• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Search
    • Recipe Index
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Breakfast
    • Cakes
    • Cookies
    • Cupcakes
    • Frosting
    • Fruit Desserts
    • Muffins
    • One Bowl Desserts
    • Pies & Tarts
  • About Me
  • Food Photography
    • Work with Me
    • Classes and Workshops
  • Shop

Frosting & Fettuccine

Home » Recipes » Cupcakes

Mar 19, 2022

Easy and Fluffy Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

BySam Adler
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This post might have affiliate links, please check out my full disclosure policy.

These tiny decadent chocolate treats are fluffy and chocolatey, and they can be made without buttermilk! Easy and Fluffy Mini Chocolate Cupcakes are the perfect size for a sweet snack or party dessert for any chocolate lover.

A dozen mini chocolate cupcakes frosted with vanilla frosting and sprinkles on a gray surface

What’s better than a cupcake? A bite-sized cupcake! In pastry school we made a lot of cakes and fancy desserts, but cupcakes, especially mini sized, have always held a special place in my heart (and stomach).

These mini chocolate cupcakes are fluffy and moist, with a rich chocolate flavor. They can be made without buttermilk, so they’re perfect for people who don’t have any on hand or don’t like the taste of it.

These little guys are a scaled down version of my chocolate filled cupcakes but without the filling. You can frost them with classic American buttercream frosting, but don’t stop there! Try them with coffee buttercream frosting, caramel buttercream frosting, or even a fruity raspberry buttercream frosting.

WHY YOU SHOULD MAKE THIS RECIPE

  • The chocolate cupcake batter is moist and super light
  • Mini cupcakes are great for parties or an after-school snack.
  • The ingredients are simple and you may already have them on hand.
  • Customize these cupcakes using your favorite homemade frosting or toppings.

Equipment needed

To make this recipe you need mini muffin liners and a mini muffin pan.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

ingredients needed for mini chocolate cupcakes
  • Granulated Sugar – Adds a necessary sweet flavor to the base of the cupcakes.
  • All-Purpose Flour – Makes up the base of these cupcakes giving them structure and texture.
  • Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Adds a rich chocolatey flavor to the mini cupcakes.
  • Espresso Powder – Helps enhance and deepen the natural flavor of the chocolate.
  • Baking Soda & Baking Powder – Helps the cupcakes rise to become fluffy while still staying moist and dense.
  • Kosher Salt – Helps balance the sweet and bitter flavor of the sugar and cocoa powder.
  • Egg – Helps bind all of the ingredients together to set the cupcake while baking.
  • Plain Yogurt – An unflavored yogurt or sour cream is the secret ingredient to making these cupcakes moist.
  • Water & Vegetable Oil – Helps thin out the cupcake batter to make it the perfect consistency for baking.
  • Vanilla Extract – Infuses the cupcakes with a light and warm vanilla flavor.

HOW TO MAKE MINI CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

  1. Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a mini muffin tray with mini muffin liners. Set aside.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients: To a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Use a whisk to fully combine the ingredients.
  3. Add the wet ingredients: To the same bowl, add the yogurt, water, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Whisk the mixture until a smooth chocolate cupcake batter forms. Make sure you pay attention to any dry mixture that may get trapped on the bottom.
  4. Bake the cupcakes: Fill each mini muffin liner with ⅔ cup batter. Bake for 12 minutes or until the center is set. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting with your favorite buttercream frosting recipe.
Chocolate batter in a stainless steel bowl
Chocolate cupcake batter
A mini cupcake tin lined with mini cupcake liners
Lined mini muffin pan
Mini cupcake batter in a mini cupcake tin
Cupcake batter filled in mini muffin pan

How to decorate

To decorate mini cupcakes easily use a piping bag with a star tip to pipe the frosting. It’s much harder to frost mini cupcakes with just a spatula because they are so tiny. Top with sprinkles!

A mini chocolate chip cupcake frosted with vanilla and sprinkles on a gray surface

TIPS FOR RECIPE SUCCESS

  • Measure your flour properly. Use a scale for the most precise measurements or spoon flour into your measuring cup, then level it off with a knife.
  • When mixing the batter, make sure you don’t overwork the batter. Overworking the batter will result in a tough cupcake.
  • Don’t over bake the mini cupcakes or they will easily become dry.
  • If you don’t have yogurt on hand, sour cream can be substituted, just make sure you’re using full-fat dairy for the best texture.
  • The eggs, butter, and yogurt should be at room temperature before beginning to bake. Room temperature ingredients mix together more easily and produce a more consistent cupcake.
  • Only fill the muffin liners 2/3 full to prevent them from overflowing while baking.
  • If you don’t have espresso powder, you can omit it from the recipe.

STORAGE AND FREEZING

Storing: To store mini cupcakes, place them in an airtight container or bag and keep them at room temperature for up to three days. They can also be stored in the fridge for up to one week.

Freezing: For longer-term storage, mini cupcakes can be frozen for up to two months. Before freezing, wrap the cupcakes tightly in plastic wrap then place them in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the fridge before frosting and enjoying.

Making these gluten free

To make these gluten free use gluten free flour and make a flax egg with 1 tablespoon flaxseed and 3 tablespoons water.

Can I make these regular sized?

Yes, just make my easy chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting instead, it’s the same!

MINI CUPCAKE FROSTING IDEAS

  • Mascarpone Frosting
  • Zesty Lemon Buttercream Frosting
  • Fluffy Espresso Buttercream Frosting
  • Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
  • Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
A dozen mini chocolate cupcakes frosted with vanilla frosting and sprinkles on a gray surface

Easy and Fluffy Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

These tiny decadent chocolate treats are fluffy and chocolatey, and they can be made without buttermilk! Easy and Fluffy Mini Chocolate Cupcakes are the perfect size for a sweet snack or party dessert for any chocolate lover.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Cupcakes
Cuisine: American
Diet: Kosher
Keyword: bite size cupcakes, mini cupcakes, mini desserts, small chocolate cupcakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 43kcal
Author: Sam Adler

Equipment

  • 1 Mini Muffin Pan
  • Mini Muffin Liners

Ingredients

  • ½ cup sugar (100g)
  • ½ cup all purpose flour (60g)
  • 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (21g)
  • ½ tsp espresso powder (optional) (1g)
  • ¼ tsp baking soda (1.5 g)
  • ¼ tsp baking powder (1g)
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt (1.5g)
  • 1 egg (50g)
  • ¼ cup plain yogurt or sour cream (57g)
  • 3 tbsp water (39g)
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil (12g)
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract (2.5g)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a mini muffin tray with mini muffin liners. Set aside.
  • In a medium sized bowl add the ½ cup sugar, ½ cup flour, 4 tbsp cocoa powder, ½ tsp espresso powder (if using) ¼ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp kosher salt. Whisk to combine.
  • Add the 1 egg, ¼ cup yogurt, 3 tbsp water, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, and ½ tsp vanilla extract and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Make sure you whisk well, some dry ingredients can get trapped on the bottom of the bowl.
  • Fill each muffin liner with ⅔ cup batter and bake for 12 minutes.
  • Cool completely, then frost with buttercream frosting.

Notes

⭐Check out these easy buttercream frosting recipes for mini cupcakes:

  • Mascarpone Frosting
  • Zesty Lemon Buttercream Frosting
  • Caramel Buttercream Frosting
  • Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
  • Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Easy and Fluffy Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
Amount Per Serving (1 cupcake)
Calories 43 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 10mg3%
Sodium 59mg3%
Potassium 31mg1%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 17IU0%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 11mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

I love when you share my recipes!!

19 shares

Filed Under: Cupcakes Tagged With: Chocolate

About Sam Adler

Sam Adler is a Le Cordon Bleu professionally trained pastry chef, Saveur Blog Award winner, food photographer, and food blogger over on FrostingandFettuccine.com. She has been featured in numerous online and in-print publications including Taste of Home Magazine, Saveur Magazine, The Feed Feed, and Food Blogger Pro. Sam lives in Hollywood florida with her husband, two young kids, and french bulldog. When she’s not baking and dancing in her kitchen you can find her at her favorite yoga spot.

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment & rate this recipe Cancel reply

Do you love this recipe? If so, I would be so grateful if you left a star rating with your comment! Star ratings help other people find my recipes so they can make them too. Thank you for your support!

XO, Sam

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Search

Hi! Im Sam Adler,

I'm a professionally trained pastry chef and food photographer.
This is a place where you will find easy yet impressive looking desserts. I also share a ton of food photography resources too! What can I say, I love pretty & delicious baked goods! Learn more about me!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

As Featured In:

Logo images of media places Sam Adler has been featured in
Saveur Blog award winner for best food Instagram
FeedFeed

frostingandfettuccine

Finding your style 📸 It’s probably the numbe Finding your style 📸

It’s probably the number one struggle I hear from food photographers. 

❌ Shoot after shoot, it doesn’t feel like your photos are consistent or that there is even a recognizable style there.

❌ You don’t feel as if anybody would see your photos and be like “hey! I know who’s that is!”

❌ You might even feel like your photos are pretty enough but that you learned or experimented with how to shoot in someone else’s style so you don’t really feel like it’s yours.

I GET IT 🙌🏻

✅I didnt know how to use my camera 5 years ago
✅I had no recognizable style
✅Once I thought I had a style, I stuck myself in a box and felt like I could never shoot differently

But after countless hours, investing time and money every day I now have the freedom to know that whatever I shoot will inevitably come out in my own style. 🎉 I shoot in ALLL the colors of the rainbow and it always comes out like me 🙋🏻‍♀️

And this is why in my signature program, The STYLE Mastermind, with it’s combination of coaching + education, I teach you how to find your own unique style, and not how to shoot in mine.

There is *literally* no point in shooting in a style that you don’t love because the whole point of running your own creative business is to do it because you love it.

And when you love your job and it shows through your work, that’s when the clients come in. 💰 💰 💰

Over the last 3 years my program has helped over 90 (!!) students find their unique consistent style, land their highest paid contracts ever, and LEAVE THEIR JOBS! No it doesnt happen overnight, but it does happen.

SO yeah you may be scared outta your mind to take that leap and join but trust me, it may just be the best thing you do for your mindset, creativity, your business, and your style.

PS. THE STYLE MASTERMIND IS NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT! 🎉💵👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏻 We are only accepting 24 students for this round with 2 spots already taken. Tap the link in my bio to apply and level up your business!!

#photographystyle #foodphotographyandstyling #foodstylingtips #foodphotographytips #producephotography #colortheory #ilovecolor #colorlover #grapes #strawberries #plum #foodphotographyandstyling
3 things I wish someone told me in the beginning o 3 things I wish someone told me in the beginning of my food photography career 📸:

1. Do not be afraid to use shadows! You NEED shadows in your work. They are what create dimension in a photo and what gives it the “pop of the screen” effect. Just because you like to shoot light and bright doesn’t give you an excuse not to use them either. Using shadows doesn’t = dark and moody. So please, if you feel like something is missing in your photos, maybe you need more shadows?

2. Mindset is EVERYTHING. You will have really good days and then really 💩 days too. Knowing how to navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship is the everlasting key to your success in the food photography world. 

3. Learn about licensing and usage!!! Like get in with the nitty gritty of it. I cant tell you how much I have given away for less than what I deserve because I didn’t know enough about licensing and usage. 

All three of these things are V important to me in terms of how I run my own business and what I teach to my students.

It’s some of the main reasons why and how students have been so successful. Like 10k+ months, and leaving their 💩 jobs they hate, kind of successful.

Theres a couple more hours left to get on the waitlist for my signature program The STYLE Mastermind for an early bird incentive.

Click the link in my bio to join and get in on it while it lasts!

#foodphotogrgapher #foodphotographers #foodstylist #foodstylists #learnfoodphotography #learnfoodstyling #mentorshipprogram #foodphotographycourse #foodphotographyprogram #photographer #miamieats #miamifoodphotographer #commercialfoodphotographer #commercialfoodphotography #foodstylingandphotography #southfloridafoodphotographer #foodphotographyteacher #foodstylingteacher #photographygoals #foodphotographytips #foodphotographystyling #foodphotography101
One thing I constantly tell my students is to get One thing I constantly tell my students is to get the hell out of their comfort zones- because nothing extraordinary ever comes from it.

Think about it- the things that have gotten you to where you are today, will not get you to where you want to go next. If they did, then you would already be there.

Constantly pushing yourself to the next level of your comfort will though.

Running a workshop in Tuscany and teaching in person was that for me, and it was one of the most magical weeks ever.

So grateful for all the people that traveled across the world to stay with people they never met for 5 days.

If that’s not pushing yourself, I don’t know what is!

If you’re thinking that you need help getting to the next level, then get on the waitlist for the next round of my signature program, The STYLE Mastermind. 

It’s designed to help you find your unique signature style (YES YOU HAVE ONE) and to get paid well in this industry.

The link is in my bio to learn more about the program and join the waitlist!

If you want more, check out my highlights for Testimonials 🙃

#cakephotography #cakestyling #foodphotography
#foodstyling #learnfoodstyling #foodstylist #foodstylingandphotography #cakeoftheday #cakedecorating #cakesofinstagram #cakestagram #vanillacake #girlycake #cakephotography #miamifoodstylist #miamifoodphotographer #miamieats #southfloridafoodphotograoher #commercialfoodphotographer
✨Artichokes ✨ They were allll over Rome- at t ✨Artichokes ✨

They were allll over Rome- at the markets and next to the restaurants- all bundled up and beautiful that I couldn’t resist taking some shots.

For these I wanted to go with a light chiaroscuro effect- using the contrast between light and dark to highlight parts of an image.

I took these artichoke shots in two different areas and also edited them differently. The first to bring out more of the contrast between green and purple and the second focusing more on the green.

I cant decide which I like best- I added the raw images here too so you can see how powerful editing it, especially when you already have the finished image idea in your head!

Which do you like better?

#artichokes #artichokehearts #artichoke #campodefiori #rome #romeitaly #saminrome #rometrip #romefood #romephotography #foodphotography #samsitalypics
In July 2019 while on vacation in Tuscany, I messa In July 2019 while on vacation in Tuscany, I messaged @healthylittlecravings with the idea of running a food photography workshop in Italy. I was hoping she didn’t think I was crazy 🤪, or maybe she was just as crazy as me- because she said YES. Almost 3 years later, after lots of frustration, zoom calls, planning, un-planning, and planning again, it’s finally happening!

I’m proud of us for not giving up, and grateful for the students that have invested their time and money in learning with us- whether they are coming this time or not. 

I won’t be posting anything on my feed bc it’s not where i want to be spending time this week, but I’ll be sharing on stories! And yes we plan on doing this again ❤️ 

#foodphotographyworkshop #tuscanyworkshop #foodphotographers #foodstyling #foodstylists #tuscanytravel #stradatoscana #italytravel #tuscanygram #tuscanyview #tuscanyhills #tuscanylover
Cupcakes. My least favorite thing to shoot- so nat Cupcakes. My least favorite thing to shoot- so naturally I have a BUNCH of cupcake recipes that I need to shoot over the next week or so. I find that when I find a food that I dont love shooting, I force myself to do it over and over until I am more comfortable with it. 

It happened once before with cookies, and now cookies and I are BFFAE.

So get ready Mr. Cupcake- meet your new best friend 🙋🏻‍♀️

#itme

#cupcakes #chocolatecupcakes #chocolatecupcake #vanillabuttercream #vanillafrosting #easycupcakerecipe #cupcakestagram #cupcakesofiinstagram #chocolatelover #foodstyling #foodstylingandphotography #foodphotographyandstyling #foodstylinginspiration #creativityfound #commercialphotographer #bakedfromscratch #bakingfromscratch #heresmyfood #whatsfordessert #foodfluffer #droolclub #miamifoodphotographer #miamieats #miamiphotographer
Load more please Follow me on Instagram!

Categories

Archives

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About
  • Web Stories
  • Privacy Policy

Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Disclosure Policy

Contact

  • Contact
  • Work with me

Copyright © 2022 Samantha Adler | Frosting & Fettuccine | Support by Foodie Digital

19 shares