Super moist and tasty, these Chocolate Cupcakes will be a hit at your next birthday party, bake sale, PTA meetings, and more! Perfect for chocolate lovers, pair your chocolate cupcakes with a homemade chocolate icing!
Preheat your oven to 300F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until free of lumps.
In a medium bowl combine the egg, sour cream, oil, and vanilla. Mix until fully combined and smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Add the hot water and mix until combined.
Fill each cupcake liner up about ½ way.
Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one cupcake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Remove from oven and allow to cool while you make the buttercream.
For Icing:
In a stand mixer beat the butter until soft and fluffy.
Add the sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Beat until fully combined.
Add the heavy cream and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip and pipe the icing on top of each cupcake
Notes
Use a high-quality Dutch processed cocoa powder if you are able to. They result in a less acidic and fudgier taste, making them the perfect cocoa for brownies!
To check that the cupcakes are done, insert a toothpick into the middle of the cupcakes, if the toothpick comes out clean, then they are done. If the toothpick comes out with some batter on it, keep baking.
Be sure to avoid packing in your flour when measuring. Too much flour will lead to a dense cupcake. Fluff the flour with a fork before scooping it with a measuring cup.
Avoid over-mixing your cupcake batter as it can cause the chocolate brownies to get too dense.
Don’t over-fill the cupcake liners as the cupcakes will rise while it bakes. Too much batter and it’ll overflow.