Easy Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
This easy chocolate cupcake recipe is truly the best. With a step by step guide to help you along & a chocolate buttercream icing recipe... it's yummy good!
Equipment
- 7cm round Cupcake Trays
Ingredients
Ingredients (for the cupcakes):
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar White
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
- pinch Salt
- ¾ cup Sunflower Oil
- ½ cup Milk
- ½ tsp Spirit Vinegar White
- 1 cup Cake Four
- 90 ml Cocoa Powder
- ½ tsp Instant Coffee Powder
- 1¼ tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Baking Soda (Bicarb)
Ingredients (for the icing):
- 50 grams Butter
- 50 grams White Margarine
- 75 grams Cream Cheese
- 300 grams Icing Sugar/Confectioners Sugar
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder
- splash Milk
Instructions
Method (for the cupcakes):
- Beat the eggs with an electric mixer until they become foamy (roughly 45 seconds to a minute).
- Add the sugar and beat until well combined (roughly 45 seconds to a minute+). The mixture will become slightly paler in color.
- Add the vanilla essence, salt, oil and milk & vinegar to the mixture, and beat until combined (about 30 seconds).
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and instant coffee powder (you'll need to crush the coffee powder through the sieve with a spoon if it the granulated variety) and beat the mixture until there aren't any lumps and it's well combined.
- Add the baking powder and baking soda (bicarb) by stirring it in (don't over-mix it, otherwise it won't rise nicely).
- The mixture should slightly runnier than toothpaste, not too thick or not too thin!
Baking Instructions & Oven Temperature:
- The most important aspect of a good bake is to get your cupcake casings perfectly centered in the cupcake tray. If they aren't centered, the cupcakes will rise more on one side while baking, and won't have a perfect form.
- Once you've perfectly lined the cupcake tray (7cm cup size) with standard sized cupcake casings, scoop +/-45ml's of the mixture into each casing using a ¼ cup measuring spoon. This helps in avoiding any spillage onto your cupcake tray, and gives you equal sized cupcakes for an even more perfect bake!
- Place the cupcake tray in the center of your oven, and bake at 180° C or 360° F for 12 - 15 minutes (they should just start to color a bit darker on top).
- Leave the cupcakes to cool.
Method (for the icing)
- Beat the butter, white margarine and cream cheese together until combined and smooth & creamy. Add the sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder, and beat until smooth. Adjust the thickness of the icing with milk (*ONLY ONCE YOU'VE THOROUGHLY MIXED IT), otherwise you may make it too runny. If you're going to pipe the icing onto the cupcakes, it should be as thick as toothpaste. If you make it too runny, it won't keep it's shape!
- Place the icing into a piping bag, and ice the cupcakes... enjoy!