and read all I could find in medical books about food allergies ..and did the best I could. . . .he is now in his early 50’s and doing very well, against all odds. I do have some VERY nice recipes that I would be willing to share if you might like. None of my girls bake although one has an award winning catering company nearby. I won’t go on but needed to let you know just how much I do enjoy your web site and recipes. I think that I will make a batch of those Blackout cupcakes this afternoon! Am so happy to see that you teach as well. Many of my students have become lifelong friends. Have a class Sunday afternoon. Will teach Buche de Noel, hands on class for 12.
God Bless and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Made these a couple of days ago. OMG!!!!!!! they are absolutely fabulous!!!!! Will be making them again, hopefully will share them!!
These sound and look phenomenal! My question is do dark cocoa and unsweetened cocoa have the same chemical makeup (i.e. can they be used interchangeably in a recipe?)? Thank you!
Did you see my notes about the cocoa in the blog post? I used Hershey’s Special Dark which is a mix of both natural and Dutch cocoa 🙂
Would you need to make any adjustments to bake this recipe into a cake?
I would recommend making my Best Chocolate Cake Recipe! https://handletheheat.com/best-chocolate-cake/
You could use the dark cocoa with that recipe, and double the ganache & frosting from this cupcake recipe to use.
These sound amazing! I have the official cupcake corer gadget but I am wondering if the ganache would work as a layer in a layer cake? Thanks!
It should, but I would double it at least!