Fudgy Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache

Cupcakes are one of my favorite small desserts. While I love my small batch vanilla cupcake recipe as well as my strawberry cupcakes, this post is for the chocoholics. We’re diving into the steps for making fudgy chocolate cupcakes. Moist and super chocolatey, these cupcakes are incredibly rich. Covered with an easy-to-make chocolate ganache, the frosting reminds me of an intensely flavored chocolate pudding. You won’t be able to stop making and eating these treats!

Ingredients for this Moist Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

In the recipe card below, you’ll find all the ingredients you need. I highlight a few of the key ones and why they’re important.

• Dutch processed cocoa powder – If you like the taste of Oreos, thank Dutch processed cocoa powder because that’s a key ingredient! Also known as alkalized cocoa powder, this cocoa powder has been treated with an alkalizing agent. As a result, it’s a lot less acidic-tasting than natural cocoa powder. Dutch processed powder has a darker color, milder flavor, and less bitterness. Because the alkalization process makes this cocoa powder less acidic and more neutral, it works well alongside baking powder.
• Espresso powder – Espresso powder enhances the chocolate flavor.
• Canola or vegetable oil (or another flavorless oil) – While I often use butter in baked goods, this recipe relies on oil for much of its fat content. Oil helps keep these cupcakes moist for days! Canola is also a neutral-flavored oil. This is important because you don’t want an oil with a distinct taste – like olive oil – to overpower the chocolate flavor.
• Buttermilk – Buttermilk is a common ingredient in chocolate cake recipes because it helps tenderize and moisten the cake. Also, due to its acidity, it reacts with baking soda, which creates carbon dioxide bubbles that help the cake rise. Buttermilk adds a tanginess that can really enhance the flavor of these fudgy chocolate cupcakes, and it also contributes to creating a more dense and fudge-like consistency.
• Hot water – Hot coffee or hot water are often used in chocolate cake recipes to enhance the chocolate flavor and create a moist texture. Mixing cocoa powder with a hot liquid helps to release the powder’s natural oils, intensifying the richness of flavor.

Ingredients for this Fudgy Chocolate Frosting

The frosting is super easy to make but also nice and decadent. It tastes like a fancy icing but is very approachable.

The main ingredients are chunks of dark chocolate (use chocolate that’s between 50 and 60% cacao to avoid a bitter flavor). Cream cheese helps thicken the frosting, and heavy cream gives it a mousse-like feel. I could eat this straight from the bowl!

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes Recipe

About an hour before beginning this recipe, bring your eggs, buttermilk, and full-fat Greek yogurt (or sour cream) out of the refrigerator. Place them on your counter so they reach room temperature.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 F and line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

To a large bowl, add and whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, dutch processed cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and kosher salt. Set aside.  

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your vanilla extract, eggs, greek yogurt (or sour cream), buttermilk, and oil.

Pour your hot water into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix so that some of the dry ingredients begin to moisten, and then pour bowl of wet ingredients into this one. Mix again until all ingredients are fully incorporated. 

Pour and evenly spread the batter into your prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back at the touch of your finger.

Let cupcakes cool in pan about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Making Rich Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Make a double boiler over a stovetop burner using a small pot, filled with a few cups of water, and a heatproof bowl that can sit within the pot. Add the chopped chocolate and heavy cream to the bowl in your pot. Once water is boiling in the pot, whisk the chocolate and heavy cream every 30 seconds or so until it’s smooth and all pieces of chocolate having melted into the mixture.

Turn off burner and carefully remove bowl from pot – it will be hot.

Set bowl on countertop for about 3 minutes.

Add cream cheese and slightly cooled melted chocolate and heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Mix cream cheese, chocolate mixture, and vanilla extract for one minute. It will look lumpy at first.

Beat in powdered sugar last for about 2 minutes, starting on low speed and then increasing. Texture resembles thick pudding.

How to Pipe Frosting onto Cupcakes

Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a tip of your choice – I used 2D for these cupcakes!

Swirl frosting onto moist chocolate cupcakes, and top with sprinkles if desired.

Cupcake FAQ

Use a Scale to Bake Like a Pro

If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking. Weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency. You may use a set of measuring cups, but the problem is that yours and mine could be quite different. That can result in noticeable discrepancies in the end product between what each of us is baking.

I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.

More Dessert Recipes

If you’re looking for more classic recipes, then I bet you’ll love these big batch chocolate chip cookies. They’re made with brown butter, oatmeal, and are basically my favorite cookie recipe of all time. Or check out this small batch chocolate chip muffin recipe for your next weekend brunch plans.

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