For the longest time whenever I wanted chocolate cupcakes, I would always use my tried and true no-egg chocolate cupcake recipe (recipe to come at some point when I can get to it). What I love about that recipe was the no egg part, especially at this current moment when egg prices are through the roof (okay, higher than I’ve ever seen them before!). On a recent trip to the grocery store, I saw eggs at almost $4 a dozen. Yikes!
Anyway, what I am getting at here is I finally tried a new recipe for chocolate cupcakes! And to make them a tad fancy, what better way than filling them with some caramel before topping it off with some fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting? These sure will delight anyone on any occasion, but most especially with Valentine’s Day around the corner, they could be the perfect sweet treat!
The recipe for these chocolate cupcakes is super simple and produces a rich, dark chocolate cupcake with a deep, complex flavor. As always, my code for super simple is any time I can make it with a bowl and fork (or whisk!). I think what’s great about this recipe is the usage of coffee and dark cocoa powder. The coffee really helps bring out the chocolate flavor and the dark cocoa gives the cupcakes their nice rich, dark chocolate look. Oh, and as I mentioned above about the high cost of eggs, you could skip the egg in this recipe and they’ll still turn out great.
As always, the recipe is below if you want to give them a try. You’re welcome to swap the caramel filling for something else if you like or skip it altogether. Of course, you can top it with whatever frosting of choice too. But seriously, this flavor combo is superb. You really cannot go wrong with chocolate and caramel. It’s delicious.
Chocolate Cupcakes
These chocolate cupcakes with caramel filling and chocolate buttercream are sure to be a hit with your loved ones this Valentine’s Day, or any other occasion. The rich, dark chocolate flavor and the smooth, creamy caramel filling are the perfect combinations of flavors, and the chocolate buttercream on top just ties it all together. Enjoy!
Cupcakes:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup coffee, warm
- 1 tbsp distilled vinegar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Caramel filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate buttercream frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp heavy cream (or as needed)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs, coffee, distilled vinegar, oil, and vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each liner about 2/3 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
- To make the caramel filling, add the sugar and water to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.
- Increase the heat to high and cook the mixture, without stirring, until it turns a deep amber color. Then add in the butter and let it melt, mixed in.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly add the cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Be careful, as the mixture will bubble up.
- Stir until smooth and allow the caramel to cool completely.
- Using a small paring knife, cut a small hole in the center of each cupcake and fill it with the cooled caramel. Optional: You can reserve a little bit of caramel and drizzle it at the end after you’ve frosted the cupcakes.
- To make the chocolate buttercream frosting, beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth and creamy.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and heavy cream, and continue to beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes using a piping bag and your favorite tip. If you want to, you can drizzle some reserved caramel on top (as seen in the pictures above).
Makes 12 cupcakes.
Notes/Tips:
- Make sure you do not overfill when pouring the batter into the prepared cupcake pan because if you do, there will be too much batter and not enough space for the cupcake to rise as they bake, resulting in batter spilling over the sides and you’ll be left with flat cupcakes and/or a mess.
- Once the cupcakes are baked, I like to put them in the freezer hot and set a timer for 10 minutes. This helps them cool down a lot faster for frosting.
- You can omit the caramel filling if you like or swap in a different filling of choice.
- Other frostings besides chocolate can be swapped in here as well. Some great frosting that pairs well with chocolate cupcakes is vanilla, cream cheese, and peanut butter frosting just to name a few.
- If you half the recipe, skip the egg. Also, this recipe can be made egg-free altogether.
Chocolate cupcakes not quite your thing? Give this small batch vanilla cupcake recipe a try instead!
This recipe was adapted slightly from Natasha’s Kitchen. This site contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase through them, we receive a small commission.