Chocolate cupcakes

Who says holiday baking is all about cookies? We had a hankering for some chocolate cupcakes, so searched for a new recipe to try. We typically go for a devil's food cake because it is more moist than most from-scratch chocolate cakes. But we are always on the lookout for a cake with real chocolatey flavor. And we found it!!

This recipe, very slightly adapted from Stefani at Cupcake Project, really does yield The Best Chocolate Cupcakes we've ever eaten. We topped it with their Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting and found that combo to be a chocoholic's dream.

These cupcakes are tender, moist and densely chocolate. They're even moist and tender several days later, not dry and ashy as chocolate cupcakes can sometimes be. Not that these little beauties will be around that long. 

This makes 16 standard size cupcakes. 
NutritionCalories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 180IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
​#cupcakeproject

ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (natural or Dutched will both work with this recipe)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 ounces chocolate - You can use any plain chocolate that you like except white chocolate or candy melts. The chocolate doesn't have to be one typically earmarked for baking. We used semi-sweet baking chips.
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 9 tablespoons vegetable oil ( This is the same as 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon - measure in a liquid measuring cup)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream or yogurt, room temperature
• 1/2 cup coffee or water, room temperature ( be sure to measure in a liquid measuring cup)

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directions

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder into a separate medium-sized bowl. Use a fork or a whisk to ensure that the ingredients are mixed well after sifting. Set aside.
• Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler. Set aside to cool.
• In your stand mixer, mix butter and sugar until fully combined. The end result should look like wet sand.
• Once the melted chocolate is cool enough to touch, add it to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until just combined.
• Mix in eggs and egg yolks one at a time until just combined.
• Mix in oil, vanilla, and sour cream until just combined.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three additions, mixing until just combined after each addition.
• Mix in water until just combined.
• Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and put in the oven.
• Check for doneness at 17 minutes - a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake should come out clean. If they are not done, check again every minute until they are done. We found they were perfect at exactly 18 minutes.
• Immediately remove cupcakes from the cupcake tin and place on a cooling rack or on the counter to cool to room temperature. Although they are really good when they are hot, be sure to wait until they are room temperature to give your evaluation.

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notes

• COFFEE. If you would like to add coffee to the recipe, either add 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee granules along with the sifted dry ingredients, or replace the water with room temperature brewed coffee.
• Using different cocoa powders will alter the taste of the cupcakes. We used a combination of Dutch-processed and natural cocoas that you can find at the grocery store. Feel free to substitute any cocoa powder you like and to experiment with fancier brands of cocoa.
• If you don’t have sour cream in the house,  yogurt works perfectly as a substitute for sour cream.
• For making these cupcakes, use any mild vegetable oil.
  • Neutral options like canola, vegetable or safflower oil will not affect the taste of the cupcakes. You can experiment with using non-neutral oils and try baking these cupcakes with pistachio oil, for example, to get a totally different taste.
• You can make this recipe as an 8-9-inch cake. You will need to increase the baking time to about 25-35 minutes.

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