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Easy, Delicious and super Insane Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with the Ultimate Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!
So the time has come, to morph my Chocolate Fudge Cake into the very sort after Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes! Honestly, this has been SO requested that I apologise that it’s taken so long. These are the most incredible cupcakes, so here they are!
From the start I will say that these are quite a bit more intense than the classic ‘Chocolate Cupcake’. If you are after something delicious, but easier and more basic, then check out my Chocolate Cupcakes recipe! They’re more chocolate Victoria sponge based, whereas these beauties are intense and wonderful.
The Dark Chocolate in the cake sponge is part of what makes it so fudgey, so PLEASE don’t switch it to milk chocolate. If you don’t like dark chocolate, these probably aren’t for you… but if you like a rich and delicious chocolate cake, then you are in luck.. because they are INCREDIBLE.
This sort of cake mixture is a lot thinner once you have made it, in comparison to a normal cake batter like a chocolate Victoria sponge. When I make it, I really just use my hand and a whisk and a spatula… there is no need for an electric mixer with this cake! Yeah you need three different bowls, but its 100% worth it!
Melt the Chocolate and Butter, add in the Coffee, whisk all the dry ingredients together, and whisk the Eggs, Vanilla and Buttermilk together and you have a cake! The best thing I did for this sponge was to bake the full cake at 140C Fan, so I stuck with it for these cupcakes. It does mean that they take longer to bake, 30 minutes in reality, but it makes them so ~moist~ and soft.
For the Frosting, it’s just basically a cocoa powder buttercream frosting, but mixed with evaporated milk. This is basically all that makes it special, but IT IS WORTH IT. I tend to buy the mini tin size, so as there isn’t as much wastage, but with this recipe there is about half a tin left. I then use it up in another batch of cupcakes or use it in another recipe!
For the Buttermilk, it’s worth buying (or making), but if you have any leftover, make some buttermilk scones! HEAVEN. Especially if you spread some of the frosting on, because it is just honestly the best and I would eat it with a spoon. All day long.
I hope you love these seriously fudgey and delicious Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes, as they are my new favourite. ENJOYYYY! xxx
Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes!
- 100 g Dark Chocolate
- 100 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Instant Coffee
- 75 ml Boiling Water
- 100 g Plain Flour
- 20 g Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 200 g Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Medium Eggs
- 75 ml Buttermilk (or soured cream)
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla (optional)
For the Frosting!
- 150 g Unsalted Butter (room temp - not stork/spread)
- 300 g Icing Sugar
- 35 g Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla (optional)
- 75-100 ml Evaporated Milk
Decorations
- Sprinkles
Instructions
For the Cupcakes!
- Preheat your oven to 160C/140C Fan, and get your cupcake cases ready.
- In a microwave proof bowl, add your Chocolate and Butter and heat and mix until melted. I usually do 30 second bursts!
- Pour the Boiling Water onto the Coffee Granules and mix till smooth - add the Coffee mix into the Chocolate/Butter mix until smooth.
- Add the Flour, Cocoa Powder, Baking Powder and Sugar to a large bowl and whisk till distributed.
- Mix together the Buttermilk, Eggs and Vanilla.
- Add the three mixes together - I pour the Chocolate/Coffee mix and the Egg/Soured Cream mix into the dry ingredients and fold until smooth.
- Split the mixture evenly between the baking cases. I use Regular Baking Cups from Iced Jems, and I fill them 2/3 full.
- Bake in the oven for 28-32 minutes, or until baked.
- Leave to cool fully once baked!
For the Frosting!
- Make sure your Butter is at room temperature!
- Beat the Butter on it's own for a few minutes to soften!
- Add in the Icing Sugar and Cocoa Powder 1/2 at a time, and beat till combined.
- Add in the Vanilla if using, and then the Evaporated Milk a little at a time beating fully in-between each go!
Decoration!
- Pipe onto your cupcakes how you please! I used a Medium 2D Closed Star Piping Tip.
- Sprinkle on your favourite sprinkles and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe is based on my Chocolate Fudge Cake with a few changes to suit the cupcakes!
- I used this Medium 2D Closed Star Piping Tip! (affiliate link)
- And I used these gorgeous Baking Cups from Iced Jems! (affiliate link)
- The evaporated milk cannot be switched to condensed milk.
- The Soured Cream can be used, or the Buttermilk.
Enjoy!
Find my other Recipes on my Recipes Page!
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J x
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103 Comments
Gemma Fox
May 1, 2021 at 3:07 pmI don’t have co co powder! Could I melt chocolate for the buttercream?
Jane's Patisserie
May 1, 2021 at 4:40 pmFor these you need the cocoa powder!
Sharon
April 30, 2021 at 7:31 pmHi Jane love these cupcakes how long could I keep them frozen for . Making them for my nephews party and would like to make them a few weeks in advance .
Jane's Patisserie
May 6, 2021 at 1:56 pmHey!! You can keep them frozen for up to three months, ahh how lovely I hope you all love them xx
Rachael
April 14, 2021 at 1:09 pmHi Jane, I loveeeee this recipe! And the icing is a triumph – my new favorite. I tried using it on a coffee cake, and exchanging the cocoa for extra icing sugar, and adding a few tsp of dissolved instant coffee. But the mix seems to split unless I ice the cake and get it in the fridge quickly. Do you think it’s the addition of the coffee because of the water content? Thanks!
Jane's Patisserie
April 14, 2021 at 3:40 pmYeah it will be xx
Dana Bird
April 4, 2021 at 1:16 pmYou are an absolute genius!!!!! I’ve just used this recipe for the most decadent chocolate cupcakes ever. This is gonna be my go to chocolate cupcake recipe from now on!
Sarah
March 9, 2021 at 10:25 amHi Jane,
If I make double the amount of frosting to use up my evaporated milk could I freeze the remaining frosting to use at a later stage? Thank you
Jane's Patisserie
March 11, 2021 at 12:13 pmYes you can do! x
Sarah
March 28, 2021 at 4:48 pmSome baking powders aren’t gluten free but you can get gluten free baking powder.
Emma
February 16, 2021 at 3:14 pmHi Jane,
Apart from the flour would there be anything else in these cupcakes that wouldn’t contain gluten
Jane's Patisserie
February 16, 2021 at 8:01 pmYou would need to double check all ingredients you buy as brands can vary – but it should just be the flour.
Nic
February 10, 2021 at 5:17 pmHi Jane! How would this batter react in a mini bundt tin? I want to make some mini chocolate bundts and the recipes I’ve tried so far haven’t given a soft, fudgey enough result yet! Thanks
Jane's Patisserie
February 10, 2021 at 7:29 pmI think as long as you have a really good release spray/paste on the mould, they would be fine!
Jodie Pethick
January 28, 2021 at 12:04 amAmazing! Icing was so silky and smooth! Can I just ask, as the buttercream is made with evaporated milk, are these safe to leave out at room temperature for up to 3 days to eat? Jodie x
Jane's Patisserie
January 28, 2021 at 7:14 pmYes they are totally safe! So glad you liked them x
Elly
December 10, 2020 at 12:23 pmIncredible recipe! Will be definitely making again and they were incredible well received by my housemates. I could slightly taste the coffee the first day, however cakes I ate on subsequent days didn’t have this taste (perhaps they were still slightly warm the first time which may have made a difference? I also used decaf coffee as this is all I had so perhaps this made a difference). The coffee taste had definitely gone by the following morning though and they were delicious! Will definitely make it into my regular rotation of baking recipes!
Teez
December 10, 2020 at 1:26 amHi jane,
Can i use oil instead of butter in the cupcakes? Or it will completely alter the recipe?
Jane's Patisserie
December 10, 2020 at 10:13 amI would stick to the butter personally because of the method and how it all works together.
Joanna
December 9, 2020 at 8:44 pmHi Jane,
I made these for my friends birthday and they were delicious. Is there any way to use different flour to make them gluten free?
Jane's Patisserie
December 10, 2020 at 10:16 amI’m sure switching to gluten free flour would be fine, and maybe adding 1/2 tsp xantham gum if you have it!
SB
December 9, 2020 at 12:45 pmCan I use self raising flour for these? x
Jane's Patisserie
December 9, 2020 at 2:09 pmI wouldn’t recommend it. It’s important to follow the recipe as it is x
Faye
November 5, 2020 at 10:38 amThese had a wonderful flavour. Only issue was the tops of my cupcakes turned out like brownies – that thin meringue crisp layer that we all strive for in brownie making! – but wasn’t ideal for the cupcakes as the frosting would not stick properly the actual cupcake. Wondering if this is as a result of the temperature of the chocolate mix being too hot when added to the dry mix with the sugar? When brownie making i add the sugar to the chocolate butter mixture when it’s still hot, which gives me my crinkly tops so perhaps it’s the same thing here… In the end I just ate them all I frosted and the chocolate flavour was unbelievably rich which you don’t often get in a chocolate cupcake without frosting!!
Jane's Patisserie
November 5, 2020 at 3:32 pmThe melting of the chocolate for this is different to my brownie method (Where the chocolate does cool) but yes it most likely is the heat, or even over mixing! x
Daniel O
October 26, 2020 at 1:47 pmWould this recipe be okay for making marble cupcakes? ( Just halving the ingredients for each batter and omitting the cocoa in one and replacing with flour )
Jane's Patisserie
October 26, 2020 at 5:33 pmAs the recipe uses melted chocolate as well as the cocoa and coffee, and they are both quite key to the recipe that wouldn’t be possible with this mix. It’s best to use a standard sponge (I do have a marble cupcake recipe on my blog) x
Iman
October 24, 2020 at 9:53 amCould I use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar?
Jane's Patisserie
October 24, 2020 at 10:08 amYes you can!
Amanda
October 10, 2020 at 8:28 pmBest ever cupcakes so moist and delicious can’t fault them yummy 😋.
Thanks Jane x
Dina
September 23, 2020 at 1:55 pmHi Jane!
I have made so many of your cupackes nad they are simply delish, my work colleagues adore me for it!
I was thinking of doing a dark chocolate cupacke and I was looking at this recipe and your white chocolate recipe, do you think this chocolaate cake with dark chocolate chips and a dark chocolate buttercream would turn out nice? maybe melted dark chocolate in the crem or would that be too heavy? Also how do you make the coffe for this? like how much coffe how much water? any sort of coffe or a particuler one? Sorry for all the questions!
Thanks x
Jane's Patisserie
September 24, 2020 at 9:18 amThis cake batter is too thin for chocolate chips, and I don’t think they need it anyway as they are such a lovely deep flavour already. The details for the coffee are on the recipe! xx
Claire
September 23, 2020 at 10:42 amWhat would you suggest as a dairy free alternative for the evaporated milk?
Jane's Patisserie
September 24, 2020 at 9:20 amYou can buy vegan evaporated milk!
Teyanne
September 16, 2020 at 2:14 pmHi Jane,
Would this buttercream recipe work to cover the sides and top of the chocolate fudge cake if I’m doing 3 x 20cm tin layers? Or would I need more?
Thanks.
Jane's Patisserie
September 16, 2020 at 7:13 pmHave a look at my chocolate fudge cake recipe, and double that one!
Layla
August 27, 2020 at 5:37 pmHi Jane,
LOVE the flavour of this recipe it’s amazing, thank you!
I did notice a big whole in the bottom of a lot of my cupcakes though which from the bottom looked like a big dome missing. Absolutely gutted – what did I do wrong?
Thank you 😊
Jane's Patisserie
August 28, 2020 at 7:23 pmThat’s so odd – I’ve never seen it before! I can only assume it had too much air in the mix?! Or wasn’t baked for long enough? x
Kate
August 8, 2020 at 11:36 pmCan’t wait to try this recipe, just wondering to know if you can use condensed milk instead of evaporated milk. If so how much should i add to the frosting?
Thank You!
Jane's Patisserie
August 9, 2020 at 12:26 pmThey really aren’t the same and it doesn’t have the same results – I would just use double cream if you can’t use evaporated! x
Shannon
August 8, 2020 at 1:36 pmHey Jane, I’ve just made the recipe and was just wondering and they supposed to come out of the oven when a toothpick comes out clean like normal cupcakes of if they should still be a little liquidy as once the 30 minutes were up mine still were xx
Jane's Patisserie
August 8, 2020 at 8:32 pmThey certainly should not take that long unless the temperature in the oven is wrong, you’ve changed an ingredient, or the cupcakes are larger than mine (as cupcakes really don’t take too long to bake at all!) – however, yes a skewer should come out clean! x
Zahra
July 24, 2020 at 11:38 amHave made these during lockdown for a few occassions – husband’s birthday, cousin’s 40th and a family picnic. They are absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I’ve made them with the choc fudge icing and the peanut butter icing from the Reese’s cupcakes recipe. Loving this website!
Sumaiya
July 10, 2020 at 4:03 pmThese cupcakes are so yummy. In the frosting I incorporated nutella and cocoa powder and it was mouth watering. For some reason I only had enough batter to make 11 cupcakes.
Jane's Patisserie
July 10, 2020 at 4:08 pmThat just means you have split the mixture between too few cupcakes or your cases are larger – it definitely makes 12! x
Jennifer
July 6, 2020 at 9:34 amThe BEST chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever had! I will never use another one again! Stunningly moist, fluffy and indulgent. 10/10
Alice
June 29, 2020 at 3:42 pmI made these and they tasted delicious! Unfortunately when they came out the oven they shrunk away from the cupcake cases as they cooled, maybe my cases were too big.
My only problem was my icing was too liquidy to pipe with, I do follow the recipe exactly- so better luck with my next bake!
Jane's Patisserie
June 29, 2020 at 7:33 pmSo shrinking away usually means the cupcakes haven’t finished baking yet, so the moisture causes them to peel away! And what butter did you use for the buttercream?
Samantha
June 23, 2020 at 2:43 pmMy friends and family absolutely loved these!! The buttercream is sooo good.
I hate coffee with a passion so I was wary but you definitely can’t taste the coffee at all!
Also I couldn’t find buttermilk or sour cream in the shops so I made my own buttermilk and they still turned out amazing!
Luke Jones
February 27, 2021 at 8:48 pmIs this recipe for cupcake cases or muffin cases? I often find the cupcake cases quite small
Jane's Patisserie
February 28, 2021 at 11:33 amI tend to use baking cups which I find are more towards standard muffin size (not the tulip style) x
Alex Lloyd
June 19, 2020 at 8:48 pmAmazing… husband said best cupcakes I’ve ever made him (and I’ve made a few!!)
Thank you xx
Amanda
June 19, 2020 at 9:39 amHey I am going to make these and I am just wondering how much water I put into the coffee to mix and add?
Jane's Patisserie
June 19, 2020 at 7:35 pmIt’s listed in the ingredients x
Lizzie
June 18, 2020 at 7:22 pmHi Jane, just wondered do you use a mixer when you make these or would you make them by hand? Can’t wait to try these! Thanks xxx
Jane's Patisserie
June 18, 2020 at 7:23 pmHey! For these I would use my hand as you don’t want to over-mix it! x
Melissa
June 12, 2020 at 7:31 pmI wanted to know if heavy cream is ok to use in the frosting instead of evaporated milk.
Jane's Patisserie
June 13, 2020 at 9:07 amYou definitely can, but you will probably need less and it will be slightly different!
Jo Bennett
June 8, 2020 at 8:43 pmFirst time I have made these chocolate fudge cupcakes, there were satisfied noices of approval from my family whilst they were eating them.. The buttercream is amazing, I had some left over which I could have eaten by itself. Simply put these are delicious cupcakes and a recipe I have been told I will be using again.
Shay
June 7, 2020 at 12:45 pmIs it possible to omit the coffee?
Jane's Patisserie
June 7, 2020 at 2:03 pmNot if you want the best possible flavour – it doesn’t taste of coffee, it just makes it taste of chocolate fudge cake! x
Maisie Leeks
June 3, 2020 at 10:35 amCan you use stork for the cake?
Jane's Patisserie
June 3, 2020 at 10:41 amFor the cake, yes!!
Disney girl
June 1, 2020 at 3:21 pmSo delicious! Had some leftover buttermilk I wanted to use and these did the job perfectly!
Can you freeze these once cooked & cooled? Then just defrost for another day…? Thanks 😊
Jane's Patisserie
June 1, 2020 at 3:28 pmAhh yay!! And yes you can!! x
Laura
May 27, 2020 at 1:26 pmCan’t wait to try these! Just wondering can I use any dark chocolate or should it be cooking chocolate? Also is it possible to use large eggs instead of medium?
Jane's Patisserie
May 27, 2020 at 6:27 pmHey! So you can use any dark chocolate, as long as it’s 70% or darker – and the two large eggs should be okay!!
Sobhia
May 14, 2020 at 8:01 pmTasted amazing thank you! The tops if my cupcakes were a little firm almost like a brownie, any idea why?
Jane's Patisserie
May 15, 2020 at 9:26 amThat could be your oven being too high! x
Lucy Richardson
May 4, 2020 at 2:50 pmGreat tasting recipe but for some reason the middle/bottom of the bun rose up, the bottom of the bun case was empty.
Jane's Patisserie
May 4, 2020 at 3:13 pmI’ve honestly never seen that before! How weird!
Amy
May 2, 2020 at 11:38 pmHi Jane, I hope you’re well! I’ve made this recipe before and it was DELICIOUS! I’m wanting to make it again but I’m really struggling to find light brown sugar anywhere! I found some light brown muscovado sugar, would that work or not?! Thank you
Jane's Patisserie
May 3, 2020 at 9:22 amMuscovado sugar should work fine, but golden caster sugar or regular caster sugar also works well!
Kathryn
April 7, 2020 at 11:05 amI am making these today however I, only have dark brown sugar in just now, would it be okay to use that instead of light?
🙂
Jane's Patisserie
April 7, 2020 at 6:57 pmYes that will work!
Kathryn
April 7, 2020 at 11:24 pmI ended up doing a 2/3 dark brown and 1/3 caster. Worked out delicious!!! 😻👌
Gemma Wilson
December 15, 2019 at 10:15 pmWould Vanilla extract be ok ? Xxx
Jane's Patisserie
December 16, 2019 at 9:28 amYes! Nielsen Massey is the best. x
Jessica
December 13, 2019 at 6:21 amHi, can these cupcakes be frozen (prior to adding buttercream obviously)? I’d like to make them for work on Thursday but would be much easier if I could bake over the weekend and then just decorate Wednesday evening? Thank you!
Zaki
October 11, 2019 at 1:03 pmHi Jane! can i ask what brand of cocoa powder you use? When I try to make chocolate frosting the texture looks not-so-smooth and dotty when i use cocoa powder :,D
Jane's Patisserie
October 11, 2019 at 1:12 pmThat shouldn’t have anything to do with the cocoa powder.. I use any from the supermarket that I have! Are you sure you are using cocoa powder and not hot chocolate powder?
Claire Figg
October 3, 2019 at 10:10 pmThese look amazing, can you make these in advance and freeze? Want to make them.for the adults that will be at my sons party and want to pre-make them?
Nina
August 28, 2019 at 8:17 pmMade these today with my daughter, the sponge is so light. We’d run out of plain flour so used self-raising instead and didn’t have any unsalted butter but they still tasted great.
Doreen
August 6, 2019 at 6:19 pmWas going to make your lemon drizzle cupcakes in the morning but now im torn between both 🤔
Jane's Patisserie
August 6, 2019 at 7:41 pmDefinitely both!
Jade
May 21, 2019 at 7:13 pmHello! Thanks for sharing. These were delicious. Just wondering do you think adding evaporated milk to other flavour buttercreams eg lotus or vanilla, would work? Thanks
Mich
April 20, 2019 at 9:26 pmHi,
These look so yummy. I was wondering if it’s essential to use the melted dark chocolate, I’m about to make these and I’ve realised I’ve forgotten to buy dark chocolate.
Jane's Patisserie
April 21, 2019 at 9:24 amYes, its quite key to the bake!
Upma
July 3, 2020 at 5:23 pmHow can you store the cupcakes after they’ve been made? I’m making them for a picnic the day before, so I would need to store them overnight.
Thank you
Jane's Patisserie
July 3, 2020 at 8:13 pmA cake storage tin, cupcake box, Tupperware container – room temp is best!
Sian Owen
April 5, 2019 at 10:09 pmRave reviews from 6 totally independent parties! Your recipes never fail, thank you for sharing them all.
Jane's Patisserie
April 6, 2019 at 7:51 amAhh that’s amazing!! Thank you so much!
Judles
March 26, 2019 at 1:00 pmHi Jane, just wondering if you have any preference on cocoa powder at all, whether some work better than others? I was looking online at Hershey’s, although a little more expensive I quite liked the idea that it is just cocoa and doesn’t go through other processes some do, have you tried Hershey’s in any recipes? Thanks in advance. The cupcakes look scrum, I’ve never thought of adding evaporated milk before & must give it a go! x
Jane's Patisserie
March 26, 2019 at 6:36 pmI use Cacao Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder from Makro as I bulk buy, but if I ever use supermarket stuff, I prefer Dr Oetkers Extra Dark cocoa powder, or Tescos own!
Lisa Bottomley
March 14, 2019 at 12:56 pmHi Jane,
I am just wondering whether the coffee comes through in the taste.? Not the biggest fan of coffee however I see Instant Coffee in lots of fudge cake recipes. They look divine by the way and can’t wait to try this one out for myself.
Thank you.
Lisa
Jane's Patisserie
March 14, 2019 at 12:59 pmNo, it doesn’t. It just enhances the chocolate flavour and gives them a wonderful texture too!
Pallavi
March 4, 2019 at 10:17 pmLooks so yummy…just wondering…can these be made with Stork instead of butter?
Jane's Patisserie
March 5, 2019 at 7:50 amThe cupcake can, the buttercream really must not.
Dina
June 19, 2020 at 5:59 pmIm a cake maker and Ive used this recipe a few times for my cupcakes and customers loven them. Although i tried tripling the ingredients as i needed to make 36 cupcakes and the batter was more runny than when i only doubled it🤷🏻♀️ They also were slightly crispy on top. And the batter had alot of lumps as i was only folding thru rather than using the mixer? They tasted ok but not as good as before trys🤷🏻♀️
Jane's Patisserie
June 19, 2020 at 7:26 pmTripling is quite a lot of mix – so you probably won’t have mixed it correctly, especially if you still had lumps. x
Ella
March 4, 2019 at 7:53 pmJust tried these little slices of heaven! Definitely worth a try! First test batch a success 👍🏻Will be making another batch tomorrow for the work guinea pigs 🐹
Don’t worry I won’t have eaten them all myself 🙈
Playcookwith.me
March 2, 2019 at 8:57 amYummy 😍
Jane's Patisserie
March 2, 2019 at 9:11 amThank you!!