Ingredients:

1 cup of all-purpose flour (preferably King Arthur’s All-Purpose Flour)

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ cup of milk (preferably 2% or Lactaid 2%)

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup of granulated sugar

¾ cup of vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract (preferably Watkins’s Pure Baking Vanilla)

1½ cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup

 

Frosting Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

6 tbsp salted butter, room temperature (preferably Land ‘O’ Lakes)

4 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (preferably Watkins’s Pure Baking Vanilla)

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Spray the liners with cooking spray to prevent the cupcakes from sticking to the liners. If you want to make mini cupcakes, just use the 24-cup muffin pan.
  2. Chocolate Cupcakes: Whisk 1 cup of flour and ½ tsp each of salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Heat ¾ cup of milk until hot but not boiling; pour over ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Let cool slightly. Whisk 1 cup of sugar, ¾ cup vegetable oil, 1 egg, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until smooth. Whisk in the flour mixture until just combined. Add the tbsp of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup and the semi-sweet chocolate chips and mix well. Batter will be thin.
  3. Bake until the tops spring back, or 22-24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes, and then remove the cupcakes from the muffin pan and let cool completely on the wire rack.
  4. This recipe makes about 12-15 cupcakes depending on how liberally or conservatively you use the batter.
  5. Frosting: Combine the cream cheese and butter with a mixer until smooth. Add about half of the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extra and mix until smooth and well combined. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag (we use a 2D tip) or a offset spatula. Decorate according to your tastes.

 

NOTE: This will be messy as cocoa powder and powdered sugar dust tends to get everywhere, so try to mix on slow to medium for the first few seconds until the dust settles and then continue mixing on medium to high until the frosting is smooth. This icing recipe makes enough frosting for about 1.5 dozen cupcakes, so feel free to halve the ingredients if necessary.

 

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~This recipe is a variation of a recipe found in The Cupcake Cookbook by Food Network Magazine.